WHEN THE WORLD IS RULED BY A CUP OF COFFEE

Have you ever wondered why the cafes are being spawned at such a rapid pace? Everywhere you go you find a café waiting to engulf you into its enchanting world. Remember the time when the trees used to shelter the fatigued souls , be the witness of lover’s tryst ? Well ! It seems that the trees have been terminated and the noble task has been assigned to the cafes. Sometimes I feel that they are the trees of our generation, organically growing at every empty space of the city.

They lure you by saying a lot may happen over a coffee but going by its exorbitant price and the sense of indispensability it creates ,you almost feel that nothing can happen without a coffee. You need those wonderfully designed overpriced coffees to meet a friend, have a date or make a deal. They are basically the reason why you are still or feel alive . They are the reason why you toil for more than 12 hours on weekdays and let your boss grind you so that you could afford a cup of overcharged yet unbeatable beverage on your weekend. . They have almost become an integral part of our lives,making its way , with roti kapra and makan (food, clothes and shelter ) to our list of basic necessity.

Planning to meet for quite a long time , my cousin and I, both being the same metropolitan species contracted by the same contagious disease of consumerism decided to go to this irresistible place called cafe. Owing to a financial crunch we both were facing, we planned to go to a comparatively cheaper café. In other words a café that serve comparatively less overpriced food.

We decided to have macchiato but the waiter advised against it saying that it would be too strong for us. I wondered why they have kept this item in the menu in the first place when they don’t intend to let us have it . Anyway, without posing a single question about it, we instantly changed our mind like docile pupils and ordered a cup latte for myself and mocha for him .

For those who are not a frequent visitor, choosing the right kind of food in a café is an ordeal. Despite the details provided below the esoteric names of the cuisines you will surely be at a loss as to what to order as like their names , most of the ingredients used ,will seem alien to you.
After much deliberation and consideration of the sound advice of the waiter , we ordered a pad thai chicken and sandwiches.

The café , like most others ,was neatly decorated . The décor was in perfect harmony with the ambience and exhibited quite a keen sense of uniform artistry .Beautiful paintings that hung from the walls did justice to the name of the café. Everything seemed flawless except the rack of books at the corner of room. Although it added an intellectual touch to the décor ,I failed to understand the significance of its presence .

A thousand of questions started taking shape in my mind. First of all why would anyone read a book in a café? Secondly Why would anyone wanting to read a book go to a café instead of a library? Even if one reads to pass the time while waiting for the one he is intending to have coffee with ,how will he finish reading “Kane and Abel” in a such a short span of time? What fun is there in reading a few pages ?

Ultimately realizing that my questions will remain unanswered, I fixed my focus on the conversation I was having with my cousin without further distraction.
Finally the food was served along with two cups of coffees. The coffees in cafés are interesting. Apart from ensuring a lot happen over them ,they successfully cater to your aesthetic sense. The coffee with floral designs made with cream on it ,is served in an impeccable white cup . My coffee had a leaf while my cousin’s a had beautiful symmetrical flower designed on it. Mesmerized by the beauty of it as I dragged it closer to take a picture with the intension of posting it in Instagram later , the world lifted its veil of ignorance and stared back at me, unblinkingly

I saw the new world , our world ,in its real ,unadulterated form.
The world where the flowers on the coffee as well as those painted on the walls fetch more attention than the ones blooming in a neglected garden, where the books migrate to the tidy racks of a café from the dirt covered shelves of libraries and amidst such distortion of meanings and loss of purpose we exist ,as captives, imprisoned in the squarish cells of instagram ,forever tied to a cup of overpriced coffee.