We Indians love tea and drinking tea is a very social activity. The Indian tea stall is a social microcosm and performs several social functions. If the Japanese have their solemn, ritualistic and highly stylized Tea Drinking ceremony and the English have their High tea then in India there is the corner tea stall. It is an omnipresent part of any community and tea drinking a very social, sociable activity.
It is at the tea stall that people working nearby will congregate for the all-important tea break which is a welcome spell away from work and a chance to chat with others and exchange news and views.
I am not much of a tea drinker but even I will concede that the thick, sweet, hot liquid served at these tea stalls is delicious; more than anything we seem to be able to brew at home.
There is something about the rain that invites us to sip that hot flavourful liquid. If there is one place that Indians make a beeline for when the first monsoon rains fall on the parched earth it would be the tea stall.
For if there is chai, there must be ‘biscoot’, and if its raining it has to be chai and pakoras! There is something about the joy for the first rain and the delicious smell of wet earth that goes terrifically well with the sweet, milky brew and hot, spicy pakoras!
Hindi films have often explored the romantic possibilities of the tea stall where the hero’s soulful eyes meet the shy and hesitant gaze of the heroine, There their eyes meet over their cups of tea as they sip their respective steaming hot beverages.
The tea stall is a great repository for local knowledge and is a useful place to find out about local products and services; rather like the talking yellow pages of the area. Need a handyman for some odd jobs around the house? Or perhaps a plumber to fix a leak? The tea vendor will likely know just the man for the job.
All sorts of things are added to the tea: elaichi, ginger, mint, lemon grass, ground garam masala! It is then boiled, boiled and then boiled some more. The thick, flavourful, liquid that results seems to resemble daal more than tea!
The perfect Indian cuppa has lashings of sugar. Some tea stalls pride themselves on offering ‘khada chamach’ chai or standing spoon tea. They put so much sugar in it, that the spoon stands unsupported in the cup or glass! Longing for a cup now? Don’t blame you!
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