A cuppa of wanderlust

Kunzum Cafe is Delhi's only travel cafe that offers you travel books, conversations with fellow backpackers, and endless cups of tea with cookies on the side. And it's pay-what-you-like. Drop in!

Kunzum Cafe is Delhi's only travel cafe that offers you travel books, conversations with fellow backpackers, and endless cups of tea with cookies on the side. And it's pay-what-you-like. Drop in!

Bum around; meet travellers; share stories, plan trips, access free Wi-Fi, read, check out photographic art while sipping coffee.

Travel junkies meet at this one-of-a-kind travel cafe in Delhi.u00a0
Pics/ Arjun Panwar

Sounds like one of those all-in-one scams you would sneer at. But these are promises made on Ajay Jain's business card, describing his brainchild Kunzum Travel Cafe.

Standing at the end of a winding, unpaved lane inside the uber-fancy Hauz Khas Village, this cozy nook is fast becoming every travel junkie's hang out. A narrow space, it resembles a cosy drawing room, complete with colourful rugs on wooden floors, low tables, miniature cane chairs and comfortable floor cushions to sink into with one of the many books and magazines that line the racks (Lonely Planet editions, Better Photography, Outlook Traveller, Khushwant Singh's City Improbable -- Writings on Delhi, James Wilkerson's Medicine of Mountaineering and Other Wilderness Activities, Alan de Botton's The Art of Travel).

The unusual name is borrowed from the Kunzum Pass in the Lahaul Spiti area in Himachal Pradesh; the weather and beauty of which inspired Jain to become a travel writer. At the cafe, he chats with
customers, recommends books to leaf through, and places to visit.

"People barely speak to each other in the city's coffee shops, and it's just not done to share in the next table's conversation. But when I travel to places like Ladakh and Dharamshala, travellers talk to one another over food and drinks; it's the norm. I wanted to have a space like that here," says Jain.

The afternoon we dropped in, we heard stories from Cambodia and Peru, and how someone drove a Nano all the way to Ladakh!

The cafe also plays host to book readings and discussions that are open to all. The last one saw author Sam Miller's illustrated talk on the paperback edition of his book, Delhi -- Adventures in a Megacity.u00a0

Jain's photographs line the walls, displaying Ladakh's rugged terrain, Assam's elephant herds at Manas National Park, an old woman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake, and a vivid blue-painted fa ade of a house in Nepal.
The best bit? Nothing here costs a thing. The tea, cookies and internet access are offered free. Or you can pay what you feel like, dropping your humble contribution into a collection box. "This makes the cafe a mutual demand area, not a transactional business space," Jain explains.

Look out for the message board plastered with post-its, and you'll be inspired to give up your day job and go shop for a backpack. 'I was here! My last trip was to Germany, the next to Himachal! Here I come!'.

Another one reads, 'Last visited Banaras. Going to Manali to set up a coffee bar! Biggie!' and you know Kunzum Travel Cafe has captured the traveller's spirit perfectly and served it up on a little platter of cafe heaven.

At: T-49, GF, Hauz Khas village
When: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am to 7.30 pm
Ring: 011-26513949 / 9650702777
Log on to: Kunzum Travel Cafe (www.kunzum.com)