Coffee House: Old And The New

"Notun coffee house e gechis?" (Have you been to the new coffee house?). I think I have received three or four such messages from my friends in the last few days. "Na, ekhono jawa hoyni. Kintu jaabo." (No, I have not yet. But, I will). That has been my standard reply.
Most of you must have understood the context of the conversation. For those who have not, a new Coffee House has come up in Kolkata, in New Town to be precise. As I mentioned above, I have still not been able to visit the place but I have seen quite a few photos and videos. My Facebook timeline, after all, is crowded with such pictures and updates of friends checking in there.
For someone whose inward eye automatically flashes the images of that place off College Street whenever Coffee House is mentioned or discussed, the pictures surprised me quite a bit. It looks swanky and fashionable from the outside. The interior is equally fancy and trendy and it seems to me that there has been a nice attempt to bring out the feel of the Coffee House, which will probably be referred to as the old Coffee House from now on.
The inside look, the long-hanging ceiling fans, the stairs going up to the balcony, and the way the chairs and tables are arranged, there is a reference point in my opinion. I also read Ali's (https://www.facebook.com/MALI2013) cartoons adorn the walls inside. That is definitely a huge attraction for me as I follow his work quite passionately and appreciate him for the meaningfulness and the sensitivity he depicts through his cartoons.
I am actually quite eager to visit the place and soak in the ambiance. But, probably a few days later...when this hype dies down. I saw a few pictures that were shared online recently where even the pavement in front of the building looked chock-a-block. Provided those pictures were not fake or photo-shopped, it looked quite scary in times of the pandemic. I am not sure if it was a weekend or if the place is teeming with people on all days of the week, I will ideally play it safe for a while.
When I eventually go, I will share my experience.
Meanwhile, the hype and fanfare over the 'new' Coffee House are not very unexpected to me. For quite a few generations who have grown up in this city, Coffee House has touched their lives at some point or the other. The ill-lit stairs, the buzz that welcomes you, trying to identify an empty table and when there is none, asking the attendant which table to zoom in on, not placing the entire order at one go and having your coffee slowly so that the adda could be stretched for long with the least expenditure...those moments have a special place in our memories. Isn't it?
No wonder something bearing that name and certain resemblances will evoke great interest.
I have seen many people expressing their opinion about the 'new' Coffee House on social media and how they compare it with the 'old' one. While it is nice to read and understand the different views, I somehow find the tendency to instantly rival one against the other a bit problematic. There seems an automatic affinity towards either branding the new as unnecessary or consigning the old to an unwanted status.
We are all obviously entitled to have our own  preferences, likes and dislikes but that doesn't mean the two can't co-exist.
I am not well aware of the people who conceptualized or developed the Coffee House at New Town. I am sure they knew comparisons would abound but I sincerely doubt whether the thought of rivaling or trumping the Coffee House even crossed their mind.
The Coffee House at College Street has been a reflection and embodiment of this city. The vast history, legacy, old-world charm, memories, and stories and anecdotes that are associated with the place are all precious and invaluable at the same time.
But, there is absolutely every room for a new one --- reflecting similitude to certain degree --- to come up. 

For me personally, the 'old' Coffee House is irreplaceable but I am quite pleased that there is a new place to go to. Nostalgia and love for the place and its surroundings will surely draw me to College Street time and again but I will carry no biases when I visit the new address in town, or rather New Town.

Sabella: Memories of that Kolkata match and an interview

I was about to finish the first post for this blog on Tuesday night when my senior Siddharth Saxena's WhatsApp message popped up on the screen. "Sabella dead," it read, and startled me quite a bit. Former Argentina national team coach Alejandro Sabella had not been keeping well for quite some time and I had read a few days back on social media that his health condition had worsened. However, I had not kept track after that and had no idea that his condition had become critical.
I searched on the internet and found the news of Sabella's death on the website of a reputed Argentine media organisation. Just as the report mentioned, it was truly shocking news for the country and its football fraternity just a few days after the passing away of legend Diego Armando Maradona.
Sabella was an established player and, after retirement, had been assistant to Daniel Passarella for a while before making the foray as the man in charge. However, his career as head coach was cut short drastically due to his poor health. He was at the helm only at Estudiantes and the Argentina national team. Undoubtedly, the high point of his managerial life was to take the national team to the final of the 2014 World Cup, the team's best performance at the tournament since 1990 when they had also finished runners-up.
The fascinating part here is that India --- rather Kolkata --- had been an important milestone in his managerial career. It was in this city that Sabella made his debut as the coach of the Argentina national team in September 2011, beginning a cycle that ended with the loss to Germany in the World Cup summit clash at the Maracana three years later.
After a poor show at the 2011 Copa America under Sergio Batista, Sabella was handed over the reins of the Argentina team. Having taken over in August 2011, he was on the sidelines for the Albiceleste for the first time in Kolkata.
It was a Fifa international friendly against Venezuela, a match that is commonly referred to in the Indian football circles as the Lionel Messi match.
The match was on September 2 and Sabella, along with the Argentina-based players, touched base in the city about four days prior to it.
Access to the team was very limited but I still turned up at the team hotel on the same day of his arrival, trying to get some information or news to write about. After all, it is not everyday that the Argentina national team comes to play a competitive game in India.
It was around afternoon and I met a reporter from Clarin, who had come down to cover the game, at the hotel who told me that the team was having lunch. He also informed that, after a long journey, the members of the squad are tired and will be confined to their rooms for the remaining part of the day.
He left for his room while I waited at the lobby, hoping to get an interview with Sabella. I knew he could speak English.
As I was sifting through my wallet trying to find my visiting card, I saw a group --- donning the famous Argentina colours --- leaving the dining area. There was Sabella, along with a couple of players and members of the coaching staff.
While the others walked straight to the elevator, Sabella stopped at the newspaper board and started flipping through the pages. It was The Times of India.
There could not have been a better opportunity for me. I straightaway walked up to him, introduced myself as a journalist working for the newspaper he was reading and handed over my visiting card. He looked at me, then at the card and, while I expected him to turn down my interview request, said "just five minutes".
He, in fact, stood there for nearly double that time to answer my questions. For someone who had just completed two years in the profession, I was elated and thrilled. It was an exclusive and I knew it would be difficult for anyone to get an interview on that day.
Now, just as Sabella walked up to join the rest of the group, I saw very senior journalist Amitabha Das Sharma --- ADS to most of us --- collecting his bag after the security check at the hotel. He immediately spotted me.
With the corner of my eye, I saw Sabella disappear into the elevator. I was relieved. Had ADS arrived just a few minutes earlier, my interview would have no longer remained exclusive.
Coming to the match, Sabella decided to hand the captain's armband to Messi and it was from the Barcelona star's corner kick that Nicolas Otamendi nodded in for the only goal of the game.
That victory started Sabella's fruitful stint as the coach of Argentina which would have been even more remarkable had they not faltered at the final hurdle.
I had heard from journalists who had gone to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup that Sabella was also asked about the Kolkata match on the eve of the World Cup final.
For most people in Kolkata, Sabella will be primarily associated with that September 2011 match in the city.
His death is another upsetting news in this distressing year for the entire globe. Rest in peace.

Comeback

Why do I need to have a blog? What shall I write about? That was the primary question in my mind when some of my friends suggested to start a blog a few years back.

I did start a blog. It was more to explore the world of blogging than anything serious. I think I published about five blogs --- the last one probably being in January of 2018 --- before things came to a standstill at 'Abhishek Opines'.

It had been like that since then. 

However, being stuck mostly indoors owing to the pandemic and hardly getting the opportunity to meet and interact with friends and colleagues, things started to get too monotonous. 

I wanted to get out of the shell and felt the urge to revisit and revive my blog. But, when I knocked on its doors, I found it to be locked owing to some technical issues. I figured out that it would require quite a few mails and subsequent follow-ups to get the 'keys' back again.

I was seriously not up for it. I just thought that let bygones be bygones and start afresh. And, the result of that is this blog and my comeback to this world.

I don't know whether this blog will face a similar fate as the last one but I am determined to do better.

And, finally the question that came up the last time as well. What will I write about? Frankly, anything that I feel strongly about. Football is very close to my heart and will surely find its place here.

I am also thinking of writing about mobiles. It is something that I take keen interest in and follow quite closely. Many of my friends and colleagues often seek my opinion before they purchase a new phone because I stay abreast with the latest products and developments.

However, I am neither a mobile reviewer nor in a position to try out different products and provide feedback. What I would rather look at is sharing my experiences of using different companies and softwares, the phones that appeal to me and what I try to look at when buying a new phone or suggesting options to others. 

I hold a strong bond with the city of Kolkata. "Ei sohor jaane amar prothom sob kichu," is quite a perfect description of my relation with the City of Joy. I don't know whether it was a right decision or wrong --- probably the latter --- but it was the comfort and ease I feel living in this city that I wanted to come back to Kolkata for my professional career even after pursuing my M.A. degree in New Delhi.

Kolkata is famous for a lot of things: culture, heritage, history, art, cinema, theatre, language, politics, buildings, monuments and of course food. To me, however, the minute aspects and details characterize and define the city even more. 

A friend of mine, who had come down to Kolkata for the the first time few years back, said this is a metropolitan city that has retained it soul. I agree with him.

Kolkata is not perfect, rather far from it. But, the warmth and love that tend to envelop as you stay longer here is truly infectious and enticing.

The city is teeming with stories and experiences that I would look to narrate and share here in my own words. The way I view things can obviously be strikingly different from how others look at it. And, that is what makes this city beautiful. There is no straight-jacket or homogeneous manner of experiencing this city.

One cannot predict the future and I may still have to leave Kolkata for professional or personal reasons. However, given a choice, this is where I would love to be for the rest of my life. 

The ideas are there, it is now time to get cracking!!!