SO LONG, FAREWELL

SO LONG, FAREWELL
The historic Coffee House could shift to Avenue Road or even somewhere down MG Road
Jayashree Nandi and Aarthi R | TNN

Bangalore: The huge blue shutters, chained and shut. The dim interiors almost vacated. Grinders, almirahs, chairs and tables all packed and laid out to be shifted. Along with it, the rusted old board of the legendary Coffee House on M G Road.
It started on Monday at 8 am — regular Coffee House timing. All these years, Mondays bustled with life, with people from all walks of life filling both floors. Conversations would buzz, the aroma of fresh filter coffee would fill the air, alongside hot dosas and crisp cutlets.
But this Monday was perhaps the gloomiest — especially for the 40 employees who lost their jobs. Most were oldtimers. The cooks and bearers stood outside, sipping coffee from local vendors instead, watching the old utensils and kitchenware being taken out. It was time to wind up.
Most had tears in their eyes, with the plight of unemployment and an uncertainty about the new branch topmost on their minds. “I don’t know when we are shifting. As of now, I am jobless. If the branch really opens, I will work there because I love the place. But no, there will be no salary for some months. I have two children,” said M Sadanand Shetty, a cook who had tossed dosas and cutlets for over 20 years.
P A Kuriyan, a bachelor working here for over 25 years, sat in one corner. He was not worried as much about employment as he was disheartened that the long relationship with the place was severed. “The customers, this part of M G Road, this old building will all be a part of our memories,” he said. N H Lakshman Rao, who spent 52 years here, was speechless with emotion.
N Narsoji Rao, a retired employee of Coffee House, came to stand by his friends and see the shutters close forever. They shared memories, laughed at the fun times and contemplated the future.
While they regret the loss of old-world charm, there also hope the golden era will be recreated at the new branch. “Perhaps it’s just a little time to rest, till we are back in action,’’ said a rather hopeful Ramachandra, walking away from the historic place where he had spent the past 25 years.
LOOKING BACK
India Coffee Houses were started by the Coffee Board during British rule (early 1940s). In the mid-1950s, the Board closed down these Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. “There was a coffee crisis in the early 1960s when a lot of employees had to take VRS. They are the ones who started this chain of canteens. The Coffee Board allowed them to use their uniforms and gave them some support. Even now, people think the Coffee House chain is under the Coffee Board. It is good because our employees have gone out and done such a great job that Coffee House on MG Road has become so popular,” said an official of Coffee Board. Under the leadership A K Gopalan (a communist), this network of canteens came back as Indian Coffee House. The first Indian Coffee Workers’ Cooperative Society was founded in Bangalore on August 19, 1957.
WHAT NEXT?
Though it is not clear where it will be relocated, the Board may consider setting it up on Avenue Road, or in all probability, on MG
Road. Workers said Barton Centre was also being considered.