An Affair With The Tea

In general, I love food but tea has a special place in my heart. It has been associated with so many different emotions at different stages of my life, that I cannot tell the story of my life without mentioning my relationship with tea.

In childhood, I was told that children were not allowed to drink tea. So, I associated tea with being grown up. I also associated it with an adventure. They said, tea could make your complexion dark. In a society obsessed with fairness, this was enough to terrify a little girl. But this did not deter my obsession, rather it made tea a symbol of rebellion for me.There were special occasions when we were allowed to drink tea e.g. when We were down with fever or viral, we were given an Ayurvedic Medicine called Tribhuvan Kirti with tea. I loved the special treatment and wished not to get well soon.

As I grew up, tea break during study was an event in itself. My mother took special efforts and woke up early morning to provide the most important tea motivation. When I went to Delhi for study, the winters in the capital made my favourite drink further tempting. Adrakwali chai in Delhi winter is a poetry in itself. You literally look forward to that evening hour, when students make friends, find the love of their life and if time permits, discuss studies over a cup of tea. Tea gave us a moment of relaxation in the present, when we were bogged down with the worries of future.

At one point in life, tea became romance. From different canteens of college and University to taking long walks after dinner for a cup of tea on Mall Road in Mussoorie to namkeen chai on a shikara in Jammu and Kashmir, tea provided a story to a hopelessly romantic girl.

When I started working in Gujarat, tea became a social compulsion and of course, I loved it. Here people are offended if you don’t accept their tea. They pour it directly in a ‘rakabi’ (saucer) in Saurashtra. If you are a special guest, they make it ‘Kadak mitthi’ i.e. your tea has double the amount of tea powder and sugar than a regular tea. They serve it with lot of love and affection. On the other hand, in the marathon meetings, tea is the only saviour to keep you awake.

I have read about the side effects of tea on health and tried to limit it to one cup a day many times but I failed miserably. I tried to replace it with coffee and green tea, but alas! My life doesn’t feel right without it’s precious moments with tea. I have my special places in every town, city, on highways or even in jungles where I love to sit and cherish it. In some remote places where I can’t find my magic drink, I have a quick solution, I go there with a flask and disposable cups. It feels more romantic if you have folding stool with you.

Tea made on a chullha has a unique flavour and taste. During my dieting efforts to shed extra pounds post pregnancy, I waited the whole week for that one special cup of tea made on the chullha. Finally, the love grew by leaps and bounds and now I have got a chullha in my backyard where my weekends become special with the special drink.

I have few places close to my heart where I go for tea only with my soulmate. The places literally make me feel alive and truly happy.

A cup of tea on road side on a busy street, another in the middle of a jungle in the serene company of birds, yet another under a banyan tree, and a cup in mon- soon on a dam site is all that I need to feel loved, and special.

Shobha Bhutada 
18th JAN 2018 
Porbandar