When Utopia Gets The Reality Check
A story of a cafe that wanted to be different but sadly, turned corporate
It was just another not noticeable at all of a day in 2016 and I was mindlessly wandering through the streets of Shiddheshwari and this new café hit me. I had just broken up then and was being surprisingly picky about what restaurants to go to, you know, in case I become all nostalgic, so anything new had my full undivided attention, but this café was more than that. Even from looking at it outside, I felt serene, at home. It denoted the illusion of calmness I was desperately in need of. I immediately went in and was even more surprised to find my favorite tea on the menu, Twinings’ Earl Grey; I opened the newly bought book of Trevor Noah and ordered a cup of tea. I still remember, I spent the best hour in a long time reading that book, sipping that tea in that café. But I hadn’t known I was in for a surprise yet. When I went to the cash to pay, the owner, with a frizzy smile had politely declined, “Sir, it is on the house.” I had never been more surprised in my life, for one, Shidhweshwari wasn’t really a posh place and I’m sure most of the restaurants there still has no idea what “on the house” means, and two, I hadn’t been doing much of anything but sit and sip, so I had to ask, “well, that’s lovely but may I know the reason why?”
And the owner started talking. And I’m not exaggerating here, but I could literally see his eyes gleaming, “Well, this has been a venture of mine not to make money but to make people feel at home, be comfortable and maybe even read a book. But for the first two days, everybody that came here were teenagers and they preferred making a mess of everything. I was really frustrated seeing what I visioned not coming true, but here you are, with a book, sitting silently for an hour. Seeing you, I felt calm. I felt… good. I want more people like you to come in here, grab a book and sit silently for as long as they want with a cup of coffee. And for what you made me feel, let me also honor you by not accepting your payment.” I was somewhat astonished, but I knew better than that by then so I just figured it were just them marketing, but I was glad since I didn’t have to pay, reading books finally paid off, I thought to myself. But I was wrong. It was NOT marketing, but a man honestly sharing what he really wanted to do and I came to gradually know that as Brutown Café became my go to place. After class, every morning, mundane Fridays, I went to Brutown, had my favorite cup of tea and was surprisingly energized to live the rest of the day in the outer world, yes, Brutown didn’t feel like outer world, it felt like home. I became friends with the owner and got the access to his life’s trivia pretty soon. It seemed complete, perfect and Brutown really seemed the last piece of puzzle that made all these picturesque. I learnt how he loved watching “Friends” with his wife at Friday noon and how his kid ALWAYS made a fuss exactly then and I also learnt how he wanted to add a little shelf in the corner of his café, where people not only can contribute, but also can take away any book S/he wants, anytime, free of cost. I loved the idea, and I loved seeing it get installed.
Even though I was a teenager then, I saved up some money and bought some books to contribute to the shelf. I loved being a part of a smile not corporate. But then, I had to leave my comfort zone, my parents’ and my city to do the adult thing, I got my own place outside Dhaka, In Ashuliya, it was also very near to my University, Jahangirnagar and that put a halt in my story of going to brutown. But I missed this place, and I kept track of it.
The first time it felt awry was when I saw a Ramadan Platter being offered from Brutown. Well, something’s not right, I thought to myself, this is just sheer corporate stuff. I was wondering if sabeel bhai, the owner of brutown, was okay. So I visited one day, in the start of this year, and saw a drastic change in ambiance, the place was extended sideways, the crew was far less attentive and friendly and well, the owner was missing. I was very eager to see “The Brutown Diary” too, another project of “a diary per table” sabeel bhai seemed so enthusiastic even a year ago, apparently didn’t get followed through. I was somewhat disappointed but I went a few times after that but the ambiance totally changed and I didn’t feel like a part of it anymore. Brutown is now a café, a restaurant and also a room for teens to play games, make a mess and create a lot of noise. It’s still a place where you go to enjoy yourself, but not for us loners, I guess that’s just not good for business. The shelf and all the readers’ digests I anonymously contributed are still there, but I wonder if even one of them would be read by the end of this year when the game room starts to go full swing, but sure, I understand, it’s going to raise a lot of money.
This is an everyday case in the corporate world. I see people entering with loads of dreams, to work for the society, to bring about a change, and they start on the right track too. But I guess, to keep being on the right track, you need to do the right thing, and in the corporate world, the higher the profit margin is, the righter your decision too.
In a world where growth is measured by GDP & not GNH, Brutown became just another idea that I falsely rooted for, an idea that stood out in its own way, but didn’t execute for the right people, an idea that just turned corporate.
*The Source of all the photos are the facebook page of Brutown.
Shafayat Hossain
Freelance Writer & Poet.
