The hot spot, meeting point, happening place
for old Trivandrum's youth and intelligentsia!
ICH we called it lovingly, with passion.
for old Trivandrum's youth and intelligentsia!
ICH we called it lovingly, with passion.
The old Indian Coffee House with its old-world charm
of the tiled roof, coir carpets, and dangling ivy creepers
on its side verandahs no longer exists at Spencer junction.
of the tiled roof, coir carpets, and dangling ivy creepers
on its side verandahs no longer exists at Spencer junction.
A concrete monstrosity has replaced the elegant house!
Yes, house! It was the tharavad of our salad days
and home a hostel where we would go to sleep at night.
Yes, house! It was the tharavad of our salad days
and home a hostel where we would go to sleep at night.
Vibrant memories of those sunny days still reverberate
of heated discussions, conspiracies, arguments
over every topic under the sun.
of heated discussions, conspiracies, arguments
over every topic under the sun.
It was as though the world would collapse without us!
And all had solutions to all the world's problems
that were dissected under microscopes
over endless cups of coffee in its smoke-filled side rooms.
that were dissected under microscopes
over endless cups of coffee in its smoke-filled side rooms.
The taste of the masala dosa and the coffee’s flavor still lingers
- a fifty paise combo that suited our student budgets
and that of shabby kurta clad gents with flowing beards.
- a fifty paise combo that suited our student budgets
and that of shabby kurta clad gents with flowing beards.
It was the hub of the city’s creativity, where students,
artists, filmmakers, musicians, poets, jurnos, politicians
all and sundry graced the place or rather grazed there.
artists, filmmakers, musicians, poets, jurnos, politicians
all and sundry graced the place or rather grazed there.
It was there that some of the most beautiful poetry flowered
many a famous movie was scripted on its dirty tables
there, many an artist filled his sketchbook with his dreams.
many a famous movie was scripted on its dirty tables
there, many an artist filled his sketchbook with his dreams.
Notorious too, for some talents dragged a weed for inspiration.
Hence forbidden by parents as a no go zone!
Yet a haven where one could freak out with kindred souls.
Hence forbidden by parents as a no go zone!
Yet a haven where one could freak out with kindred souls.
ICH as we knew it is no longer there!
Now shorn of all its former glory and majesty
only a restaurant survives as a pale shadow of its former self
in a corner of the multistoried building built on its grave.
only a restaurant survives as a pale shadow of its former self
in a corner of the multistoried building built on its grave.
Notes; Trivandrum is now Thiruvananthapuram
Tharavad - ancestral home
Tharavad - ancestral home
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