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10:49 GMT, Thursday, 18 June 2009 11:49 UK

In pictures: Indian coffee house

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In its 52-year history, the Indian Coffee House in Delhi has had many regular visitors, including India's first Prime Minister, Jawarhalal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi, and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi.

Campaign notices posted on a window

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Now it is facing difficult times. The owners want to close it down, saying they can no longer afford to pay the rent. But its customers are resiliently campaigning to rescue and protect the Coffee House.

Customers sit inside coffee house

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Unlike many new cafes, the Coffee House is seen to be "an historic and cultural landmark". One customer refers to it as a "worldly home where people share their ideas and problems and get directed to the right corner for help".

Joy Abraham, a coffee maker

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Joy Abraham, the oldest coffee maker, has worked in the cafe for 23 years. As he churns out some hot coffee, he reminisces about old times when as a casual worker he would brew filter coffee for Indira Gandhi.

A man making coffee

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The Coffee House has befriended many people who've casually stopped by to acquaint themselves – from veteran and budding politicians to advocates, intellectuals, students and professors.

Cups of coffee on a counter

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And the best part of it all – a cup of coffee costs less than 40 cents!

Gopel Singh, a worker in the Indian coffee house

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There is something distinctly different in the Indian Coffee House. Here you will find waiters in starched white uniform, like Gopal Singh, who has been around since 1989.

The coffee house menu

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Though the Coffee House is more affordable than any other restaurant in town - offering a variety of Indian dishes and snacks - its customers mainly come for conversation and to meet old friends.

a customer enjoys a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper

a customer enjoys a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper

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Others take a seat in a corner and catch up on their reading as they while away the summer heat.

Customers sit outside the Indian Coffee house

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But most importantly as one old timer points out, "where else would a big politician come to find the news from reality or man seek closure without class consciousnesses". Photos: Moska Najib/BBC News

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