Cafe Unique

Anokhi means unique and unique it is, this cafe in the very heart of my city. It sits so very quietly beside a busy road, hidden behind a plethora of greens. A little pathway takes you from the parking lot to a boutique (which is frightfully expensive) and further down, to rickety garden furniture strewn amidst a cove of trees. Tall floor mounted fans spin to ward away the humid heat and a large net is hung overhead to ensure leaves don't drop into your salsa.

The menu is funny....limited, but funny. There's a bit of Italian...and you can spot Indianized Mexican, some all-time American favourites...as Lou Bega would say "a little bit of this and a little bit of that"

The service is slow....i mean real slow. There times I've had to walk up to the counter and ask for the check, after all efforts of frantic waving and calling out to the waiter hadn't worked. Its better to let them know at the start of the meal if its gonna be a "I've gotta meeting at 2.00" lunch.

What i love about the place is the calm....you can stay for hours, and people wont bother you with "Will there be anything else, ma'am?" Or "Could you shift to that dingy half-a-seater? We need a table for 24." Its one of the few places in the city, you can go sit by yourself, have a nice meal, read a book or simply stare at a tree.

And when I think back, I can recall I've sat there with almost all of my closest friends at some point of time. In large groups- laughing, chatting. And sometimes with a single person- conversing over cappuccino. So many moods. So many contexts. So many memories.

Anokhi lets you be...do your own thing. It doesn't impose, it doesn't try to make a statement...it simply is. And thats why I miss it.