Adieu to Bangalore’s oldest bar

One by one, all the old landmarks in Bangalore are disappearing

Adieu to Bangalore's oldest bar

Even as the trees give way to road widening, gracious restaurants with jacarandas as accompaniments to tables are crushed under the relentless march of concrete, chrome and Kentucky fried chicken.

The latest to hit the past tense is Dewar's, the oldest bar in Bangalore ufffd or what was the oldest bar till last week (As an aside, I wonder which bar now holds the title). Where else in India could you sit on a cane chair with Queen Victoria glaring at you from overhead, as you sip an Old Monk and coke? Unpretentious service, yummy snacks and garlanded British Royals sharing space with Hindu deities all added to the charm of the place, even as the auto driver and his friends loudly sharing a joke in the "Phamily Room" were all part of the ambience.

Today, all you see is a lock on the venerable door that is supposed to have often seen Winston Churchill totter out after one drink too many. I feel sorry for the 20-somethings today. They'll never have the charm of sipping a cold beer under the spreading rain tree at Victoria. They'll never know Jayamahal Palace Hotel before it got spruced up and turned into JPH. They'll never ever be able to unwind in Black Cadillac's "garden" area. All they have is the neon impersonality of places that take longer to design than stay in business.

They can hardly look back 15 years down and say "Wow! You remember the time we all went to City Bar and fought for a drink, and squeezed into one table together?" or "Heee!! Remember when we tried eating the tough old chicken at Nando's and Gautham broke a tooth?" or "I'm really missing the salty over-done prawns that we used to nibble at under the dim lighting at Plan B".

What will their memories be made from?
It makes my new discovery all the more pleasurable. Phobidden Fruit was once obviously a garage that has now been converted into a little joint where they serve delightful food and have old Bangalore style friendly-quotient waiters. Walk into this restaurant and you walk out with a smile of an evening well spent. Unfortunately you can't order a beer here yet ufffd but the Vietnamese food they serve is "made from the heart" as the judges on MasterChef would say.

Of course we didn't see too many young people hanging around. They were all fighting to get into the latest swish plexiglass bar of the month.

Poor, misguided things!

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