Dear Ole Olypub
Olypub is a pilgrimage for all those who love - beer, beef, Kolkata and life. Its a truly old place - one of those that emit the ‘old is gold’ feeling quite strongly. Old low black leather sofas, equally old ACs and cobwebbed pedestal fans and a loyal band of clientele who drop in in monthly, weekly and daily cycles, are the core characteristics of this place. If you reach Oly (that’s the what we lovingly call it) any day of the week after 8pm, you have to wait a while till you find a place to sit. If its your first visit, you better start watching during the wait. The people over there you’ll see are anywhere between 18 and 70 years old and include students, foreign tourists, filmmakers, photographers, government employees, couples, playboys and the list goes on.
After you’ve had a place to sit, order a plate of beef steak and if you are not a beef eater, you might as well leave; you’ll get beer in all the pubs in Park Street. The beef steak is served in a plate that was once white and consists of a well cooked tender steak with an egg poach on top of it, a lump of boiled mashed potatoes and boiled green peas. Sadly, smoking is no longer alowed here but if you need a puff in between your beer, just ask someone the way to the toilet. You’ll be shown a door; on the other side of it you’ll find a passage and in it a bunch of smokers - join them. But hush…this is a secret.
By the time you ask for the bill you must be sloshed and can barely stand on your feet. But that’s quite OK by Oly pub standards. The bill again will surprise you first because a waiter will come and stuck it inside an empty glass and secondly you have never had beer or food so cheap anywhere in Park Street. Please remember though - THEY ONLY ACCEPT CASH.
However when you have paid, watch your steps down the old stairs. And don’t worry, even if it’s quite late, you’ll surely get a cab home. Au revoir: goodbye till we meet again.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
hmm..quite liked the insight…but….
with parallel intrusion of rising price and recession, our one of the oldest joint known for its careless adorn is no more “that cheap a joint” and yes by this i mark it monetarily only. It cost almost the same as other pubs in the area and in the city we get joints to enjoy drinks at a yet cheaper price.
but yes, having said that all, you want to feel that “zing”, of being a part of the renowned calcutta “aantel” (intelligentsia- for non-bongs) crowd drinking to glory…you need to visit this place, you desire for an “ageless” companionship while sitting alone in a corner and just in a mood to observe and explore, you can take my word on this, that a plethora of interesting characters round the globe conglomerates here at this place.
see you sometime at the joint “Olympia”-as it stands with its ever rising elegance (”not physically though”) :P.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
agreed…the prices have risen that too pre-recession. looks like they are quite complacent about their clientele and footfall.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
you know wat..they can afford to be complacent till they can serve those delights…coz with their cordeal servings, the clientele is never going to loose loyalty to the joint. :D…i hope u will agree on this too….
cheers mate…
June 11th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Thanks for posting, I’ll definitely be subscribing to your blog.
June 11th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
June 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
The beauty of Olypub is in its diversity blended with less expensive tariff card. Diversity in terms of different types of people getting together here but not in terms of types of drinks served. Being a Kolkata lover I would like to add Kolkata needs to digest a few things, e.g. nightlife has become synonymous with discotheques in Kolkata whereas it should be something like a person finishing up his work at 8:30 pm may call his/her friend to meet in a tea stall/pub/coffey shop at around 9:00 pm and they can have a quality time till say 11:00 and safely go back home. Unfortunately in Kolkata neither you have less expensive Beer pub or transportation after 10:30 pm etc. There are so many, I love this city and that is why I would like to see that when, we Bengali’s talk proudly about “culture” etc that should not limit us to “adho adho swore gaoa Rabendrasangeet, rather something solid and bold like Debabrbarat Biswas, Pijushkanti to new experiments once done in “Pagla hawoa” by one of my favorite film maker Anjun Dutt.
Hi Pallavi and all the bloggers of this site, this is from myself Aungshuman Das…
June 13th, 2009 at 4:49 am
Hi, very nice post. I have been wonder’n bout this issue,so thanks for posting
June 15th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
The best information i have found exactly here. Keep going Thank you
July 7th, 2009 at 12:37 am
It’s a pity that people don’t realize the importance of this information. Thanks for posing it.
February 14th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
New here,
I’m just browsing sites for the kids of Haiti.
I’m doing this for a non-profit group that devotes themselves to
creating an oppurunity for the kids in haiti. If anybody wants to help then do so here:
Donate to Haiti or Help Haiti
They provide children in Haiti a positive outlook through education.
And yes, they’re a real cause.
It would be awesome if you could help us