Indian Romanticism with Tea
American President Barack Obama visited India to attend the 66th Republic Day. Online news, facebook feeds, twitter timelines were filled with various content on this event. However, one thing that caught my eye was a facebook album by Narendra Modi titled, “A cup of tea with President Obama.”
It got me thinking about the importance of tea in India. In a land filled with diversity from the mountains of Kashmir to beaches of Kanyakumari; from the deserts of the Rann of Kutch to the eastern shores of Brahmaputra; a land filled with more than a billion people speaking more than 1500 languages, belonging to numerous religions and innumerable castes, a cup of tea is the common factor uniting everyone. A cup of tea is the lowest common denominator in India.
The first time I really started drinking tea on a daily basis was when my parents came to the U.S. for a month. Dad drinks tea at least 3–4 times a day, and our morning time was spent around the breakfast table with hot tea. I was made to continue that tradition by Sukriti because she loves to have tea as well. Not only that, she loves to collect a variety of tea pots for her crockery collection. Of course, she makes the best tea ever.
“Rajat, you should develop a habit of drinking tea. It is great for companionship!” — Dad.
Tea is ubiquitous. Take an overnight train across the country and the first words a person hears during the morning is a high-pitched voice of a chai-wallah speaking “chaaaai… chaaai.” Take a stroll on any street in the country, and there is a good chance you will find a chai-wallah. Heck, the Prime Minister of our country was once a chai-wallah. The amount of livelihood provided by such a simple beverage is unbelievable.
An entire sport was created by the British, the sole purpose of which was have lunch… and tea. The entertainment industry is filled with subtle instances of tea. One of the most popular online comedy group in India have a series titled “Chai Sutta Chronicles.” If you haven’t watched it yet, do give it a try. It is good.
As my romanticism with tea has grown, the number of quirks to have a perfect cup of tea have grown too. For me, tea is as much about the process as it is about the end product. The boiling black water oozing smells of ginger and cardammom is a bliss on a cold winter morning. The sound of tea being poured from the pot to the cup, the aromatic vapors, and the popular sound made while sipping tea—all are equally important to the experience of having tea.
Tea is an integral part of India. It is the first thing served at a home when a guest arrives. It is a symbol of hospitality in India and a privilege for a guest being served a cup of tea. Even if the guest is, figuratively, the most powerful person in the world and the host is the leader of the largest democracy in the world.
