Everything about The Indian Coffee House totally explained
The
Indian Coffee House is a
restaurant chain in
India, run by a series of
worker co-operative societies. It has strong presence across India. There are nearly 400 coffee houses all over
India, which are a part of the chain.
History
The India Coffee Houses were started by the Coffee Board in early
1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. The thrown-out workers then took over the branches, under the leadership of the
communist leader
A. K. Gopalan and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. The first Indian Coffee Workers Co-Operative Society was founded in Bangalore on
August 19,
1957. The first Indian Coffee House was opened in New Delhi on
October 27,
1957..
Kerala
Kerala has the largest number of Indian Coffee Houses. Advocate
T. K. Krishnan, a Communist Leader of
Thrissur and
Nadakkal (N. S.) Parameswaran Pillai, or "Coffee House Pillai" the State Secretary of the India Coffee Board Labour Union and a thrown-out employee of ICH were the founders of ICHs in Kerala. The first Indian Coffee House of Kerala was started in Thrissur in 1958. It was also the fourth ICH in the country. It was inaugurated by A. K. Gopalan on
March 8,
1958.
There is also an
alternative history book about the ICH movement, in
Malayalam, the regional language of
Kerala -
Coffee Housinte Katha or
History of Coffee House by Nadaakkal Parameswaran Pillai. This is the only published written history of ICH movement in any language. All details of the movement referred in this article is based on that book.
Kolkata
The Indian Coffee House has several branches in
Kolkata, including the
College Street branch,
Central Avenue branch,
Medical College Kolkata branch and
Jadavpur branch. These are favourite hang-out places among the students and youth, although one can see several old-timers frequenting the coffee houses on a regular basis.
Coffee House at College Street
The most famous Coffee House branch in Kolkata is the one at the College Street, also known as the "Coffee House at College Street". It is situated opposite the
Presidency College, Kolkata and has been for a long time a regular hang out for students (and ex-students) of the Presidency College,
University of Calcutta, and other institutions in College Street.
The history of the Coffee House at College Street can be traced to Albert Hall, which was founded in April 1876. Later, the Coffee Board decided to start a coffee joint from the Albert Hall in 1942. Notable citizens, including
Rabindranath Tagore and
Subhas Chandra Bose, were frequent visitors to the place. The place became a meeting place for the poets, artistes, literati and people from the world of art and culture. In 1958, the management decided to shut down the Coffee House, but it was re-opened the same year, after professors of Presidency College and Calcutta University rushed off a special petition to the government, to save the heritage place.
The prestige of the Coffee House increased with regular visitors such as
Satyajit Ray,
Manna Dey,
Amartya Sen,
Mrinal Sen and
Aparna Sen
Other places
The Indian Coffee House branch in Sector 17 of
Chandigarh was opened in 1964 and remained popular among professionals, journalists, doctors, bureaucrats, lawyers and senior officials.. The branch originally operated in Sector 22, and was shifted to Sector 17 in 1971. The Coffee House on the
Punjab University campus is popular among students.
The Indian Coffee House branch in
Dharamsala used to be a popular hang-out of intelligentsia in the city. It was set up, after the district administration approached the Indian Coffee Workers' Co-operative Society,
Delhi in 1991. The society decided to close it down in 2006, after losses ran over 35 lakh rupees.
[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Indian Coffee House'.
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