From the time of its conception, the coffee house of amader kolkata shohor have been associated with literary revolutions, struggle for independence and many such passionate acoounts of the past. Let’s travel back and fourth and dunk our thoughts into the cuppa….
Café coffee day and Barista might have made inroads into amader kolkata shohor and the upmarket kolkattan might find it relaxin to hang out in these p
laces. But, even today there are quite a few kolkattans who are content musing over a cup of coffee at the coffee house in amader kolkata shohor. For a city with a weakness for the cerebral rather than the cosmetic, the coffee house despite its worn-out walls and broken chairs will remain a cut above the rest. It cannot be denied that the coffee house has a long history of intelligentsia and nostalgia associated with it. Tucked in a corner off Boi Para ( College Street), the coffee house continues to be the place “to be in” even now. Frequented by some of the best brains of the country, much before India attained independence, the coffee house despite its shabby décor, continues to draw the young and old alike. This intellectually stimulating ambience is the chosen venue to raise a storm over a cup of coffee or maybe even tea.
ADDAS ABOUND…
The coffee house traces its roots to the Albert Hall which was established in April, 1976. It was in this very hall that Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian Association and where much talked 1883 session of Nikhil Banga Congress was held. A favourite with Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose, the Albert Hall, which boasted of a legacy of Swadeshi meetings, was naturally the best choice to open a coffee house in, when the Coffee Board in 1931 decided to popularise coffee in a city that had an excellent market for tea. And there has been no looking back since; the place has played host to stalwarts like Manna Dey, Ritwik Ghatak,
Amartya Sen, Goutam Ghosh, Aparna Sen to name a few average kolkattans keen to bask in the comfort of the academic ambience of the place. Old timers would still remember how Manna Dey would break out into an impromptu song while trying to compose the next couple of lines and explain the song sequence to actor Soumitra Chatterjee. The coffee house was also favourite to Bengali film makers like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. The coffee house is famous for both food and adda like atmosphere. Not only has it been a paradise for poets, artistes, literati and people from world of art and culture but also for common people like the old and young. Even today, college students like to go to the coffee shop and roll over just a cup of coffee or tea for hours. Sometimes maybe take their favourite guitar along. Coffee house er adda is one the most popular things in a typical Kolkattan’s mind. Many writers have sat for a long time in the coffee house trying to draw inspiration for some new work. Some successful writers of the coffee house were Shakti Chattopadhyay and Sunil Ganguly. There famous literary work, ‘Krittibas’, was written in the coffee house and they drew inspiration from adda sessions. A hotbed for political movements, especially during the Naxalite era the coffee house in amader Kolkata shohor is also known for it’s ‘afghani’, a cutlet served with gravy, mopped up with bread by anyone from a ravenous college student to a famished research scholar or poet.
TIDBITS
The most famous dishes include kobiraji, a cutlet wrapped in egg chicken pakoras and the famous fusion or the black coffee. Right now, however, the coffee house has updated its menu and has included Chinese dishes such as Chowmein (fried noodles). Nonetheless, the traditional dishes like mutton samosas or sometimes peyajis with a hot cup of coffee continue to remain the top favourite of the crowd.
Café coffee day and Barista might have made inroads into amader kolkata shohor and the upmarket kolkattan might find it relaxin to hang out in these p
laces. But, even today there are quite a few kolkattans who are content musing over a cup of coffee at the coffee house in amader kolkata shohor. For a city with a weakness for the cerebral rather than the cosmetic, the coffee house despite its worn-out walls and broken chairs will remain a cut above the rest. It cannot be denied that the coffee house has a long history of intelligentsia and nostalgia associated with it. Tucked in a corner off Boi Para ( College Street), the coffee house continues to be the place “to be in” even now. Frequented by some of the best brains of the country, much before India attained independence, the coffee house despite its shabby décor, continues to draw the young and old alike. This intellectually stimulating ambience is the chosen venue to raise a storm over a cup of coffee or maybe even tea.ADDAS ABOUND…
The coffee house traces its roots to the Albert Hall which was established in April, 1976. It was in this very hall that Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian Association and where much talked 1883 session of Nikhil Banga Congress was held. A favourite with Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose, the Albert Hall, which boasted of a legacy of Swadeshi meetings, was naturally the best choice to open a coffee house in, when the Coffee Board in 1931 decided to popularise coffee in a city that had an excellent market for tea. And there has been no looking back since; the place has played host to stalwarts like Manna Dey, Ritwik Ghatak,
Amartya Sen, Goutam Ghosh, Aparna Sen to name a few average kolkattans keen to bask in the comfort of the academic ambience of the place. Old timers would still remember how Manna Dey would break out into an impromptu song while trying to compose the next couple of lines and explain the song sequence to actor Soumitra Chatterjee. The coffee house was also favourite to Bengali film makers like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. The coffee house is famous for both food and adda like atmosphere. Not only has it been a paradise for poets, artistes, literati and people from world of art and culture but also for common people like the old and young. Even today, college students like to go to the coffee shop and roll over just a cup of coffee or tea for hours. Sometimes maybe take their favourite guitar along. Coffee house er adda is one the most popular things in a typical Kolkattan’s mind. Many writers have sat for a long time in the coffee house trying to draw inspiration for some new work. Some successful writers of the coffee house were Shakti Chattopadhyay and Sunil Ganguly. There famous literary work, ‘Krittibas’, was written in the coffee house and they drew inspiration from adda sessions. A hotbed for political movements, especially during the Naxalite era the coffee house in amader Kolkata shohor is also known for it’s ‘afghani’, a cutlet served with gravy, mopped up with bread by anyone from a ravenous college student to a famished research scholar or poet.TIDBITS
The most famous dishes include kobiraji, a cutlet wrapped in egg chicken pakoras and the famous fusion or the black coffee. Right now, however, the coffee house has updated its menu and has included Chinese dishes such as Chowmein (fried noodles). Nonetheless, the traditional dishes like mutton samosas or sometimes peyajis with a hot cup of coffee continue to remain the top favourite of the crowd.
