The Savera Regulars

I am a Savera regular. Savera is such a central part of my regular existence that I cannot imagine life without it. Sitting here by This roadside resto, over a single cup of coffee, mulling over life, watching the Fergusson kids, the buzz of ever busy F.C. road, hours at a stretch. It’s strange, if not idiosyncratic, but it’s something that I find extremely fulfilling. Its one part of my life that has some amount of permanence. And amongst the maddening transience and fleeting lifestyle that we live in, I find that permanence priceless.

I am not the only one who partakes of this unique gift that Savera offers. There are this whole set of people who I meet daily. We share an unspoken, yet strong bond. We never speak, we don’t even know each others names, but with the glance and a nod, and an occasional smile, we acknowledge our brotherhood to the Savera clan. And I am sure that at some way or the other, they would all agree to this sense of belonging that Savera offers.

The Savera regulars are a motley lot. This aged gentleman who always dresses formally, this pony tailed fair chap who looks like the guy who played Jesus in Passion of the Christ, this set of smokers who sit at the corner tables, barely speak and continuously smoke, this gang of first year Fergusson kids - and this is the latest entry to the club - the girl who usually wears jeans torn near her bums, the teenage boys who are just discovering the freedom of college life and are evidently thrilled by it, the sales guy, who usually sits here in the afternoons and makes copious notes in his small book - I assume they are accounts - and don’t ask me why I think he is a sales guy. Yes, the Savera regulars are a motley lot.

There is a set of things that distinguish you from a visitor and make you a Savera regular. For starters, you must be found sitting here at any odd hour of the day, any given day of the week, for hours at a stretch, sipping coffee and doing just about anything ranging from staring into empty space to writing your history assignment. Second, you must like the coffee at Savera, and to like the coffee here you must understand that Savera coffee is not about the coffee itself, it is about the spirit of Savera. And third... but the third will follow on its own, once you start doing one and two.

Everybody probably has different reasons to be a regular here. Some need a place to smoke and lounge with friends, some need a place to have cheap food; some need an urgency to belong to somewhere. For me personally, Savera is a haven. This is where I am at my creative best. I am not a people's person and yet my muse must feed on people. I am a constancy freak, and yet my muse must have variety to stay alive. And in the lap of Savera I find the perfect mix of loneliness and crowd, of acknowledgement and anonymity, of constancy and change. And there my muse and I are both happy.