Over a Cuppa .

Over a Cuppa .

Tea  has been the queen of beverages ,and tea drinking highly aristocratic ; sometimes a snobbish ceremony,  with style, ceremony  and  drama….Victorian for short .

That apart , there is something simple yet strong ,genuine and pure about the freshly brewed tea ; an aroma  that  stimulates the foggy mind , stirs the need to chat,helps in   expressing  the deepest thoughts, clears the emotions along with the sinuses ,and then finally leads to a real moment , that of magic and self discovery ! Our  man ki baat finds a vent , overflows uninterrupted, thereby  connecting us to our deep inner selves  , like an  introduction to ones atma , spiritually speaking .

The rich aroma from the tea cup, the khushbu from the boiled leaf ,makes a contact with the lip without any slip, there is a completeness ,as you gulp down this hot elixir ;a kind of fulfillment  that can only be  felt and then nirvana .. ultimate bliss!

Yet there is a segment that disagrees with the magic of the cuppa.. Somewhere there is a conflict . Passion versus dispassion ; worship versus war , aam aadmi  versus suave and an  urban  entity ; kulhad  vs a glamorous ceramic cup like  Garib versus amir story

 It’s heartbreaking to see a svelte  Pepsi/Coke  bottle hanging amidst the gang of chai walla earthen kulhads .The rivalry is even more pronounced  when the dapper coffee mugs are seen held tightly between fingers that should be holding tea cups instead. National drink hai na and our head of the nation … anyway lets not go there .. he has already explained  many times over how  tea is the secret of his energy  and  success and proved it too . So a  condemning attitude towards tea is by itself damnable and anti national too!.

Now, do you think the non tea drinkers are not warm and wear an attitude ,are nakhra wallas? . Could they be  cold uncaring ,unthinking callous and unconcerned , seething in bitterness and anger  all the time? Well, I don’t think so. They are truly good people but may be not so hyper-interactive and wastefully  friendly  like the sippers .

This beverage  has its tentacles going far and wide ,stretching to the realms of good health and weight loss. At least that is what some brands of Chinese teas promise ..but then the Chinese goods are for long known, for their  short term efficacy and our very own Mr. Trump while lauding India’s  big strides towards eliminating garibi came down heavily, in the same breath ,on the Chinese trade ethics .So by that logic Chinese tea for weight loss may not be the right answer .
Also this humble cuppa has had a new avatar in the form of spice therapy. Haldi chai , best seller turmeric latte in the west ,cinnamon tea, ginger, cardamom ,coriander and last but not the least fenugreek tea… the entire spice rack ..My instinct says that it could be a prank played by someone , thereby throwing offguard ,a  normal ‘born with’ chai palate person, with promises of health ,vigour ,vitality and longevity in the name of spices added to our basic cuppa .Not fair , let these spices and condiments grace our dal and curries alone .Leave the tea alone please!

The colour, taste, texture of dood chai with very carefully weighed ,measured and synchronized amounts of sugar ,milk ,tea and masala is like a perfect melody ,de-stressing the distressed soul reenergizing and invigorating a dull hopeless moment ;thus far no further as the Chinese wanderer mentioned when he discovered the tea plant .

For centuries tea has also been counselling people . It has been a social drink in India and has ironed out many creases in our socio economic and our very own personal lives .Most  intricate and complex family ladai jhagdas and social issues get sorted out over a cuppa across the table besides rightful manipulation  and rajneeti ki santh ganth . That is the strength of this leafy wonder plucked miles and miles away from home  and delivered in an innocent looking cup –a cup that has the power of stimulation motivation and jubilation as in any ghar wapasi  event!

 Time for a cuppa then!  Bas ek payali ....