Every Bangalorean has a Church Street memory. From NASA, the grounded spaceship cum pub in the mid nineties to RR restaurant which was supposedly the favourite of Raj Kapoor for its Gongura chutney, avakai pickle, gunpowder and the secret recipes from Guntur and Nellore that sang to you from a plantain leaf. Dahlia, the little Japanese eatery with its shabby cosiness that wrapped itself around you while you dug into hearty broths, soba noodles and soups. The Sapphire Toy Shop, from where you bought your child, his first serious toy. A plastic shovel and a little bucket and a Christmas cassette. The footpath vendors who sold everything from pirated books to `antique’ figurines and coins. The magazine kiosk next to KC Das started by the Sait family which then expanded into a shop and then another sprawling one dedicated just to magazines where Persian cats vie for attention along with glossies from around the world.
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The mud and wrought-iron seating in Queen’s Restaurant and the unchanging taste of its baingan ka bharta and airy phulkas. And the subtle changes that marked Church Street, over the years. Matteo Coffea, a ‘specialty’ house that appeared to remind you that the beverage you had been consuming till now was below par. Starbucks. Krispy Creme. And Coconut Grove. A landmark that has been there forever.
Where gentle, soft-spoken waiters in green kurtas and white mundus have been serving family favourites like vegetable stew and appams for decades. Where regulars bring their children to cheer them up after a bad day at school. And initiate old parents into Kerala’s food culture. And sit with old friends, chatting over an elaborate meal and watching the world go by.
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On the night of December 28, the world stopped for a bit at Church Street when a bomb went off just outside Coconut Grove, killed a woman and injured three others. On the morning of December 29, when this reporter visited the blast site, the entire stretch starting from Commercial Street to Coconut Grove had been cordoned off. Television vans, police vehicles, reporters and cameramen waited for a news byte by the barricades while senior cops held impromptu consultations with juniors.
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Dogs lazed on pavements in the winter sun, unaware of what had unfolded just a night before. Paltu Biswas from West Bengal who works at Mainland China as a driver, watches the police vans and media vans from a distance. He was amongst the first ones on the street to have heard a blast around 8:30 pm the previous night and ran towards the commotion to see what had happened. He says,”Bahut bhaagdaud thi (it was a big melee)..ussi mein hamne dekha..woh aurat..khoon se lathpath thi aur log usse le kar ja rahe the (In the crowd..I saw her..that lady, covered with blood, she was being carried by people..). Considering he is back to work, is there any fear? He smiles, “Dar toh hai..jo wahan hua…yahan bhi ho sakta tha (there is fear..what happened there could have happened here.”
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A senior manager at the restaurant on condition of anonymity said, “The police is always patrolling this area..what more can they do?” Vinay Kumar, the manager at Vasudev Adiga’s was not in last night but says the cashier heard the blast loud and clear as the outlet is very close to Coconut Grove. “He thought a gas cylinder has burst. All our customers immediately ran out and left and we shut the outlet around 9 pm. Today also, we have been told, depending on what the police decides, we may have to shut shop. And in these circumstances, we will have to abide by what we are told.”
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Young Shafique who mans Juice Junction close to Foodworld Gourmet, says he too ran from his stall towards Coconut Grove right after the blast. “Char log gira pada tha, ” (four people were down) he says and adds, “I could hear sirens, see police men running towards the blast site and the shops around the area shut down quickly. Am I scared? No. This has happened here for the first time. It may or may not happen again.”
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Aarif, an employee of High Gates hotel on Church Street was not working last night but the moment he heard the news of the blast, came to the site to see if his colleagues were fine. He says,”This is the time when people visit this area to celebrate, to share their happiness and this is just unthinkable. Last night, I could see nothing but media vans and policemen where shoppers usually stroll.”
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His colleagues Dale McGuire and Rajesh Mishra are aware that measures are needed in these times to secure hospitality spaces and they say,”We have CCTV cameras all over the place and we are strict about identity proof and other formalities.”The manager of All Cakes outlet is aware that shops like his are open to danger and no amount of security measures can prevent what happened last night. He is afraid but is back at work. Biju Antony who mans the other three outlets next to All Cakes says,”Business is nil today. People will take some time to come back.”
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And to associate a street once packed with joie-de-vivre with a sense of normalcy all over again.
with Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and just be.