Kolkata’s Coffee House, Brewed Fresh

The iconic Coffee House on College Street celebrated its 50th birthday with a new look and a memorable bash this week.

The iconic Coffee House on College Street celebrated its 50th birthday with a new look and a memorable bash this week.

The city’s intellectual elite were joined by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi in raising a toast to the place that has hosted everyone from Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose to Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. The joint, which reopened after two months and a Rs 60 lakh revamp, retains its old-world charm. The furniture, polished with age, is the same. As is the ambience—the smell of fresh coffee, cigarette smoke and the aroma of chicken cutlets, and the din of animated conversation, fiery debates and full-throated laughter. On the opening day, painters were working on canvases that will be put up on the walls of the iconic cafe. A huge crowd of artists, litterateurs, old-timers and newcomers had lined up outside. Some recited poems, others sang songs and some simply reminisced on old times. Governor Gandhi sketched a steaming cuppa. Architect Amitava Biswas who oversaw the renovation said that apart from refurbishing the washroom and kitchen, the structure had to be strengthened. And yes, Coffee House will continue to defy the no-smoking diktat. Wish you a million smouldering conversations, Kolkata.

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