Inside Indian Coffee House - Jaipur (India)

Is Time-Travel Possible?

The answers is Yes. All you need to do is to travel to Jaipur City in India and visit Indian Coffee House on M.I.Road. :)

Indian Coffee House is a restaurant chain in India that is run by a series of worker co-operative societies. There are about 400 Coffee Houses in India. To begin with, these Coffee Houses were built by the Britishers in British India in 1936 and Indians were not allowed inside. In 1950's though, the Coffee Board decided to shut these outlets down due to a policy change. Later, a revolt by the workers of the Coffee Board led to the handover of the Coffee Chain to the workers.

This Coffee House is in my native place i.e Jaipur. It is one of my favorite hangouts. I prefer it over the Starbucks, Cafe Coffee Day and the Baristas of the world. Simply because when you enter such a place you enter into a different era and time alltogether. It feels like you've time travelled at least 50 years in the past. The interiors, chairs, the dresses of the waiters, the old water coolers, old seating chairs and utensils, all gives you such a nice vintage feel.

The Coffee is very tasty and it only costs Rs 20.00 for a cup. That is about $0.31

So lets take a look around.

This is the Entrance Gate.

This is a shot from the inside. I wanted to highlight the architecture here. Just look at those beautiful Arcs.

A view of the Cash Counter. Here you place your order. That big yellow poster on the left, is the Menu :)

Here's the Menu. Item No.1 - Hot Coffee 😀 ☕ for Rs 20.09

That is what I ordered today. I also like the Masala Dosa, Mutton Cutlet and the Roohafza Milk they serve. All delicious.

They don't accept any credit or debit cards. Also no Bitcoins or Steem as payment. Cash /Fiat payment only.

Here you have the waiter bringing my Coffee. Take a note of this outfit. He is wearing the same outfit that the Coffee House workers used to wear in the 1950's

That's my order. Hot Coffee ☕
They always serve 2 glasses of water with it. And the sugar is separate, served in a steel bowl. No sugar-cubes or sugar-free sachets.

Some Visual Art 😉

Old Marketing poster. "Refreshing Stimulating Iced Coffee."

This is the one that I had. This Hot Coffee Poster says "Refreshing drink for everybody." Well, that is indeed true about Coffee.

This is a shot of the Smoking Zone area. Only today, I found out that they just pasted a "No Smoking" posters here. Don't know why they changed their mind. Well, I don't smoke so that's ok for me.

They still have these old wodden chairs with plastic strings.

And this old style, wired wall telephone. Reminded me somehow of Adele's song "Hello".

This phone still works and it cost Re. 1.00 to make a phone call. One dollar = 65 Indian Rupees as on date. So you can make 65 phone calls in a dollar. Beat that !!!

Old big Wall Clock, the Wall Calendar and a Framed Photo of Lord Ganesha. This is where the cashier sits and worships Lord Ganesha each day. Such a ritual.

The Mirror with Pink borders matching the Handwash sink. The hand-towel hung old style and the blue soap basket. What a visual treat. Great colors isn't it?

Sitting Area Image 1

This area is a little special, as this is mostly reserved for news reporters and some very old customers. Usually, you can over-hear them discussing latest news and politics. Since I am a regular here, I do have access to this area :) I've made good friends with some of them.

Sitting Area Image 2

Another shot of the Now-closed Smoking Zone area.

Sitting Area Image 3

Look right up, there is an old poster of Mahatma Gandhi :)

Here is a close-up shot of the same.

Sitting Area Image 4

Can you see those blue grills? I am sure you can. :) Those are the grills of a Water Cooler. This place only has Water Coolers and Ceiling Fans. No Air-Conditioners.

And finally some pure photography shots.

Shot 1

Shot 2

Shot 3

Usually I post Minimal Photos and Street Photography on my Steemit, but today I wanted to show you my most favorite place in the city.

Therefore, I made this series. All photos are shot via SamsungS6 mobile camera.

Hope you liked my little effort. You can follow me here @PrakashGhai for more.

Have a Nice Day / Evening ☺