Every self-respecting city needs at least one, preferably many addas. Places where people from all walks of life can gather freely to chat and argue about things that matter and things that don't. Politics, art, life, cricket, whatever. Calcutta or Kolkata-wallahs pride themselves on their addas (and yes, Satyajit Ray was an avid attendee), though purists claim the quality of discussion has waned in recent years. Bangalore has the charming Koshy's on St Mark's Road with even a menu to match.At one time, Mumbai too had an adda: the well-known India Coffee House - a large sprawling place opposite the University building at Fountain. Owned by the Coffee Board, the place had an ambience so hospitable that people lingered for hours over just a cup of coffee and perhaps a plate of wafers. Everything was cheap. A pot of coffee cost four annas and customers clearly felt such a sense of belonging that during the war, when the supply of milk ran low, people actually brought milk from home. Madhu Dandavate andGeorge Fernandes were regulars there as were a host of lawyers, academicians and students from the Elphinstone College across the road.The Coffee House wound up years ago. Some regulars apparently took to frequenting the Coffee Centre opposite Bombay House, but the buzz of the old place was missing. In the years that followed, Samovar and Wayside Inn both served as comfortable meeting places for all sorts of people, many from the art world. At the other end of town the Prithvi cafe provided the perfect setting for heated discussion on theatre and cinema. Somewhere along the way, however, things began to change. People got busier and had less time for gup-shup perhaps. And a new preoccupation with image and getting ahead introduced a self-consciousness that was not as conducive to conversation and discussion for its own sake.For a while now, though, there have been signs of a revival at least on the cultural front. Adil Jussawalla, sometime enfant terrible of the poetry scene runs a regularliterary discussion at NCPA's Chauraha. Last fortnight he also organised a tribute to Toni Patel, the theatre personality who passed away recently. Paintings contributed by artist friends hung on the walls and actors read from plays. The monthly adda at GoaPortugesa turned two last week thanks to the indefatigable Anu Tandon and her efforts at procuring interesting new acts and performers for each session. Sanjana Kapoor's monthly brunches-cum-art openings at Prithvi are another meeting point for people from the theatre and the media world. And by all accounts Not Just Jazz By The Bay appears to be turning into a hangout spot for aspiring musicians. All this is heartening news, more so for talented creative people looking for a break.What would be nice for Mumbai to have in addition, though, is a vibrant free-for-all place. A place that attracts all kinds of people from the lofty intellectual to the humble clerk. A place where the chai is affordable and the conversation stimulating. A place where you couldsit at a table and discuss anything - politics, art, life, cricket, whatever, not just with your friends but with the stranger at the next table. A place where the conversation has no agenda, just the free expression of views on the subject uppermost in the public mind. Such places are scary. They often lead to fights. Which is why the old Irani restaurants used to enjoin their customers to `Not Spit,' `Not Comb Hair Over Washbasin' and `Not discuss Politics.' Such places make people in authority nervous. Sanjay Gandhi shut down the popular Coffee House in Delhi during the Emergency to prevent anti-government feelings from being publicly ventilated. And yet such places are needed. Sorely.On the other hand, an ambience such as this cannot be planned in a deliberate manner though a hospitable environment is always a big help. It can only come up spontaneously when people feel a need for it. Hopefully it will happen sometime soon.
