An ode to Olypub

Every city has a place like Sam's cafe. For Kolkata, It's Olypub. I had heard so much about this place that my expectations were quite high. Although I had never thought that this place would be upscale, but hey, I had never imagined it to be what it really is! A watering hole in the true sense. Nevertheless, the last time that I visited this place was with Sayan da and it was truly delightful! The beef steak was exceptional. To be honest, I'd had chicken steaks before, but this was the first time that I tried a beef steak and I must say, it was as good as it looked. The steak was served with mashed potatoes, peas and mushrooms. On top of that, there were two eggs, sunny side up garnishing it. When it comes to food, I love to have a mouthful. A bit of meat, little yolk, a portion of mashed potatoes, some peas and a mushroom surely makes one sumptuous mouthful!

Another thing that I love about this place is the way they serve their drinks. They will bring the bottle of alcohol to your table, measure it in front of you and will pour it into your glass. I mean, this is one of the most unique things that I've ever seen in a pub! It definitely adds a personal touch. Moreover, when you ask for normal water (which is mineral water, but not bottled), they bring it to you in empty whiskey glass bottles, mostly 100 pipers. It may sound funny, but the entire setup has a certain rustic feel to it that no other place has.

"And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass...of what was everything" (Black by Pearl Jam playing on my iPod).

This place is not classy, not even close. But what this place has is legacy. Sure, if you look at this place infrastructure wise, it may not strike you as more than a dhaba in Delhi, but the air about this place oozes pride which is reflected in every waiter who walks by you.

"Psychic spies from China trying to steal your mind's elation. Little girl from Sweden dreams of silver screen quotations." (Californication by RHCP playing on my iPod).

We live in a time where everyone is trying their level best to sell what is "in" and here; we have this pub which stands out from the rest for being what it is...an age old rickety watering hole.

The waiter who served me was an old man, who looked as old as the pub. When I asked him his name, he proudly retorted "Sharma Ji". I was quite impressed with his attitude. As I said earlier, the legacy that this place prides upon has been passed on to the people who work here.

(I'm 5 pegs down now).

Rockstar by Nickelback playing on my iPod.

"'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's gonna wind up there
Every Playboy Bunny with her bleached blond hair, and well
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar"

"Oh well", I thought, "I don’t see that happening soon!"