Let’s meet at ‘The Commons’ ~ Malinda Words

When you are a freelancer, you can’t ask someone to meet you in your office. Indeed, some offices won’t tolerate random people dropping in for a chit-chat. When you live far away you can’t ask people to come home for a work-related discussion. ‘Online’ is possible, but then again face-to-face is often best for certain conversations, especially when it could be important to read a mind by the way someone holds his or her eye, the expressions that materialise on the face, the mannerisms etc.

So I have to think of ‘common ground,’ and over the past four years or so, I realise now, ‘Let’s meet at “The Commons,”’ has become a frequently used suggestion.

I’ve waited here for my daughters to be done with whatever they were doing. I’ve met old friends, cousins, nieces, students, political associates, poets and other writers. We reminisced about old times, laughed at each other and ourselves, spoke about possible futures, dissected the political, debated the merits of ideologies, wandered into philosophical countries, reviewed literature or just enjoyed moments of shared silence.

I am not waiting for anyone right now. My older daughter is sitting with me, biding time before moving on to the next thing on the day’s agenda. The music is always soft. There are a few customers but soon there will be more.

The proprietor who was known to an earlier generation as the best DJ in town, ‘Harpo’ Goonaratne may walk in at any time and if he does he would smile and nod his head in acknowledgment not because I am a frequent customer but he’s just friendly to one and all.

There are familiar faces behind the counter. Security Officer Abeyratne who smiled and said ‘good afternoon’ as I walked in would probably ask ‘yannada sir (are you leaving, sir)?’ Maybe he would have been replaced by Kingsley and if so it would be Kingsley who asked this question. I will stop for a minute and exchange pleasantries.

Today, i.e. the 4th of May, 2023, ‘The Commons’ turns 18. I can’t remember the first time I came here. It has to be over 10 years ago. The architecture hasn’t changed much. The quality of the food and various beverages hasn’t changed much. There are other frequent customers, some of whom have become friends. The staff probably knows who the regulars are but I’ve noticed that lack of familiarity doesn’t translate into lesser service quality.

I have seen people to whom I’ve said ‘Let’s meet at the commons,’ come here with friends. Maybe some of them also used the same words. Every single day I come here I see someone I have never seen before and at least a few familiar faces. Eighteen years is a long time. Who knows how many customers have been served? Who can tell how many have returned, alone or with a friend or two thereafter?

I’ve not carried out a customer satisfaction survey, but I am satisfied. In fact I am yet to find anyone who was not. I have not sampled all the food because I don’t eat meat or fish. I have my coffee preferences. I’m not a connoisseur of these things. If you ask me and I said ‘good’ it could mean excellent, passable, palatable or less. I’m low-maintenance in these things.

For me ‘The Commons’ is about atmosphere. It’s the music, the interior decor, the peals of laughter coming from some corner of the premises, the courtesy shown by the staff, Harpo’s occasional ‘hello,’ and the ‘you are welcome’ signs that are all over the place but not in black and white.

I can come anytime I like and be the last to leave. There’s always a cricket or soccer match I can watch on the television set if and when I need a break from whatever it is I am doing. For example, I just saw the Lucknow Super Giants being bowled out for 109, giving the Royal Challengers Bangalore an 18 run win in the 43th match of IPL 2023. Just the match highlights, but entertaining enough to justify a break.

Sometimes I ask for a glass of water and sometimes I get one without asking. When it gets a bit crowded, I retire to the open space at the back of the cafe, replete with fans, tables and chairs, a couple of stools and light streaming through the trees. Out of the way. There’s always room for another at ‘The Commons.’

There’s always space. But it’s not this assurance that makes me tell friends from time to time, ‘let’s meet at the commons.’ It’s my place. As privately owned as it is by anyone else. A different kind of commonality, but most certainly pleasing.

04 May 2023

Let’s meet at ‘The Commons’

['The Morning Inspection' is the title of a column I wrote for the Daily News from 2009 to 2011, one article a day, Monday through Saturday. This is a new series. Links to previous articles in this new series are given below]

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