Starbucks: A safe haven for artists in India
WRITE!!
First of all, I am talking about myself here. I am not thinking of what Starbucks means or might mean to someone sitting in the West. I am well aware of the fact that many people view it differently. Here, in India, Starbucks is owned by TATA and if you have never heard of them, you should! They are the most trusted and ethical organisation to ever exist in India’s history. They have a ‘no-bribe’ policy, which is strange, given that everyone in India knows that bribes are quite common. The Taj Hotel in Mumbai has a policy where they let stray dogs sleep in the front-yard. Stray dogs in the entrance of a 5-star hotel! That’s incredible, don’t you think? Maybe I need to write a separate article on TATA.
Anyway, these are my views. Only today morning, I received a message from a friend, who had shared my book to his co-worker in Delhi. The message read,
‘this young guy writes eloquently, but he is extremely opinionated and yet he doesn’t push them on me. I might not agree to every word he writes, but I get where he is coming from.’
This is an apt description of my current creative state. I am extremely opinionated and yet I love talking to people without pushing my opinions on them. That’s because I like listening more than talking.
Right now, I am sitting on this wooden seat, overlooking a wonderful mural about Starbucks. A dim yellow light surrounds this space. No, I haven’t ordered a coffee yet. I usually don’t. Now, it’s not like I never used to. I did. I liked a black Sumatra roast with a hint of lemonade to go with my work, but then, I stopped drinking that coffee. Firstly, because I realised that the coffee was making me hyper - my fingers would shake after drinking it, and secondly, because I realised that it is not a compulsion to order one! I could save some $5-7 each day, which ends up in $300-350 a month. That’s a lot of money!! Especially for someone like me, who has chosen this nomadic, freelance lifestyle. I don’t work at a specific job. In the eyes of the wider society, at least here in India, I am jobless and might as well add, useless.
Only yesterday I was speaking to a friend, who realised after she had accompanied me frequently to Starbucks, that I just sit in the cafe without ever ordering. What made her question was that still after staying in and working for about 4-5 hours, I left with a smile on my face; saying thankyou to the barista. There’s a good thing about overpopulation - you get lost in a crowded environment, totally forgotten. I like Starbucks because I feel invisible here.
India doesn’t have the concept of private space. Indian homes, especially middle class ones, don’t know what this private space even means. Think of this, you are writing an essay about an extremely important topic. Your attention needs to be hyper-focused in order to maintain that flow. But, while you do that, in comes your Indian mom, without knocking ofcourse! Asking you about this one thing that she can’t find. You try to be calm and tell her where that thing is, but she won’t stop there, she has an immediate order for you.
‘Bring me some coriander from the vegetable vendor.’
You try to reason, but you soon realise that there’s no point in doing that. In the end, you let go of your ‘“important” essay and go out to bargain with the guy. All this because 20 rs (20p) isn’t the right price, she wants to pay, she will only pay 15 rs (15p). You come back after hassling with this guy and end up on that screen, totally confused - having forgotten by now, where you start, why are you even writing this? You end up putting aside that entire topic.
In this environment, Starbucks is a life-saver. I can work for hours without having to think of anyone disturbing me. Even today, I have seen friends come in, enjoy their Java chip frappe; couples sitting in a corner, talk about their love-life; computer engineers setting up job interviews and that old grandpa who comes and sits in his favourite corner, reading a book that you have never heard of - and probably never will.
Writers sitting in a cafe, churning out pages, is not a new phenomena. The very first writer that comes to mind is obviously J.K. Rowling. I even visited a cafe that she frequented there - The Elephant House, when I lived in Edinburgh. I would hop through cafe’s, writing simple short stories, events that I’d witness, never really thinking that one day I would end up writing my own book!!
One other lace that comes to mind, is Tangier, Morocco. In the early 1950’s, 60’s, expat writers and artists such as Paul Bowles and William Burroughs gave the city’s cafe’s their global renown. Many have since dreamt and actually ended up in Morocco to sit in the cafe’s that these writers frequented.
“The old writer couldn't write anymore because he had reached the end of words, the end of what can be done with words.”
― William S. Burroughs
Cafe culture is extremely new in India. People are yet to discover this safe haven, and anyone aspiring to be a writer or an artist definitely should. I like to believe that we can have many unique voices only if they find such undisturbed private spaces. I like to think that cafe’s, in general, are minting out artists. In an urban, fast-paced environment, they give people space to think.
Now, while I write this on paper with my pen (which I love doing btw - call me old-school if you will), I find someone returning a book. He keeps it on a shelf that sits next to my table, and guess what book that is!!??
It’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling!
I whole-heartedly believe in omens (I am a big fan of Paulo Coelho’s ‘Alchemist’ btw) and here is an omen for me; to keep on writing!!
If you would like to support my writing, you can buy me a “coffee” (it somehow feels strange, knowing that you have an idea about my coffee drinking habits)
via paypal, www.paypal.me/ashutoshjoshistudio.
“Journey to the East”- is currently available as a paperback through my website and on Amazon Kindle globally.
What has become a cliché in the West has found some real redemption in your thoughts and reflections. You write without guile, and I find that to be one of the rarest of gifts. Thank you.
The loss of a significant pillar of Third Places, throughout the West at least, is quite a shame for creativity and even productivity. It is grand to hear them evolving over in the subcontinent, that mural even looks inspirational. Further, keep up the hand written article writing, yaar. I also find it to be a talent worth practicing.