There are times that one can’t forget. Although many years have passed, it is one activity that I remember very well. At that time it meant little. It was more of a ritual, something that we just did. But the entire act created a sense of family. Together we would all step out, every Sunday.

The walk all the way from the Kamaraj Road & Dickenson Road junction to the MG Road & Brigade Road junction would be such a pleasant walk. Those days there was no such thing as parking on the Kamaraj Road. The stretch that is today used for parking on this wide road used to just be a wide footpath where people like us took a casual walk.

On MG Road we always took the footpath along the parade grounds. The elevated footpath was just perfect to get glimpses of one of Bangalore’s best roads. We would walk all the way till the middle of MG Road and then cross over to hop into Coffee House. Coffee House would be overflowing with people & we mostly sat on the first floor passing by the smelly toilet along the way. Nothing has changed about this place since. The waiters still wear dirty white clothes & the coffee is still served in broken or stained cups & saucers. We would eat may be a cutlet or an omelet, followed by the obvious cup of coffee.

Thereafter we would walk down to the Lakeview ice cream parlor, further up on MG Road. Sometimes we would skip Coffee House & go directly to Lakeview. Sometimes it was the other way around. At lake view we would order for ice creams which we couldn’t always finish. And then would begin the walk back home, the same way we got there.

This would happen week after week.

As years passed this ritual didn’t quite happen week after week and I don’t quite remember when, but it stopped one day. Today we no longer continue with this ritual.

Thinking about it, there was a certain something about the entire act. The walk, the places we went to, what we ate and of course the company & participation of the entire family. I know it wouldn’t be the same if we tried to do it again. A lot of things have changed & more changes are likely in the near future. The Kamaraj Road stretch doesn’t quite give one a great feeling when one walk’s down the road what with cars parked on either side of the road & although Coffee House has remained pretty much the same, Lakeview I feel has lost on its quality. And God knows what is in store for the boulevard on MG Road what with the Metro Rail work likely start shortly.

Recently, when my cousin who stayed with us then & would accompany us on those rituals remarked,”remember those days….” my mind drifted & I felt good & I missed that experience.

Every Sunday! Well…..Umm….