CCDs Baristas and more...

CCD, Barista, Gloria Jones, Mocha etc... Please excuse this post!!


I have recently started my anti-coffee shops campaign, (hey, wait!! This has got nothing to do with the pink chaddi campaign going on in the country.) so I guess this post is not surprising for all those who know this fact!! But for others, let me explain, I (i.e. me alone) have decided that I wont use the services of all those mentioned above, till a stipulated date, as long as situations and circumstances allow! But I will be happy, if atleast till then am able to stick to this. Reasons? Read on...


I, coming from a small town in Kerala had only heard about this big damn Café coffee day from my friends who had the privilege and fortune of visiting the same, after traveling some 100kms... Yes, the one and only CCD (this abbreviation I learnt later) in Kerala is in Ernakulam and not all gals were lucky enough like Aishu (name unchanged),to sip a cup of coffee from this place. Its not the coffee alone which sounded interesting, they served pastries too, it seems!! Big big ones... 60 Rs a piece...OMG, 60Rs!! For the same thing which we get for 5 Rs in Wimbis?? Quickly came the response from Aishu, the explanation of the pastry, how extravagantly it was frapped, chocolate melting and oozing out of it... How filling it was, that you don't need to have your lunch!! Another catchy thing about this place was the waiters/bearers there!! Oops, I think I used the wrong phrase for them. They are delivery boys, no... Standards higher... They were just like us, studying somewhere, doing this parttime...Impressive, indeed... I wondered if I would ever be able to do that, earning pocket money on my own, meeting new people everyday, making new friends!! Ah, how I longed to sit at that place, taste those pastries, sip coffee!


There was not a long gap between these happenings and my coming to Mumbai... Mumbai welcomed me with a CCD at every corner... Am not exaggerating, its there everywhere. I became aware of the existence of Barista, Gloria Jones, Mocha too... But somehow CCD was more appealing for me, may be because of the pre-assumptions I had about it. And then there is this story of my cousin who got married to a Punjabi kudi whom he met and became friends with, at CCD!! I soon began liking the place too, especially when I was dedicated a sweet romantic song by my sweetheart with a loud announcement to it... I blushed sitting amidst the crowd of smart, fashionable people, still feeling special, in my ordinary kurti & jeans... That's the magic love can do to you with a little help of CCD!! :) I was overjoyed seeing the creamy smiley faces on the brown coffee which made me sip the coffee carefully, not distorting the smiley as long as I could...



Then when did this rosy situation change?? Sooner, I started realizing from my credit/debit card statements that I end up paying quite a big amount ending in 2-3 zeroes, at these places every month... Its not the money alone which mattered, cos I spend many folds extra on shopping and other activities... It's the attitude which bothered me... The attitude of mine & yours... of ours... of the youth as a whole... It is we who promote these shops, paying 100/- for just a coffee.. You may not agree with this, there were many who protested when I expressed this opinion to my friends, most of them being guys... It seems they appreciate & pay for the ambience these shops offer... Ambience refers to the crowd.. err.. the gals, more than the interiors or the lcd... It seems the price they pay is worth it, considering the no of hours they can spend just on one cup of coffee, nobody to shoo you away, chatting amongst your group to glory, needless to say, throwing glances at the smart females on other tables!! I agree to this, totally!! But that's not my priority alright... So why should I?? The company of my friends even I long for, chatting with them I enjoy the most, but not at coffee shops, not anymore.. Am not talking like a philanthropist here, just trying to drive your attention to the fact that there are better things which we can do with that money right now, when you don't have so much responsibility of your family heaving on you...


So friends, am on this campaign.. Are you??