TEA ❤

My most favourite time of the day is tea (Chai) time. There are essentially two tea drinking sessions in the day — few cups in the morning and about two cups in the evening.

Tea drinking, to some is about routine, to some others is about the flavour, to some about spending time with family and to a few others it is about solitary time. To me, this time in the morning is associated with a time of solitude and being “socially distant”(haha!). In the evening, it gives me the time to connect with family, talk about new things, though we’re almost always spending time with each other under the current lockdown circumstances.

I find myself making really hot tea,walking around with it long enough for it to cool down, only to find myself walking back to the microwave. I’ve almost lost count of the number of times this has happened to me. My two grandmothers have had varied reactions to this happening — one looks absolutely perplexed about the time taken over a cup of tea and the other absolutely concerned as it gets cold.

Of course, this is a luxury that I enjoy when I’m home and given the multiple extensions of the lockdown, one can only imagine what this would mean to me.(haha!)

While there are many, many kinds of tea, the closest to my heart is the regular Indian Chai and, if it has to be special, it’s got to have ginger or the more popular Indian spices (fondly called masala chai).

Drinking tea with friends and colleagues when outside home is a whole new experience. While it is not about how hot or tasty the tea is, it’s a lot to do with the company. Conversations over chai often result in thought provoking revelations, an opportunity to connect with people whom we know so little about. One might argue that conversations after a few drinks are inimitable; while that could be true, chai conversations aren’t forgotten. They stay with you.

The thought of not being able to do that with my peers anytime soon is saddening, but the thought of the upcoming monsoon almost swiftly pushes this fleeting thought out of mind. I’m not a huge fan of the monsoon, unless, of course, I’m indoors and watching the beautiful scenery outside.

Come rain or shine (quite literally), chai to me will always be special…. I’m sure, many great LEADER(s) in the country would agree with me.

-AL