I am riveted by the idea of windows. It is an artificially-created opening to the great outdoors when one is inhabited in an artificially-created closed space, say a room of a house for instance. In the original, there was only the great outdoors. The house with the room in it was created, blocking one from the original: free-flowing nature. The window returns us, to a degree, to the original state by being an interface between the closed and the open, original space. It returns us, to a degree, to the original. The interface employs all our senses. Visual – you can see the sunlight or rain, the trees or the towering buildings beyond. Audio – you can hear the birds chirping on those trees or the horns honking in the street below if you happen to live in a roadside apartment. Olfactory – the scent of the roses in the garden maybe or the aroma of hot rice being cooked by a food stall owner by the sidewalk. Even tactile – for instance, when you stretch out your hands and feel the rain drops on your fingers. Or for instance, when you feel the rain-drenched wind on your face when you throw your window open on rainy, stormy days. Well, windows possibly got their name from the wind anyway, though the etymology of it is the subject of another essay.
Often walking along the streets and alleys of our beloved city, Kolkata, I often discover windows. Today, I want to give you, my beloved readers, a glimpse, into one such window.
This window exists in a café in Kolkata. On sunny days, green trees that line the narrow street beyond glow golden. On rainy days, drizzle makes the leaves dazzle like drops of diamonds. It’s the kind of window you sit by with a cup of coffee and read for hours. Or write. Or get lost in your thoughts.
Virginia Woolf recognised the importance of uninterrupted solitude as the backdrop of creativity. ‘A room of one’s own’ was what the artist and intellectual needed, she said. She was absolutely right. But it’s also true that the creative pursuit requires that room to have a window… it requires not just solitude but also engagement with the world and even community (if and when one chooses it).
That’s what makes the ‘Artsy’ cafe such a perfect place for artists of all kinds –writers, sculptors, musicians– to get some of their creative juices flowing. You can write that next chapter of your book while sipping coffee and biting into a delicious ‘hot banana and walnut tea cake’; form that image you’ll paint, as you look out the window; get inspired by the shelves and shelves of books or the eclectic (and periodically changed) art that fill the beautifully rustic, textured walls.
The ambience is like an artist’s workspace and cosy home library. There are easels with canvases, a windowsill nook with a retro sewing machine and another with a vintage typewriter, for example. There is an overall feeling of comfort. You’re there for the art–yours and others– but also to pamper yourself! Walk around with your latte and check out the artwork (paintings, drawings and sketches on the walls change according to the artist being exhibited). Or pick up one of the books from the shelves and sink into the plush emerald sofas, that seem to harmonise with the lush potted plants and hanging vines that decorate the space.
The cafe Artsy – Coffee and Culture is tucked away in a by-lane off the meandering A.J.C. Bose Road. It is often discovered by passing Kolkatans by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked cake. And once you’ve walked in, an entire world opens up. It is a space where artists can exhibit their work for free. Musicians can perform live for free. The only cost is food and drink. The prices are fair, and the fare is priceless.
The menu is created with obvious care. Not just the varieties of coffee and cake but snacks such as sandwiches and omelettes and beverages, which include tea and fizzy iced drinks. All are served up by smiling, friendly girls and boys ready to make helpful suggestions. “Try the espresso butter,” says young Rohan, for instance. It was delicious with the brownie.
Started in 2017 by Manjyot Kaur and her son Arshdeep Singh, the cafe captures the essence of Kolkata’s reputation as the unofficial cultural capital of the country. “We wanted to create a space where creativity would be celebrated, with art, literature, music and conversation,” says Manjyot.
But for all its goodness, it is the window or set of windows that line the walls that win hands down.