A Cup of Tea
Like most of my countrymen, I also prefer a
good cup of tea than anything else to start my day. A strong cup of tea in the
morning set the tone for rest of the day. It was September. Sky was clear when
I went to bed but I woke up to a surprise. The morning was not a regular morning.
It was something you could just imagine. It was a misty morning filled with
heavenly serenity. A thin light layer of fog had covered the green grass of the
park, behind my house. Leaves of the trees were oozing with dew. My nostrils
were filled with bout of fresh air. An innocent smile spontaneously spread
across my face. I felt the thirst for a strong ginger tea. Thankfully all the
basic ingredients like milk, ginger, tea and sugar were available in my house. Something
difficult to find in a bachelor’s house when it was needed the most. The tea
was ready and the aroma of tea was giving me ‘the morning high’. I took the cup
and went to the back of my house. A perfect cup of tea and a foggy morning; a
rare combination of pleasure and energy. I was into nature’s lap and my mind
was getting gentle pat from nature’s careful hand. Time went by. Sun started to
rise and fog started to fade. But thanks to nature’s touch, I was a revived
person.
Though tea is just a beverage but it has taken an important
place in our day to day life. It is not only the tea which is important but the
company of people and the ambience in which we sip it. It was said you needed
two to tango. But I would add, you need two and tea to tango. There were few
occasions when the tea was not just a sweet brown liquid but a special memory adhesive
which dipped deep into my heart and stick to my mind for months and years.
I remember my college days and the old aunt’s small tea
shop. Three of my very close friends who were also my last bench comrades, had
a common ‘adda’ (location) at that tea shop. After our classes, we always found
‘jannat’ at the tea shop. Venting out our common anger against the college
authority, boring classes and tingling naughty discussions about college girls
used to make our life much easier. Sometimes discussions also delved into our
falling assessment marks and our anxiety over upcoming semester exams.
Sometimes our discussions fluctuated from regional politics to international one
and sometimes from bollywood stupid movies to
There was one more cup of tea which was special for me. It
was January. I was going to my home town (Muzaffarpur) from Delhi .
It was an early morning, around 5 AM .
The train had stopped at an unknown small station for a very long time. I woke
up, took my purse and came out of the train coach. Very few people were seen at
the platform. After walking for few meters, I found a tea shop. The tea vendor
was making tea on coal fire. The mere spot of the tea on coal fire at that time
was like dream come true for me. I gained speed and ordered a cup of tea. The
tea was put into the earthen pot. The aroma of tea in earthen pot was
seductive. I was sipping the tea but got distracted by the shrill deep voice of
a female. She was a tall Muslim girl wearing black salwar kameez. She was very
fair and her big blue eyes were glowing from the top of her ‘hizab’. She had
come for tea. She was holding a hundred rupees note at the tea shop and the tea
shop owner had no change. I went closer and gave a five rupees coin to the
vendor. She was hesitant to take the tea but I insisted. The tea shop owner
missed no time and forwarded her the earthen pot of tea. She looked at me from
the corner of her eyes and said ‘Shukriya’. She said world was small and she
would return my five rupee coin. She went away. I stood there speechless with my
half filled cup of tea. The siren of train brought my senses back. I rushed
towards the train. But my eyes had captured an unforgettable picture.
All the above mentioned cups of tea were special to me. But
the most special as well as the most precious cup of tea I had at Karol Bagh, Delhi .
I was shopping with my mother. After the exhausting stretch of three hour
shopping, we went to a south Indian restaurant. This was the first time, I took
my mother to a restaurant after I started earning. We ordered two plates of
masala dosa and two cups of tea. We finished dosa but were still waiting for
the tea. I asked the waiter, the reason for the delay. He said it was a special
tea and it took time. He had hiked our expectations from the tea. Finally the
star attraction of the restaurant, ‘the tea’ came. The first sip of tea
justified the delay and glorified the reputation of the restaurant. My mother
and I enjoyed every sip of the tea. All our exhaustion had vaporized by the
steam of tea. It was the costliest cup of tea I ever had in my life. But I had
no rues. I had the costliest and the best cup of tea with the most precious
person of my life.
So just not sip your cup of tea but feel it and seal it in your
memory because tea is just not a sweet brown liquid.
