Coffee @ TMSC

TMSC is the Tata Memorial Sports Club at IISc, which has mostly staffers as members. I don't know the economics of how they go about it, but these people also run a small canteen where we get reasonably palatable southie food at pretty cheap prices. They also make a rather smashing coffee. This concoction is made in a deep rich liquor form and stored hot. When we leg it to the counter and profer Rs. 2.25 (about 5 cents), the bloke gives us a leetil coupon. We then edge sideways by about a foot and try to reach the counter while reaching over the shoulders of what seems like a sea of eager coffee fanatics and profer our coupon and yell for a regular coffee. At such moments, one is likely to rub shoulders with a Physics prof. (TMSC is just outside the Physics Dept.), as in rub shoulders quite literally. This can be somewhat embarassing if the prof. in question is your own boss. The bloke pours out maybe a thimbleful of coffee liquor and then tops it off with steaming hot milk. The prize in hand, we leg it to the benches and start the adda. In years gone by, when the likes of Rangeet and Rana and others were around, we would pick a spot behind the solitary tree in the middle of the courtyard and light up. Juniors from the lab were on lookout duty; we needed a few seconds of warning to toss the cigarettes if a prof. turned up. I was at TMSC again, this time without the Rangeet or the Rana, and hence without smokes. Things have changed, lab members have changed; thankfully the coffee is the same.