COFFEE HOUSE OUSTED

COFFEE HOUSE OUSTED
RENUKA PHADNIS


For all those - no prizes for guesssing who - conveniently occupying the high moral ground, and who brand the city’s youth as callow, anodyne, without a conscience and as mindless apes of the west, here comes a resounding slap. An online campaign has sprung up on social networking sites like facebook and Orkut against the planned closure of Indian Coffee House (ICH) on MG Road, one of Bangalore’s most cherished landmarks.
The campaign on Facebook (http:// www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=3f863a30b 3d6dd0bb7052addc5ef1294&gid=4288753948 4) has been started by the young and many have spoken fondly and emotionally against ICH’s closure. The campaign has got 323 members and 26 wall posts so far.
The posts are a give away to intense attachment youngsters feel for the city and how much they prize the old ways too. One of them, Aliyehrizei, says, “I don’t recognise this city I was born in, anymore. Bangalore is a city in the process of losing its soul.”
Ajay Kumar, another visitor, writes, “Why do people want to turn Bangalore into one big mall? I mean no city deserves that. There is so much life at that coffee house.”
MASS SUPPORT
Chetan Chauhan, who started the online campaign on Facebook, was at the Indian Coffee House on Wednesday. He said there was popular support for Premier Bookshop when it had to shift and Girish Karnad had spoken for it, so there is hope still for saving ICH. Will the online campaign manage to save the coffee house? Chetan said, “If the cause gets mass support, then we can succeed in getting this place to stay.”
Orkut has two communities dedicated to Indian Coffee House by fans of the place. On “The Official India Coffee House Community”, one of its 59 members identified as Hakuna Matata says, “Guys, India Coffee House on M G Road is going to shut down by the end of February. For those of you who have stayed long in Bangalore, India Coffee House is a storehouse of memories.
It is a legacy by itself. Located right on M G Road, this place has been a part of our childhood and years growing up. It is probably the last chance you get to have a cup of coffee at this place. All of you in Bangalore, do go to India Coffee House on M G Road if you have the time and if you want to experience a piece of the past. Go there before it closes down. (If you are going, plz have a cup of coffee on my behalf).”
On the discussion board of the 22-member strong community called India Coffee House Yashwanth is reminding all of the favourite orders here. He says,”...go ahead and enjoy the last few days of hot coffee .. yummy omelet and masala dosa ...” That’s an advice best heeded to at the earliest.