Tiny Tea Tales: ‘You could say I am in it for the theatrics’
I drink chai once a day but those 10 minutes are as precious as the first wisp of winter to a summer parched soul.
Even after summer’s long gone, Mumbai remains hot and humid. It’s as if somebody sets the ocean surrounding the city to a rolling boil in March and then forgets to turn the knob off. You start getting some relief from the city’s sweltering sweatshop-like weather around October when a gentle evening breeze starts to tide in quietly, whispering a soft hint of the imminent winter. This moment, the first time you encounter it, is pure, unadulterated bliss for parched skin and soul, even though it's as fleeting as they come.
Growing up, October also brought with it the sweet relief of winter festivals and Diwali holidays. After having burnt my eyes buried in the school textbooks, the thought of any celebration was a delight and also a distraction from the weather’s din.
My anticipation would build weeks ahead; the thrill was spending those gorgeous winter evenings out with my girlfriends, frolicking through the now-perfumy tree-lined streets of our neighbourhood, gossiping, laughing. On the evening of Dussehra (a Hindu festival), we’d walk to the large open park a few blocks from my house to enjoy the big spectacle that is Ram-Leela - a larger-than-life, folksy retelling of the story of Lord Ram. Good wins over evil and the crowd bursts into applause as Lord Rama rides his chariot and vanquishes the demon god Ravana with a single bow and arrow. Immediately, there’s a shift in the crowd’s energy, a wild cheering ensues, and then it happens - the fireworks! Oh, the fireworks…
This... is what Chai feels like to me.
A beautiful and bountiful explosion of colours, flavours, light, and pixie dust that melts into a warm shower of hugs that holds me tight and then slowly releases me into the day. I have waited for this cup of tea since last morning but it feels much longer. I dress it up in the festive colours of ginger, fennel, cardamom and then we walk together to my porch to enjoy the first rays of the morning in each other’s company. In this little moment, Lord Rama has vanquished Ravana, good wins over evil and all is well in the world, even if for a brief few moments.
Divya Sharma
Chai dependent life-form, ex-Mumbaikar, recent San Jose-ite
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