Qualithe

"On arrival, Qualithe does not strike you as a place you'll stick around at for long: in this town of charming cafes and well appointed restaurants, it really lags behind in terms of its upkeep.

The bar, though large in size, offers a hodgepodge of eclectic decor with items like an electronica gig poster, carved stone sculptures and paintings with questionable provenance that somehow found their way onto the walls.

The counter and the few tables that pepper the room are well seasoned (read:old). But any wise man will tell you that a bar earns its worth not from the designer stools but from the people sitting on them, and these people really make Qualithe worth dropping in for a drink.

The cast of characters that call this bar their home is an interesting bunch. For them Qualithe holds a special place; in this town of ashrams, this has always been the sanctuary for the kindred who didn't really fit in anywhere else.

Babu, for instance, who introduced himself as the resident alcoholic, has been a fixture at Qualithe ever since he was a teenager. For over twenty years he has been coming in for his beer and smokes, and even after spending years in Europe, this is the one place that he holds on to. And then there is Maari, the bartender and cashier, who also works as the caretaker of the Qualithe Lodge upstairs and humbly calls the bar his bedroom after the last drink has been served.

Mingling with the locals like Babu are the people from all over the world who are based or passing by in this distinct little city. What brings them all together is that they are all wanderers and all seem to understand each other despite their diverse backgrounds. Meeting at the bar and sharing their stories has become a routine ritual of sorts. A ritual that's always there for anyone to take part to, in Puducherry, at Qualithe."
by Aashim Tyagi