T.S. Shanbhag died of coronavirus on May 4th

ON DAYS WHEN he was working, T.S. Shanbhag kept to the same routine. He would drive in from the west of the city and park near M. Chinnaswamy stadium by 8.30am. From there he would walk to the centre, to Koshy’s restaurant on St Mark’s Road, where he had his morning coffee: the best in Bangalore, proper south Indian, milky yet strong. It was hard to resist the breakfasts on offer, appam with vegetable stew, potato smileys and the rest, served by waiters who glided about with the deference of English butlers. But he preferred just to banter with his old friend Prem Koshy, who would greet him with a hearty “How are you, my dear Sir?” and later, repaying the favour, might well drop in to buy books.