Coffee House A Sip of Heritage

Joydip Sur

For several decades, the Coffee House on College Street has been Calcutta’s most venerable social institution for the city’s intellectuals, a seminal salon from which ideas are debated or debunked. The adda sessions at Coffee House are casual, often serious, mostly impromptu and sometimes even planned.

A visit to College Street is deemed incomplete without a visit to the famous Coffee House (formerly known as Albert Hall). Situated on 15 Bankim Chatterjee Street opposite the Presidency College, Coffee House has been since time immortal a regular hang-out spot for students of the Presidency College, Calcutta University, Hare School, Sanskrit College and other institutions situated within the periphery of College Street.

Historically, the Albert Hall’s pedigree is impeccable. The Albert Hall was founded in the year 1876. It was named after Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. On the incentive of the Indian Association in 1883, the first session of the Indian National Conference was held here and from that gathering came the organisation that led to the founding of the Indian National Congress in Bombay in 1885. Political meetings in the 1930s continued to be held here, some led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose followers increased with every occasion.

Many years later, in 1942, it was decided by the Coffee Board to start a coffee joint from the Albert Hall. Finally in 1947, the Central Government changed the name to “Coffee House”.

Coffee House was the ultimate pilgrimage for the aspiring writer, the budding poet, the young painters, playwrights and filmmakers or the radical in politics. It was a place where new ideas would be generated and exchanged, where young, creative, thinking people would congregate.

The popularity of the Coffee House witnessed a rise with frequent visits from eminent personalities — the likes of Jagadish Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, Manna Dey, Amartya Sen, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Narayan Gangopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Sanjeev Chattopadhyay, Samaresh Majumdar, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Shakti Chattopadhyay and Aparna Sen to name a few.

Several noteworthy works of literature and art owes their origin to the inspiration from the adda sessions at this coffee house. Amid the cloud of cigarette smoke, editors of little magazines would prod wannabe writers to submit their articles, while intricate cinematic aesthetics would be laid bare in discussions which eminent film makers would hold forth.

A visitor during the 1960s to that now almost mythical cradle of intellectual discourse, Samaresh Chatterjee recollects how the flow of creativity, intellectual excitement and free exchange of ideas always energised the place. “What made visits more memorable is the infusion (black coffee) and the delicious Fish Kabiraji”, he adds.

Chandan Ganguly shared with us how his childhood friend Amal Ghosh used to often break out into a full-throated rendition of a Rabindra Sangeet, while he scribbled furiously on sheets of paper. He also fondly remembers sipping on those countless cups of coffee nibbling on chicken sandwiches and omlettes.

The coffee house at Calcutta’s College Street was the place for intense adda, remembers a retired school teacher Sangeeta Bose who was found sipping on a glass of cold coffee over chit chat with some of her friends on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Interestingly, there were not too many women who frequented the place in the mid-1960s, recollects Bose.

“But people, who want to kill time, still occupy tables for hours on end and nobody really seems to mind”, remarks Ayan Pakrasi who has been a regular at the Coffee House for the last decade. “I love the mutton cutlet they serve here. I always order for one every time I am here. It is very tasty”, he adds pointing at his plate.

Coffee House has also undergone a makeover with a fresh coat of paint. New lamp shades and fans have also been installed. The toilets have finally been repaired after years of neglect. Although, this is a welcome change for most, however, some people wonder as to whether Coffee House is going to be the same again. But for those wishing to relive those moments gone by, there will always be room for more and lots of coffee.