Coffee, despite its known caffeine contents, is a darling of the masses and a true universal beverage. Be it the Kumbakonam degree kaapi, strong filter coffee, Peaberry-Plantation Mix, Bru, Narasu's or the modern/western capuccino, frappuccino, mocha, espresso, etc.
A typical day in South India begins with the coffee. Most people feel completely energized after religiously having the morning cup of coffee. I was always of the opinion that such feelings were purely psychological. Coffee with THE HINDU/Indian Express, with the strains of Suprabhatam going on in the background, with the women engaged in kolam/rangoli and samayal/sampak, and the children getting ready to school. Hell freezes over out there in the household, with so much of commotion and worry over time. (This is not to mean that the author is sexist. He just wanted to write about the general trend in a household. For that matter, if men can cook better, they could assist the womanfolk too in this era of both going for work. I dont know much in the kolam front though!)
Most people take a second dose of coffee some time in the morning too, say 0900 hrs. In fact, I know of people who have it 4-5 times a day. They feel it makes them more productive. Then, there are some people who have it in the pure "black" form. Some people limit having all their doses till evening 6:00 PM. They feel that having it beyond that time would make it difficult for them to fall asleep in the night. People prefer to have their evening tiffin/snack, say pakoda, bajji, vada, bonda, etc. with a cup of kaapi. People somehow seem to know as to how to appreciate coffee.
Tea-kadais or the Udupi high class vegetarian hotels, or the Mami's Mess, etc. have their share of customers too. I have often wondered or rather admired the alacrity and the way with which the human coffee-makers seem to mix the decoction with the milk and sugar in an amazingly acrobatic fashion. Rarely, does a drop fall down. Hands going up and down, one holding the tumbler and the other the dawra, it is a bystander's delight. Such are the simple joys of life.
Who can possibly forget the high pitched strains of "Coffee-Coffee-Coffee-yeah" in the railway stations and the trains! It is altogether a different issue that the coffee available courtesy the railways is abysmally bad. But then, the coffee lover accepts it as a way of life and consumes it more for the sake of having it as a daily ritual than for the coffee itself.
Last but not the least, the increasing price of kaapi-poodi is a concern to every household. The government is really clever. It knows that people cannot do without coffee; and that they would buy it no matter at what price. This price rise is often a topic of great concern and interest to the old people. Evening discussion forums with like minded people among the old often focusses on Indian politics, coffee, politics, coffee, etc. The easiest way to get along with old people would be to start a conversation on the subject of coffee.
Now, to the westernized world. The "modern" people of India love going to Barista/Coffee Day for a cup of evening coffee.. oops.. capuccino/frapuccino. In the US, people throng to the coffee joints which also hosts an amazing ambience. A Barnes and Noble Bookstore has a Starbucks Coffee Parlour in the small town by the name College Station, TX. People are free to take any book of their choice and read it as they sip their coffee. People usually have a get-together in a coffee station and just simply talk over a cup of coffee. The author has also seen some people playing Scrabble and other board games over a cup of coffee. Coffee is known to be popular in Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, etc. It further gives a stiff competition to Tea! in certain countries.
Well, I guess I have written a lot on the subject of "Coffee". People who are more interested can check out R K Narayan's "A Story Teller's World" where he talks about Coffee in one of the pieces. This blog could be considered a poor flattering imitation of RKN's style. Doubtlessly, RKN was amazingly brilliant in his vivid descriptions.
A typical day in South India begins with the coffee. Most people feel completely energized after religiously having the morning cup of coffee. I was always of the opinion that such feelings were purely psychological. Coffee with THE HINDU/Indian Express, with the strains of Suprabhatam going on in the background, with the women engaged in kolam/rangoli and samayal/sampak, and the children getting ready to school. Hell freezes over out there in the household, with so much of commotion and worry over time. (This is not to mean that the author is sexist. He just wanted to write about the general trend in a household. For that matter, if men can cook better, they could assist the womanfolk too in this era of both going for work. I dont know much in the kolam front though!)
Most people take a second dose of coffee some time in the morning too, say 0900 hrs. In fact, I know of people who have it 4-5 times a day. They feel it makes them more productive. Then, there are some people who have it in the pure "black" form. Some people limit having all their doses till evening 6:00 PM. They feel that having it beyond that time would make it difficult for them to fall asleep in the night. People prefer to have their evening tiffin/snack, say pakoda, bajji, vada, bonda, etc. with a cup of kaapi. People somehow seem to know as to how to appreciate coffee.
Tea-kadais or the Udupi high class vegetarian hotels, or the Mami's Mess, etc. have their share of customers too. I have often wondered or rather admired the alacrity and the way with which the human coffee-makers seem to mix the decoction with the milk and sugar in an amazingly acrobatic fashion. Rarely, does a drop fall down. Hands going up and down, one holding the tumbler and the other the dawra, it is a bystander's delight. Such are the simple joys of life.
Who can possibly forget the high pitched strains of "Coffee-Coffee-Coffee-yeah" in the railway stations and the trains! It is altogether a different issue that the coffee available courtesy the railways is abysmally bad. But then, the coffee lover accepts it as a way of life and consumes it more for the sake of having it as a daily ritual than for the coffee itself.
Last but not the least, the increasing price of kaapi-poodi is a concern to every household. The government is really clever. It knows that people cannot do without coffee; and that they would buy it no matter at what price. This price rise is often a topic of great concern and interest to the old people. Evening discussion forums with like minded people among the old often focusses on Indian politics, coffee, politics, coffee, etc. The easiest way to get along with old people would be to start a conversation on the subject of coffee.
Now, to the westernized world. The "modern" people of India love going to Barista/Coffee Day for a cup of evening coffee.. oops.. capuccino/frapuccino. In the US, people throng to the coffee joints which also hosts an amazing ambience. A Barnes and Noble Bookstore has a Starbucks Coffee Parlour in the small town by the name College Station, TX. People are free to take any book of their choice and read it as they sip their coffee. People usually have a get-together in a coffee station and just simply talk over a cup of coffee. The author has also seen some people playing Scrabble and other board games over a cup of coffee. Coffee is known to be popular in Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, etc. It further gives a stiff competition to Tea! in certain countries.
Well, I guess I have written a lot on the subject of "Coffee". People who are more interested can check out R K Narayan's "A Story Teller's World" where he talks about Coffee in one of the pieces. This blog could be considered a poor flattering imitation of RKN's style. Doubtlessly, RKN was amazingly brilliant in his vivid descriptions.
3 comments:
Coffee, of course.. in between the kaapi and the capuccino, there is this shady hot water dished out by vending machines at the workplace -one gets to still call it coffee !!
You portrayed a south indian household's scene pretty well. You know the definition of soft engineer? He is a techie which takes coffee as input and dumps code as output.
H: Would the vending machines at the workplace give the Indian Railways a run for "value" coffee?? :)
Baejaar: Thanks for visiting my blog. Only recently have I come across blogs dedicated to the concept of coffee. :) Well, I frankly do not know much about the life of a soft engineer. Your definition seems to be bordering more on the humorous side.
Post a Comment