Recover, Restart

A visit to RVIVE Bakery and Cafe in Kilpauk gives CE a peek into the dreams and struggles of persons with mental illnesses, and their definition of work

- ARCHITA RAGHU

RU jeevan thaan, Un paadal thaan, Ooyaamal isaikkindrathu, Iru kannilum un gnyaabagam, '(one soul is singing your song. Both eyes remember you)' croons Chithra, eyes closed, lingering on the low notes. Tamil film songs - apart from this stellar hit from Naan Adimai Illai (1986) - and the sound of deft chopping, and sizzling fills this serving staff and her colleagues' six-hour shift daily at the quaint RVIVE Bakery and Cafe in Kilpauk. Working beside her, Shakthi delivers his soft rendition of Yesudas' Agaram Ippo Sigaram Aachu to which Chithra points out, "See, he sings so well!"

Over the past three years, Chithra has helped open the airy, sunlit cafe every morning at 9 and proceeds to mark off a list of her daily chores till noon. The 45-year-old chops vegetables, mops floors, brews and serves cups of coffee, and greets customers with warm gestures to make them comfortable. Caricatures of Sigmund Freud, and Shakespeare, among others on an off-white wall, a line-up of pastries, flaky puffs, and chicken wings, and a list of specials entice the customers.

"Our days in the cafe are jolly like this, yet, in our life, not many would give patients like us jobs," points out Chithra, who lives with mental illness. In 2021, she was employed at RVIVE, a community cafe launched by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Chennai Mission, founded by M Mahadevan - to mainstream the employment of persons living with mental illness.