Coffee-Soda on the Rocks

So I was trying to take a power ‘noon’ nap, when these memories from the past just flashed in my head. I think it all began with my craving for something to drink – I didn’t know what – so I was weighing my options in my head, wondering what is available in the refrigerator and will that be better than freshly brewed aromatic tea? – And then Red Bricks came to my mind.

Red Bricks was our little space in this inconspicuous corner of Kailash Colony in Delhi – a space that made sure that each one of us there has our own little private space to hold, to keep and to return to almost every evening. Large couches and warm wooden tables along with smoking and non-smoking zones, good music and happy hours discounts were all that we young-perpetually-broke college-goers could ask for. The red bricked walls were covered with framed posters of a thousand retro musicians. There was a corner to put up your own personal post-its and there were 4 shelves full of books (including the very curiosity inducing manuals of the kamasutra and monthly magazines like Rave). The menu was fantastic – or at least I felt that way – it had an assortment of coffees and teas (reason enough for me to fall in love with any café), and then had its famous oregano-cheese grilled sandwich – and a 20% discount to everyone from my college – it was our little haven, a respite from the fancy-shmancy baristas and mochas of the world, and a place where no one would kick you out even if you just ordered a coffee, picked up the newspaper and sat playing chess with a friend for hours.

It was my land of escape – when I needed my space – and hell, do I need my space all the time or what – when I had to get out of the kich-pich of the PG I lived in, or the zingbang of college activities or when I simply needed some time to sort out my own little insignificant personal problems that seemed so monumental back then. It was a place you would meet the boys – it was a place where little Friday night concerts would happen and the smog would take over the whole population flocked there for utter indulgence – it was a place where everyone had kissed at least once - it was the only place you wanted to be when an India-Pakistan match happened - it was a place that somehow gave you a sense of ownership and pride.

I have spent entire Saturdays there – downed 4 mugs of coffee and 2 plates of fries along with one good book and maybe a stray game of chess with a boy whose name I never asked. I have had this unique drink there that I have never seen anywhere else till date – this coffee soda thing with lots of ice– strong coffee with soda and the frothy thing that accumulated on top, there would be these 3 coffee beans joined at the hip – it was so strange and it was so fuzzy-fizzy and it was so nice. I miss that soda coffee thing. I miss just having an unassuming little inexpensive warm den to spend time in – I miss Red Bricks and my life back then. It was great while it lasted.

Red Bricks was closed down because of some legal problems when I was in my final year of college. We all mourned it heavily. We all missed it crazily. Something was just taken away form our lives. The coffee-soda drink was snatched away from mine. And never again have I had the opportunity to see so many cute guys just sitting lazily waiting to invite you for a game of ludo. We tried to find a substitute. We found something very remotely similar in Village Café – but it wasn’t walking distance from where I lived and I couldn’t sit there till 11 at night – and it was expensive and eventually became shady.
And then college ended, we all moved to new places, new campuses - NCC became my new friend for chai, Zaika was the roadside favourite for cold coffee – but Red Bricks remained irreplaceable – and the soda-coffee inimitable.
Some things in life…well, never have to change.