Prime Minister Narendra Modi took everybody by surprise on Wednesday, when he stopped at the local Indian Coffee House for a cup of its trademark beverage on his way back to the Annandale helipad.
Modi was returning from the oath-taking ceremony of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur when he made the five-minute halt at Mall Road, much to the excitement of everybody around.
The Indian premier stepped out of his car amid loud shouts of “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Modiji ko jai Shri Ram!” even as eager crowds jostled for a closer look at him.
One of the busiest points in the city, the Indian Coffee house counts many distinguished personalities – including late prime minister Indira Gandhi, former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani and former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai – among its customers. This was not Modi’s first visit to the establishment either.
{{/usCountry}}One of the busiest points in the city, the Indian Coffee house counts many distinguished personalities – including late prime minister Indira Gandhi, former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani and former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai – among its customers. This was not Modi’s first visit to the establishment either.
{{/usCountry}}In April, the Prime Minister had mentioned the Indian Coffee House in his speech at Taka Bench. Recalling the evenings spent there in the late 1990s, when Modi was in charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh, he said: “I used to sit in the Indian Coffee House along with partymen and mediapersons.”
The catering establishment was set up at Mall Road on a plot of land purchased for Rs 85,000 in 1962. Today, it is housed in a three-storied building and frequented by thousands of customers.