*Poona's Coffee Culture *
Long back, while looking for books on English-Maratha conflicts at London's India House, I chanced upon a book written by an English army officer, Captain Christopher Barnett, who was posted at Ahmadnagar in 1823. Ahmadnagar was a cantonment extension of Poona in those days. The book *'Almanac of an army officer*,' described Poona as "a hamlet of nostalgia." It was precisely at Ahmadnagar, modern coffee was first prepared. An unknown British officer at the Ahmadnagar Army Mess was the father of today's coffee. And it's worthwhile to mention that though coffee has been in existence for over 500 years, it was the English, who gave the world tea and coffee in their present avatar. When the English officer came to Poona, he began to make his brand of coffee and he soon became very famous. Putting milk in tea and coffee was an English innovation. Before that, there was unromantic black coffee. That unknown officer was the first man to open a coffee kiosk at Poona, way back in 1838, also the year of TOI's launch. How an army officer got to start a coffee shop is really strange. Calcutta's famed coffeehouses came into existence only after 1860, whereas Poona had four coffeehouses by 1850. Soon Poona coffee became famous and military personnel started visiting his kiosk for a refreshing cup of coffee. By the turn of the last century, Poona had a number of coffeehouses. Motihari (Bihar) born George Orwell, who wrote "Animal Farm", was a war-correspondent at Poona cantonment during the second World War. He'd spend hrs at a coffehouse near today's West End Cinema Hall at camp. Since it was demolished by the English without a trace, its exact location cannot be pinpointed now. It was at a coffehouse in Poona, the condescending English historian Brighton Goddard wrote for "The Observer", the sister daily of "The Guardian", " Two beverages decide class: One's coffee and the other one is the humble tea. The former's liked by the elites and the latter is preferred by the natives." He had the audacity to write that, "I don't get to see any Indian sip coffee." Some readers may be aware that the three Chafekar brothers, who were hanged at Yerwada Central Jail in 1899 for gunning down the notorios police commissioner Rand, drank tea before their execution. Being hardcore *Swadeshi*, they considered coffee as the patronising *symbol of Imperialism*. It's really bizarre that today, Poona doesn't figure anywhere on the world's coffee-map. Nor does the world know of its remarkable contribution.
