The Bharat Coffee House of Patna
It was 6am of a cold January morning of 1969.
K.Srinivas touched the first step of the entrance to his south indian food restaurant and then touched his forehead to invoke blessings.The gray, twin wooden doors had two padlocks.One at the end of a steel bar across the doors and the other that bound two round rings.
Kannan,the trusted aide, put his right hand to pull out the keys that were securely tied to his sacred strings.
He unlocked and pushed opened the doors to enter.He switched on a light that illuminated the first portion of the establishment - a L shaped hall with a few pillars.Across the front door was the cash counter.Another large room was at the back.
Srinivas entered and walked to the low cash counter that had recently been renovated with a bright red laminate.As a habit he selected the first page of the calendar block of the single sheet ,Lord Tirupati board calendar that hung on the side wall and tore it off to reveal a fresh date.Next to the calendar was a glass front almirah ,that displayed an assortment of sweets and packets of south indian coffee.
Srinivas took a packet of incense sticks from the first drawer of the desk and lit them to begin his daily ritual of invoking all the gods that were placed in their designated spaces, in separate picture frames behind the counter.Even Infant Jesus had found a slot.Srinivas was not taking any chances and relied on his Sacred Sentinels that protected property, gave business, and essentially blessed all who came in.His left palm touched his right elbow as the incense sticks went clockwise around each photo frame.Goddess Lakshmi got a few extra twirls.
Srinivas wore his crisp white mundu with a bright pink shirt that with paisley self designs on it.His forehead had three clear white horizontal lines made of chandan.Between his brows was a large red teeka.He placed the incense sticks in a holder,looked around,picked up the telephone receiver and tapped on the keys to ensure that the line was working. He then sat on a backless highstool with a thin cushion on it.As if on cue,a few waiters,dressed in white shirts and trousers, appeared in to greet him.
K Srinivas , B Com.,LLB (owner by inheritance, of the Bharat Coffee House,Patna )was now ready for business.
In the kuchha lane, that separated the Coffee House with Batuk Babu's property, was the kitchen that had come alive two hours earlier.The side entrance was used to get in staff and supplies. The customer orders were put through a large service window in a space behind the counter wall.A few women were busy grinding and mixing the ingredients for idlis,dosas and vadas.Some staff were busy chopping vegetables while others were getting ready ,stacking stainless steel plates and cutlery.A few cooks were stirring the pots of sambar and rasam.The cooking for the thali had started.The long black iron plate to make dosas was on the coalfire, hot and clean and awaited the first mix to be put on it and as a tradition, discarded.
It was, seemingly, a motley crew that were responsible for arguably the best south Indian food in Patna.
On the main wall hung the menu board that listed a total of twelve items.A black board with items and prices painted in white.The least expensive was the coffee at 25 paisa(chwani) but the thali was a whopping two rupees and fifty paisa. A masala dosa was for 60 paisa and a plate of two idlis was for 40 paise corresponding to ten and six annas respectively.
The first customers would normally be the transit passengers that were en route from the railway station to catch the ferry to North Bihar.Their order would predictably be a plate of idlis and the steaming hot south indian brew coffee.As the morning progressed the customers would line up to be served, waiting patiently for their turn.No one lingered.Some regular south Indian gentlemen, presumably with the Life Insurance Company or Banks ,would have the lunch thali by 10 am and then proceed to their workplace.
The coffee was served in a small rimmed stainless steel tumblers that was placed in a stainless steel bowls.The process was to cool the coffee before drinking it by pouring it into the bowl and sipping from it.The froth and temperature of the coffee depended on how high could the customer lift the tumbler to empty the contents into the bowl and reverse the process .In the practiced hands of the waiters ,one would get coffees cooled of a pour that ranged from a foot long to a yard!
All orders had unlimited servings of thick coconut chutney and piping hot sambar.The signal to replenish these small bowls was tapping on the side of the plate with a spoon.A noise that would make a waiter appear,almost magically,with four large bowls welded together and held by a central handle.Two of each containing sambar and chutney.Earlier,the coffee house used to place the sambar and chutney filled bowls on the table along with the water glasses but the healthy consumption of these, by college students, even before the main dish was served, prompted Srinivas to serve it later.
The Family Room was to the right and behind the counter. It also had a separate access from the side lane,where many families waited patiently to get tables.The Family Room was about twelve feet long and only wide enough for a long ,fixed rexine padded sofa on the side of the wall.The other side of the long table had two wooden benches.The privacy of the Family room was maintained by a cloth curtain that desired a wash.It was loosely strung by a sagging ,steel, spring wire.This was occasionally parted by the waiter who would take the order.The plates would be served at the edge of the table and passed along as there was no service space!
To fill in the space created by the closure of the India Coffee House in the early 50s,the Bharat Coffee House had opened its first near the Patna Market and opened this branch on Fraser Road a few years later.It soon became a meeting point for city intellectuals and politicians that voiced their ideologies over cups of coffee and pakoras.It is said, that the United Front that swept the Bihar Assembly elections in the 1967, was born out of heated discussions in the Bharat Coffee House.
In the early 70s the India Coffee House reopened in Patna after years but it was apparent that there was no threat to the Bharat Coffee House.
The India Coffee House on Dak Bungalow Road had its retinue of loyal customers that consisted of intellectuals and writers,photographers and journalists each trying to find their space - they were not discouraged by its management who seemed unconcerned that a cup of coffee lasted for hours!It but had to shut shop in a few years.
The Bharat Coffee House would be shut by its tired waiters by 8 pm. Srinivas would count the days earnings and dutifully separate and stack the currency notes in neat bundles of hundreds each.The change that ranged from a paisa to 50 paisa were also separated and put in different small sacks. After calculations of how much he would require to give to the cooks for next days supplies ,he would enter the amount to be deposited in the bank in the pay in slips.The money would be carried in a large portfolio by loyal Kannan, who sat pillion on the Lambretta Scooter that Srinivas would ride home.Some cash was carried by Srinivas when he went home for a late lunch.The counter would then be manned by Kannan.
Srinivas knew all his regular customers and had a smile reserved for all.He spoke Hindi fluently but had a heavy south indian accent. The business was booming and it was but a surprise when the Bharat Coffee House shut down,almost overnight in the mid 70s and many still wonder why.Srinivas apparently returned to Madras with his Family after decades and never returned.The next door Jai Hind Hotel also pulled down its shutters.
There are now a spate of south Indian food restaurants in Patna with Bansi Vihar and Basant Vihar, amongst others ,are forerunners but not a patch on the good old Coffee House.
Ask any one who ever visited the old Bharat Coffee House if they ever tasted dosa or idlis, as they did there ,and the answer is an emphatic No.
One suspects that it's not the taste alone but the clean, simple ambience,the quick service,the competitive prices ,the aroma from the kitchen, or maybe the blessings of the gods behind the counter with the ever smiling Srinivas in front that is missed.
K.Srinivas touched the first step of the entrance to his south indian food restaurant and then touched his forehead to invoke blessings.The gray, twin wooden doors had two padlocks.One at the end of a steel bar across the doors and the other that bound two round rings.
Kannan,the trusted aide, put his right hand to pull out the keys that were securely tied to his sacred strings.
He unlocked and pushed opened the doors to enter.He switched on a light that illuminated the first portion of the establishment - a L shaped hall with a few pillars.Across the front door was the cash counter.Another large room was at the back.
Srinivas entered and walked to the low cash counter that had recently been renovated with a bright red laminate.As a habit he selected the first page of the calendar block of the single sheet ,Lord Tirupati board calendar that hung on the side wall and tore it off to reveal a fresh date.Next to the calendar was a glass front almirah ,that displayed an assortment of sweets and packets of south indian coffee.
Srinivas took a packet of incense sticks from the first drawer of the desk and lit them to begin his daily ritual of invoking all the gods that were placed in their designated spaces, in separate picture frames behind the counter.Even Infant Jesus had found a slot.Srinivas was not taking any chances and relied on his Sacred Sentinels that protected property, gave business, and essentially blessed all who came in.His left palm touched his right elbow as the incense sticks went clockwise around each photo frame.Goddess Lakshmi got a few extra twirls.
Srinivas wore his crisp white mundu with a bright pink shirt that with paisley self designs on it.His forehead had three clear white horizontal lines made of chandan.Between his brows was a large red teeka.He placed the incense sticks in a holder,looked around,picked up the telephone receiver and tapped on the keys to ensure that the line was working. He then sat on a backless highstool with a thin cushion on it.As if on cue,a few waiters,dressed in white shirts and trousers, appeared in to greet him.
K Srinivas , B Com.,LLB (owner by inheritance, of the Bharat Coffee House,Patna )was now ready for business.
In the kuchha lane, that separated the Coffee House with Batuk Babu's property, was the kitchen that had come alive two hours earlier.The side entrance was used to get in staff and supplies. The customer orders were put through a large service window in a space behind the counter wall.A few women were busy grinding and mixing the ingredients for idlis,dosas and vadas.Some staff were busy chopping vegetables while others were getting ready ,stacking stainless steel plates and cutlery.A few cooks were stirring the pots of sambar and rasam.The cooking for the thali had started.The long black iron plate to make dosas was on the coalfire, hot and clean and awaited the first mix to be put on it and as a tradition, discarded.
It was, seemingly, a motley crew that were responsible for arguably the best south Indian food in Patna.
On the main wall hung the menu board that listed a total of twelve items.A black board with items and prices painted in white.The least expensive was the coffee at 25 paisa(chwani) but the thali was a whopping two rupees and fifty paisa. A masala dosa was for 60 paisa and a plate of two idlis was for 40 paise corresponding to ten and six annas respectively.
The first customers would normally be the transit passengers that were en route from the railway station to catch the ferry to North Bihar.Their order would predictably be a plate of idlis and the steaming hot south indian brew coffee.As the morning progressed the customers would line up to be served, waiting patiently for their turn.No one lingered.Some regular south Indian gentlemen, presumably with the Life Insurance Company or Banks ,would have the lunch thali by 10 am and then proceed to their workplace.
The coffee was served in a small rimmed stainless steel tumblers that was placed in a stainless steel bowls.The process was to cool the coffee before drinking it by pouring it into the bowl and sipping from it.The froth and temperature of the coffee depended on how high could the customer lift the tumbler to empty the contents into the bowl and reverse the process .In the practiced hands of the waiters ,one would get coffees cooled of a pour that ranged from a foot long to a yard!
All orders had unlimited servings of thick coconut chutney and piping hot sambar.The signal to replenish these small bowls was tapping on the side of the plate with a spoon.A noise that would make a waiter appear,almost magically,with four large bowls welded together and held by a central handle.Two of each containing sambar and chutney.Earlier,the coffee house used to place the sambar and chutney filled bowls on the table along with the water glasses but the healthy consumption of these, by college students, even before the main dish was served, prompted Srinivas to serve it later.
The Family Room was to the right and behind the counter. It also had a separate access from the side lane,where many families waited patiently to get tables.The Family Room was about twelve feet long and only wide enough for a long ,fixed rexine padded sofa on the side of the wall.The other side of the long table had two wooden benches.The privacy of the Family room was maintained by a cloth curtain that desired a wash.It was loosely strung by a sagging ,steel, spring wire.This was occasionally parted by the waiter who would take the order.The plates would be served at the edge of the table and passed along as there was no service space!
To fill in the space created by the closure of the India Coffee House in the early 50s,the Bharat Coffee House had opened its first near the Patna Market and opened this branch on Fraser Road a few years later.It soon became a meeting point for city intellectuals and politicians that voiced their ideologies over cups of coffee and pakoras.It is said, that the United Front that swept the Bihar Assembly elections in the 1967, was born out of heated discussions in the Bharat Coffee House.
In the early 70s the India Coffee House reopened in Patna after years but it was apparent that there was no threat to the Bharat Coffee House.
The India Coffee House on Dak Bungalow Road had its retinue of loyal customers that consisted of intellectuals and writers,photographers and journalists each trying to find their space - they were not discouraged by its management who seemed unconcerned that a cup of coffee lasted for hours!It but had to shut shop in a few years.
The Bharat Coffee House would be shut by its tired waiters by 8 pm. Srinivas would count the days earnings and dutifully separate and stack the currency notes in neat bundles of hundreds each.The change that ranged from a paisa to 50 paisa were also separated and put in different small sacks. After calculations of how much he would require to give to the cooks for next days supplies ,he would enter the amount to be deposited in the bank in the pay in slips.The money would be carried in a large portfolio by loyal Kannan, who sat pillion on the Lambretta Scooter that Srinivas would ride home.Some cash was carried by Srinivas when he went home for a late lunch.The counter would then be manned by Kannan.
Srinivas knew all his regular customers and had a smile reserved for all.He spoke Hindi fluently but had a heavy south indian accent. The business was booming and it was but a surprise when the Bharat Coffee House shut down,almost overnight in the mid 70s and many still wonder why.Srinivas apparently returned to Madras with his Family after decades and never returned.The next door Jai Hind Hotel also pulled down its shutters.
There are now a spate of south Indian food restaurants in Patna with Bansi Vihar and Basant Vihar, amongst others ,are forerunners but not a patch on the good old Coffee House.
Ask any one who ever visited the old Bharat Coffee House if they ever tasted dosa or idlis, as they did there ,and the answer is an emphatic No.
One suspects that it's not the taste alone but the clean, simple ambience,the quick service,the competitive prices ,the aroma from the kitchen, or maybe the blessings of the gods behind the counter with the ever smiling Srinivas in front that is missed.
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