My first memories of tea were when I suffered from the seasonal cold or those random fevers from getting drenched in muddy Monsoon.
The adaa diye chaa acted as a nuska or totka as they said in Bengali, the homemade antidote for relief. Not a great fan of it though ‘coz my tiny throat tingled slightly with the acrid ginger taste back then.
Tea was out of bounds in our childhood, reserved for occasional moments like these. Milk glasses placed on plastic coasters was the thing for me at home. Nothing was fancy, neither the glass, the milk (plain milk and no health drink ) nor the coasters. Errr.. what I want to say that childhood was simple, pretty simple for us.
Growing up in Indian households, especially being a girl opened up the opportunity to serve your guests. Summers would be serving squashes or lemonades, monsoons smelt of pakoras and tea while winters would mean homemade cakes and coffee. The slow drag of the feet and measuring our steps to reach our guests would earn an appreciation from mummy. Mummy’s usual conditions were that no spilling means we had grown up enough. In our growing up years, accolades from parents were not the easiest to receive and it was worth a thousand bucks to hear them back.
Growing up, we could allow ourselves the indulgence of chai pe charcha or chaa er adda. Bunking college classes, we would chatter gaily over topics ranging from the latest movie to makeup or from cricket scores to world affairs. Guys would generate rings of smoke from shared cigarettes over multiple clay cups of warm tea. The ever-smiling man behind the kerosene stove would count cash on one hand and offer tea with another like a magician. His only respite probably would be the afternoons when he could steal a cat nap or sometimes not even that.
Years passed and we would expand our boundaries to earn our living. My memories at various office locations would be the seller tirelessly serving people in batches; in roughly three batches. The first customers would be in a rather hurry to fulfil their daily dose of firey hot tea before rushing in. The second batch would be the relatively quiet youths during their lunch breaks, lurking around for some time before going back. The third batch would be humongous. The younger ones animatedly having a tiffin cake and chai, the middle-aged men stealing a chat before rushing back and the older ones who would order leisurely for a few cups to discuss world affairs.
As we start earning our living, taking some time off having tea or coffee at exotic locations across the city would end up refreshing us. For me, the city where I would love to make this experience bloom would be Kolkata first, the City Joyful influenced largely by British culture.
From Dolly’s Tea Shop and Coffee House to the relative newbies like Karma Kettle, Yule Tea Lounge or Sienna Store and Café, the story of beverages with the City has stood the test of time. Earlier the main ingredients to rev up such evenings were a warm cuppa and great company. In today’s time, everything is counted- right from the prompt service to coaster matting to hygiene and even interiors. Tastes change with time and maybe this change has been for the better. That is not to say that we don’t like our kulhads to grip us warmly every morning before we rush into our office.
Coming to the point of losing ourselves in the hills of Darjeeling, how could we not enjoy the sparkling golden tea, especially if the weather were chilling us to our bones. Be it waiting for the sun to rise above Tiger Hill or energizing ourselves at the local eateries, even a tiny cup of tea was worth its weight in gold. It kept us warm, wrapped in the joy of fresh mountain air.
Similarly, a trip to Shimla, Manali or Nainital would be incomplete with some exotic coffee. There is nothing like waking up to the call of snow-capped hills, a quaint English breakfast and some hot coffee placed on a fancy coaster. Aah bliss.Whether you love the aroma of caffeine or tannin, hills would call you for a visit and relieve you of the everyday tediousness.
The pandemic is making us miss both the experiences of heading straight to the nearby chaa dukan or a planned visit to that exotic café in the city. But let’s hope that we get back to our carefree time because every cloud hides a silver lining.
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