What is it with coffee?

‘Let’s meet over coffee, is an often heard refrain. Coffee is the quintessential accompaniment in business meetings, friendly discussions, meet-ups between friends, office grape-wine sessions, job interviews, romantic evenings, and special occasions.

While in India, it is traditionally the south where coffee is more popular, the burgeoning coffee chains have made it the ‘in-drink’ across the length and breadth of the our country. While, definitely, ‘tea’ is more our ‘cup of tea’ in the north, we have taken to coffee lovingly, with open arms. Though, many still consider it an upper-class cousin to tea, and selectively consume and serve it.

Many of us will have our coffee stories to share.  When friendships were formed, we caught up with old friends, our love stories bloomed, we met with prospective life partners in the typical Indian arranged marriage set-up, break-ups happened (yup, that too L), business deals were finalized, and we maybe appeared for job interviews too.

Let us meet over coffee…this sentence holds a promise of life. Some mystery, some hope, a bit of excitement, and something to look forward to.   

My world

What is my world coming to? Like a bad dream, my world disturbs me. Looks like sensitivity towards others, love for young and old, and respect for those who live among us, are all soon going to become memories of a bygone era. Something we will read about or hear from those of us still alive to relate tales about these qualities.

Yes, sad as it may sound, this seems to be fast becoming a reality. What is happening to my world as I know it? Children are being raped, people are being victimised for eating their food, there is political chaos, women are targeted for just being, people are being killed, people are violently angry on trivial issues, justice is denied, children are easy targets for vendetta, and there is a widespread division based on region, religion and gender.

Sometimes I wish I would get from this disturbing slumber, and laugh away my nightmare. Though it doesn't look like a possibility anytime soon.

Is it impending doom for mankind as we know it? Or is there a bright sunny day ahead of us? I hope it is the latter. I know Utopia is and will always be a dream. But, we sure could do with some love, understanding, and freedom for being what we are and what we want to be.

So, let there be light and a bright, shiny, sunny day in my world. Where my world will be a place that I shall be happy to be in.

I am alive with the hope.