A cup of tea

The harsh buzzing of my alarm clock woke me up from my deep sleep. Its still dark outside and I wonder why on earth my alarm hissing at this unearthly hour? I rub my eyes and check to my amazement that its 6 am already. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise. I have been reading this from my kindergarten but never actually tried to follow it, until now when I read somewhere that most of the successful people in the world have a common trait. They all wake up early in the morning. I don’t know what is the parameter of measuring success in one’s life but I have a tendency to follow the tips and tricks of the trade. I forbid myself from sleeping further and wanted some miracle to just lift me from my bed. Still unable to wake up I turn in my bed and had a dream with my eyes half open. On an ornate wooden table is kept a milky white china cup with intricate gold petals painted on it. It has  a gold rim and a curved handle in the shape of a peacock. White fumes are rising from the cup. When I come near and peep into the cup, my face is clouded with the warm mist and my nose is filled with an aroma so heavenly. I could see a light brown liquid resting in the cup waiting to be devoured by “you know who”. I almost jolted up from my bed and shouted with my eyes wide open, “Me …me!…its for me!…I am coming!!…”

I woke up my husband with my scream. He asked, “What happened??”. I mumbled under my breath, “That tea is for me!…white cup…gold petals…peacock…” he replied still in sleep, “What are you blabbering?…well…did you say tea?…yes make some for me too…” I asked still dazed, “But you made for me…tea…in china cup…white fumes….”. He smiled and replied, “I made tea?…and who wants to drink that?”

The fact is that we both like tea made by me. Its an irony that years ago he only taught me how to make a perfect cup of tea. My idea of making tea was dumping all the ingredients together in a sauce pan and waiting for the water to boil. When the desired color comes up then strain it to a cup. But according to the scientific tea research done solely by him, that’s not the correct way. First let the water boil. When it starts bubbling put the tea leaves. Then wait patiently for the tea leaves to lose their color. Being an obedient student by nature, I would wait with my head over the sauce pan scrutinizing each tea leaf with my piercing eyes irrespective of the heat burning my face. Then finally put some fresh milk and sugar if desired and bring to a final boil. And there you get your golden cuppa! That was the first and the last time he entered the kitchen to make tea.

The dream did the trick and I finally woke up leaving the cozy comfort of my blanket on this cold and dreary morning. I convinced myself in my mind that a successful person in the making definitely needs to be self dependent. I entered the kitchen and put some water to boil. Seeing the empty jar of tea leaves, I cut open another Tata tea gold packet and remembered the scene from the movie Baghban where they showed Hema Malini opening the Tata tea gold packet every morning. Hema Malini, the dream girl with an unparalleled beauty making tea. She looked absolutely exotic even at that age and gave serious beauty complex to our mothers, chachis and maamis. While the tea was brewing and the tea leaves in the process of losing their color, I spotted my husband in the dining hall already awake and busy with his mobile. I asked him out loud, “Hey did you ever think me as your dream girl? I mean not exactly as your wife or girl friend but as a …dream girl?”. I will take a moment to describe myself at this instant. I am  in my pjs with a messy bun on top of my head and wearing my age old favorite red frayed slippers and my face looks like a swollen dough due to cold. But he replied instantly without even lifting his head from the mobile, “Yes of course! You were and are and always be my dream girl”. I smirked at his prompt reply. After so many years of marriage he knows how to handle my out of the blue and awkward questions. 

Tea is ready. Yay! So I am capable of making at least some of my dreams come true. Well except for the fact that I pour my tea in a huge American sized mug instead of the dainty gold rimmed peacock handle tea cup of my dreams. I handed one mug to my husband and removed the curtains of my window. The darkness was gone but no sunshine since it was raining. 

With the mug of piping hot tea gripped in my hands, I remembered the time we visited Kodaikanal. The untouched beauty of this hill station is one of God’s beautiful creations. It would rain every evening there. One day while returning from sight seeing, we got drenched in the rain and found shelter under the tin roof of a tiny tea shop selling bakery biscuits. In the corner of the shop, there was a small stove which had a big pot of boiling tea. The rain was pelting hard on the tin roof and so it was barely able to save us from the rain water. Shivering in our wet clothes we ordered two teas. It was served in those typical small and thick transparent glasses. With one warm sip down our throat we forgot all discomfort and instead started to enjoy the beauty of the rain. I remembered the scene in Dil Se where Shah Rukh Khan was holding two similar tea glasses in his hands with rain drops falling in them.

So by now you know…I am a little filmy!

In my childhood occasionally we used to visit my relatives place in the interiors of Bengal by a local train. In those trips we used to be crazy about another form of tea. The train would usually stop for few minutes in very small stations and our eyes would be trying to spot just one thing. A guy running back and forth on the platform carrying a steel can and shouting, “Lebu chaa…lebu chaa…lebu chaa!”. “Lebu chaa” means lemon tea. Its another form of tea sans the milk. He would serve it in very small plastic cups. A transparent light brown tea with sugar and a squirt of lemon and some black salt sprinkled on top for extra flavor. The cup was so small that we would gulp it down in just two sips and then ask for more. It was one of the most refreshing teas I ever had. Another component that makes a tea extra tasty is when it’s served in something known as a “kulhad”. “Kulhad wali chai” is an absolute favorite!

Talking about trains I can’t help but mention what I call the “Bharatiya railway ki dip dip chai”. I am generally used to travelling long hours by train. That too mostly alone on my trips from my work town to my home town. In such tedious journeys, I would find solace in just four things. The blue curtains of my side lower berth which do a good job of saving me from the prying eyes of the passengers curious about a lone girl travelling. The scenic views of endless green fields with scattered coconut trees, water bodies and an ample dose of ‘gaon ka desh bharat’ from my window. My dear books and last but not the least, “Bharatiya rail ki dip dip chai”. I would prefer not to comment on the taste of that chai in view of the comfort it provides me in my lengthy journey. Other than the passengers, the railway attendants would also shower their extra attention on madam travelling alone. They would occasionally enquire if I was feeling cold and needed an extra blanket or an offer to charge my dying phone or to inform me that the train is running late and if nothing then they would simply ask, “Madam kuch chahiye?”. To which I would at times reply, “Haan…zara chaiwale ko bhijwa dena…bhaiya…”

Although I have a habit of drinking tea only twice a day, my family comprises of avid tea drinkers or I should rather say tea lovers. They desperately want tea almost each hour. Tea acts as a catalyst for them to handle their day to day lives. The group comprises strictly of two kinds of lovers. One group loves tea which is what I would like to describe as extremely flavored runny hot water with just a hint of tea, sugar and milk. In such cases its preferred if the tea is of high quality, like Darjeeling or Assam tea. Another group like their tea rich and creamy. Its made fully of milk, no water preferred, lots of tea leaves and sugar, at times with ‘chai masala’ which is a concoction of different condiments like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, saffron and they would be absolutely delighted if a dollop of cream is added on top. I call it a dessert rather than a drink. But that’s the beauty of this thing called tea. Drink it in any form and it translates to pure bliss.

Americans mostly prefer coffee but here also tea has a different form of existence. Its something like our dip dip tea but they are available in numerous flavors.  My husband has a knack of tasting different flavored teas so one of the compartments in my kitchen cup board is choked with a plethora of teas ranging from hibiscus, chamomile, peppermint, rose hip, cinnamon. You name it and we have it. Moreover each tea comes with a promise to either relieve stress or to aid in a good night’s sleep or is a mood lifter. Can’t say how much truth these promises hold but I find them very useful when I am not in the mood of going through the whole process of chai making but still want to enjoy a cup of tea. I just need to pop a mug of water in the microwave for few minutes and let my flavored dip tea brew. And voila! A pure moment of relaxation in just a few minutes effortlessly.

Drinking tea is a tradition in many other parts of the world like the famous English tea party. The English like to host an afternoon tea party which is accompanied with a lot of finger food like sandwiches, cakes, scones. I never got a chance to enjoy such a tea party as yet. My knowledge comes only from the British old movies and serials and of course from Alice’s Mad Hatter’s tea party! The Japanese also have tea ceremonies where tea making is a ritual in itself. There are  a lot of rules for such tea parties. But I being partial to my own culture, like the Indian tea parties the best. Just make some chai with garma garam pakodas, samosas or bhajiyas. Simply gather your family or invite some friends, have lots of gup shup and keep the cups of teas and plates of mouthwatering savories coming and that’s the ceremony.  No rules ladies and gentlemen!

If such a gathering is not possible then just be like I am now. Sipping my tea in an early morning, occasionally dipping my Marie Gold biscuit in  the tea  and munching and enjoying the rain lost in my own thoughts. Go grab you cup of tea before it gets cold!