Have you always secretly hoped that someone would walk into a café you were in, look at you and say – “How you doin’?” Perhaps you hoped to have something as exasperatingly beautiful as what Ross and Rachel had. Or did you clandestinely crave a cold – to sound ‘sexy’ like Phoebe while singing the most ridiculous song of the century?
In short, have you harboured a dream to live out a slice from the lives of these legendary friends in all their sitcom glory? There is reason to rejoice yet, dear F.R.I.E.N.D.S fans, for a café in Kolkata has made it possible for you to do just that.
A namesake of the show, the café that opened in May this year at Deshapriya Park isn’t exactly Central Perk. (Yes, we have the orange sofa where the six friends sat and coursed through life.) But the café is much, much more – it is the entire F.R.I.E.N.D.S universe.
Mahima Bachhawat, 19, started the café with her brother Aditya and her cousins to give shape to her addiction to the show. “I am crazy about F.R.I.E.N.D.S and have watched several reruns, so this café was the only sane thing to do,” she says.
It is interesting to note that apart from this café, which is the first of its kind in India, there are only two other cafes dedicated to F.R.I.E.N.D.S and all three are located in Asia – the other two being in Beijing and Pakistan.
Of Monica & Chandler’s Doors & an Orange Sofa
The siblings who come from a Marwadi family of Kolkata built and decorated the café in the ground floor of the building they call home. Of course, each and everything in the café had to be customised.
Pat the Dog, the orange sofa, the doors that resemble those in Monica’s and Chandler’s apartments, Phoebe’s bicycle – and many other objects have been brought in from all parts of the country, meticulously designed and put up.
“We couldn’t have taken short cuts with this because we’re true fans – the authenticity had to be there,” remarks the BCom student of St Xavier’s.
Most prominent is the graffiti on the outside wall of the cafe, made by a group of artists called ‘Mad Horse Graffiti’. The six friends – drawn as silhouettes in their iconic pose at the fountain – is something one simply cannot miss. Social media or not, the graffiti brought in patrons by the hordes. And as expected, the response by fellow Calcuttans has been overwhelming.
“People have cried to us in pure happiness. They have thanked us for doing this,” the owners say.
A Very ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ Menu
The menu of the shop is pretty neat as well – while the cuisine served hasn’t necessarily stuck to the food made popular by the sitcom, it has retained some familiar highlights. ‘Ross Geller’s Moist Maker sandwich’ – from the episode in which the palaeontologist’s lunch would be stealthily eaten every day – has been featured on the menu and is selling like hot cakes.
We sell 10-20 of those in a day and send out each with a note that reads ‘Knock-knock. Who’s there? Ross Geller’s lunch. Ross Geller’s lunch, who? Ross Geller’s lunch, please don’t take me. Okay?’ and people are finding it hilarious.Aditya Bachhawat, Co-founder, F.R.I.E.N.D.S Cafe
Also, keeping their favourite F.R.I.E.N.D, Phoebe’s food preference in mind, the siblings decided to keep the fare vegetarian.
Among other items, they have whipped up the cheesecake made famous by Rachel and Chandler by sourcing it from a local bakery, Mama’s. With plans to introduce one new item every week and ‘Sing along Saturdays with Phoebe’, the young kids have wild plans for their entrepreneurial debut.
But the start wasn’t free of hiccups. Arnab Ghosh, a third year student of Calcutta University, had a miserable time waiting his turn at the café the day it opened – but left with good memories.
“The management was all over the place given the huge crowd it met with. Obviously, serving water to the people waiting outside in the sun didn’t occur to them. But once in, we saw that they have outdone their love for the show by dedicating the space to it so beautifully. I will definitely keep coming back,” he says.
(Runa Mukherjee Parikh has written on women, culture, social issues, education and animals, with The Times of India, India Today and IBN Live. When not hounding for stories, she can be found petting dogs, watching sitcoms or travelling. A big believer in ‘animals come before humans’, she is currently struggling to make sense of her Bengali-Gujarati lifestyle in Ahmedabad.)
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