Oct 21, 2002 12:50 AM
13310 Views
(Updated Aug 12, 2006 10:10 PM)
“Reality is an illusion caused by Alcohol Deficiency!” one of the most hilarious quote ever written, greets you the moment you’ve just landed up, at this most centrally located pub in Colaba and before you settle down you realize instantly that there is something in the air of this pub besides the endless smoke.
Café Mondegar is a quaint, old Irani style pub I’ve been visiting for the past several years and nothing seems to have really changed about this place - the old fashioned tables, chairs, the chequered table cloth , the paper menu tucked under the table glass top …nothing has really changed. Looking at the interiors one gets the feeling that time has stood still here - the cartoon wall frescoes by Mario Miranda look as fresh as a daisy, the old juke box ( Café Mondegar was the first to have a jukebox) somehow doesn’t seem anachronistic without a DJ and the juice bar with fresh fruits hanging doesn’t seem so out of the place at all. The only inclusion of technology in past 10 years has been a 29 inch color TV and that too is switched on only when India is batting or F1 is on. Being retro seems to be the forte of the pub and that shows in the choice of the music too – for Rs. 5 per song one can listen to the fabulous retro rock – Guns & Roses, U2,Bryan Adams, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, R.E.M…and no lounge, techno, hiphop , trance music please !And even if you are shy of playing your request, chances are that you would get to listen to summer of 69, sweet child of mine and comfortably numb as everyone seems to play these requests .
The pub serves only beer – pitcher and bottled both . Off late Vodka Kick – a vodka beer has also been introduced. No rotgut is served as they don’t want you to reek like a street drunkard next morning! The place is frequented by firangs , shippies, hippies, young girls in large groups and professionals alike. The service is prompt and the owner Mr. Hoshang Yezdegardi is a very warm ,friendly and a chatterbox bawaji – only hitch his jukebox keeps him busy forever as coins keep getting stuck inside ! Poor guy was not even aware that Tara Deshpande has written a poem titled “Café Mondegar” in her latest book (By the way I’ve yet to get him the book as promised in a drunken stupor!).
The only serious letdown is the loo as I’ve always believed that to know the real class of a place one must first visit the loo and if one can have a hearty leak , definitely a hearty drink/meal too will follow .The place on weekends is packed like sardines and chances are that with blaring rock music you wouldn’t be able to decipher the lip movements of your companion across the table but of the svelte beauty sitting right behind you on the adjoining table. Moreover you could easily qualify for the national gymnastics team if you attempt to walk to the loo without bumping on other blokes. On hot lazy afternoons Café Mondegar is flooded with firang tourists and if you spot someone with a Lonely Planet India Travel Guide and if you are as passionate about traveling and adventure as I am then you’ve just managed to strike an animated conversation with a fellow traveler and perhaps have made a lasting friend too.
The atmosphere of the pub indeed is so friendly that many times one is tempted to say the famous line of Humphrey Bogart from the movie Casablanca: “ Of all the gin joints ( read beer pubs) in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine !!” Of course that’s another story that “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beer(!)holder!!”
