A lot can happen over coffee...

For a moment let us see aside the name calling and the mudslinging aside and let the senseless media stick to it.

An integral part of a lot of the coffee drinkers' life in Bangalore and for that matter a large part of Indian highways has been the ubiquitous Cafe Coffee Day or ccd as it is popularly known. 

2003 - Newly married and need a place hangout out of home. Deepa and I made ccd home. The aroma of a fresh brew, the unhurried service, the familiar latte with an extra sot of espresso and the iced eskimo. Malleshwaram was the place and we'd lap up the ambience and quiet. 

2006 - Prad was born and whenever I went to Mandya to meet the wifey and the kid, a pit stop at the familiar ccd and a chilli cheese toast as a takeaway for the wife. 

2009 to 2012 - Prad seems to have taken to the cold chocolate and the cheese toast. Also an addition in the form of desert shots. 

2012 - Trups around the highways with family visiting from abroad. Coffee, food and clean toilets. 

2012 onwards - Pratyusha is born, grows up and we are still visiting the various ccds around the highways whenever we travel. 

Team meetings over coffee at the ccd near Koramangala. The massive one in the Global Village tech park. 

Wherever you go the coffee isnt the best, but the hope and happiness in the eyes of the 20 somethings that work there. The familiar brews and the new additions that seem to keep coming thick and fast. 

For the last 13 years, ccd has been a part of our lives. But today AM we wake up to the news that the man who dreamt of this and make it possible jumped off a bridge. 

The hunt is still on to find him, hope he is safe. 

But the bigger question is what drove a man who served happiness and delivered an international experience to the Indians over the bridge. 

Sad to see a visionary choose to end his life the way he did. Hope this isnt the end of it all and ccd continues to be a part of the coffee lovers lives.