Coffee Houser sei addata!

The song "Coffee Houser sei addata aj ar nei, aj ar nei/ kothai harie gelo sonali bikel gulo sei….." has a story behind its origin. Originally, the contentious issue was if a song could be written on 'adda'. The challenge was taken up and Gouriprosonna Majumdar came up with the evergreen lyrics. Suparna Kanti Ghosh was in charge of the song's music and Manna Dey was the singer. Sure enough, the adda of a group of youth looking forward to building their career at the Coffee House is at the centre of this melodious song. But the hangout, Coffee House that is, also emerges as a character like the protagonists who regularly joined the light or serious discussions there.

The majority of the group members are male with only two of them female. It is a nostalgic account of a time the members of the group almost ritually got together at the Coffee House. The protagonist who describes the activities of other group members during the time spent together with dreams in their bosoms deals with details of the reality. Right now there is a description of where and how they have landed. If one of them is in Paris, another is in Dhaka. But there is no news about them. It seems no one of the seven-member friend circle is well off except Sijata who has landed at a rich family through her marriage. Others could not fulfil their ambitions. Even one member, Goanese De Suza, who used to play guitar at the Grand Hotel is now dead and buried. Amal, another member, has got cancer. Roma Roy who acted in theatre is now in a mental hospital following her crash with someone going awry.
Clearly, members of the group have gone their own ways and are now disconnected from each other. This is how a generation of young people wanted to build their careers but was frustrated. The song represents a time when life was not easy. But what has happened to the Coffee House? The hangout is still there as it was before; only the members of that particular group have changed. New faces have replaced the group. But will they be similar to the ones they have replaced. There is no possibility of this. Maybe, they also will engage in deliberations over poets and artists like Bishnu Dey and Jamini Roy or other writers and artists of the time. But in no way the time that has gone by will return to create the same ambience of adda. No way, the time gone by can be recreated.
Particularly, at this time of smartphone and internet, the very adda is about to vanish. People hardly ever can think of spending three to four hours in passionate discussion of literature, art or music at a hangout. If coffee houses are not very popular in Dhaka, there are tea stalls and a cup of tea is cheaper than a cup of coffee. It would be unusual for youths to spend long hours pursuing a pastime of adda. But there is no harm remembering the adda that is on the verge of vanishing from the Bangalee's life. An epitaph on the tea stall adda is well deserved. Talented lyricists can give a try to such an exercise. This is the right time to highlight how such addas are on their way out. True, young people facing a tough time so far as their careers are concerned could be joining their friends at such rendezvous. Animated discussions may still be held not among a bigger group but in a smaller circle.
At a time when people are withdrawing themselves from collective get-together for nothing, let there be a soulful song capable of melting hearts. Adda was a staple for hungry minds and it still can be so if the subjects of discussion are close to friends' hearts. It would be a great loss if adda gets banished from the Bangalee life. If the Coffee House in Kolkata can be immortalised by Manna Dey's song, so can a teal stall be immortalised. Talented lyricists would passionately feel for the subject and something special can happen. If the smartphone generation's could-not-care-less attitude is not of help, their seniors who have once enjoyed the company of their friends at a designated tea stall might come up with something embellished with their nostalgic experiences. Let there be a real try to uphold the virtue of tea stall adda. Apparently futile, such addas can turn life a little bit more enjoyable and animated.