Why I feel Kolkata needs to chill it with Starbucks launch

There's a war raging in Kolkata's social media world. Depending on which side you are on you may have already visited, checked in, and posted that selfie at Starbucks in Kolkata. With hashtags, no less. Or you may be too cool for Facebook and are tut tutting at how wannabe Kolkata is queuing up, in snaking lines and insta-ing the mandatory coffee-in-a-Starbucks-cup shot.

I find myself in another one of Kolkata's favourite places - sitting on the fence wallowing in nostalgia. Thinking about what Starbucks in Park Mansions, Park Street was not so long ago.

Just 2005. This millennia, in fact. I was in college and did not own a phone. My friends did but only one of us had a camera enabled "colour" phone. Most of us were using Nokia 1100 that was good for playing Snake, making phone-calls and texting. Flurys was closed for renovations and the old staff ran The Tea Table or T3 just diagonally opposite Flurys. They served a pot of tea that served two and a half cups of tea (that half was so precious!) for about Rs 60. A lovely fluffy mushroom and ham omelette wasn't too steep either. The concept of free wi-fi in a cafe did not exist. At least not in Kolkata. Instead people read newspapers.

A year later, when I started working for one, it was a thrill to watch people read the very paper I worked for. It was a place where one could sit happily alone and wait for one's friends to arrive, a book in hand and a pot of tea already ordered. I had to wait anyway since I was always on time and there was no way to reach me to "say running a little late". There'd be a gentleman going around tables with a big tray held up against him sort of hawking the day's pastries and patties. To me, it was a place for decent Darjeeling tea and long conversations.

This was pre smoking ban, so it was also a place where women could smoke without being stared at, like one is wont to in this city or country. The service was like old Flurys. They mostly ignored you and took forever to serve you and even longer to get the bill which meant you could sit around chatting with your friend even longer. If you were in a hurry you could always press the bell that was there on the table to call the staff.

But mostly it was a place to chill. To hang out and not hurry. A place where fresh out of college youngsters sat happy to hang out with people who they'd call sir or ma'am. Who might or might not approve of their smoking but always made them feel, younger, cooler and like they had something to rebel against.

We did not of course. But that is another story.

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