The iconic Indian Coffee House in Hazratganj, once a popular meeting place for people from various walks of life, has been lying shut for nearly three months now and there is no clarity on its reopening.
Earlier too, it had been temporarily shut for a few days on occasion due to maintenance and other operational issues. However, the current closure is the longest. Despite repeated attempts to contact officials of the Indian Coffee Workers’ Co-operative Society Ltd, under which the coffee house was being run, there was no response.
People associated with the establishment said staff-related issues were behind the latest shutdown and that efforts were being made to resume operations. However, it remains uncertain when the doors will open again.
The closure has raised concerns among old patrons over the gradual decline of a place that was once central to Lucknow’s political and cultural life. It was not just a coffee shop but a space where politicians across party lines, journalists and writers met and debated various issues.
Senior journalist Ram Dutt Tripathi, recalling its heyday, said the coffee house was among the city’s most important meeting points until the 1990s. “When phones were rare, people came here to meet others and get news. It was much more than a commercial establishment,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Senior journalist Ram Dutt Tripathi, recalling its heyday, said the coffee house was among the city’s most important meeting points until the 1990s. “When phones were rare, people came here to meet others and get news. It was much more than a commercial establishment,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}The coffee house has been associated with several prominent political and literary figures, including former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandra Shekhar, socialist leaders Ram Manohar Lohia and Raj Narain, former chief ministers Veer Bahadur Singh and ND Tiwari, and writers Amritlal Nagar, Yashpal and Majaz Lakhnawi.
Chandra Prakash, partner at Universal Booksellers next door, said the coffee house brought people from different sections together. “There was no distinction. Everyone sat at the same table and talked,” he said.
Tripathi said declining footfall was also linked to changes in Hazratganj, including parking difficulties and barricading. “These things gradually made it difficult for people to visit,” he added.
For Shakil Khan, who worked at the GPO in Lucknow in 1989, the coffee house remains part of his personal history. “It was where friends met and found peace. Its closure feels like a part of history disappearing,” he said.
Once known for coffee costing just ₹4, the establishment eventually became an institution in itself. Its prolonged and uncertain closure has now left its old patrons waiting for Lucknow’s historic adda to return.