Happens Over Coffee

A long time ago, much before Cafe Coffee Day came up with its amazing tagline, coffee houses, and tea shops were sipping the margaritas of the mind while talking about love and revolution , taking apart governments, discussing art and culture, cocking a snook at the world.

It was all happening over coffee, and tea, just like today.

Gouriprasanna Majumdar wrote a song on this dichotomy of the everlasting and the fleeting on a group of friends who met at a coffee house, and Manna Dey sang it.

The rest is nostalgia…

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?

Nikhilesh is in Paris, Moidul in Dhaka – nobody knows more

Desouza, the Goanese guitarist in Grand, shall play no more

A heart-break has put Rama Roy in(to) an asylum

Amal is losing the fight against cancer; life refuses to be a balm

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?

Sujata is the happiest so far

(Heard) she married a millionaire

Diamonds are forever after all

A palace for home, antique cars galore –she is having a ball!

Nikhilesh Sanyal –a dreamer from art college designed ads

Desouza was content to sit and listen, nobody saw him sad (ever)

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?

Around the table – those hours four

Lit with Charminaar, who could ask for more

Sometimes Bishnu Dey, at times Jamini Roy

Became friends as the debates soared

Come rain, come sunshine – wherever we were

Finished our work so that we could gather

At 4 and be merry than kings (rather)

Till 7:30 when we stood up

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?

He looked like a poet with his bag slung from shoulder

Amal will be forgotten soon

None of his poems have been published anywhere

Talent led him to nowhere

Rama Roy acted in the office drama productions

Reporter Moidul read what he wrote and analyzed the situations

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?

The table is there, but those 7 are missing

Though 7 cups are still steaming

The garden is in bloom once again

Only the gardener has gone missing

So many dreams get born here

So many dreams get so near (to reality)

So many have come

So many will come

(The) Coffee House stays as it was

Those coffee house days are no more, are no more

Where have those gold (en) noons gone? Where did they go?