The Americans take their
coffee on the go, if you happen to be driving during the morning hours in the
US, you will see a majority of the drivers having their coffee while driving to
work. While America works on coffee, the English and their tea is a tradition.
The English tea in flowered porcelain cups are as much English as bread
pudding. But no where in the world has the making and taking of tea acquired a
cult status as it is India.
From the kadak chai of Mumbai
to the Irani chai of Hyderabad every Indian has his or own favourite way of
making the brew that India wakes upto. We Indians do not believe in the making
tea as the world does, with the tea leaves seeped in hot water and had with a
little cream or sugar. Like our cuisine we prefer our tea to be robust. Based
on personal preferences, the tea is made either with full milk or half milk and
half water, which has to be boiled and simmered and sugar and tea leaves till
its aroma wafts around the surroundings and wakes up the soul.
Each person I have seen has
his or her own idiosyncrasy associated with the first cup of the day, some like
it scalding hot right from the kettle on the stove to their cup and their lips
in a matter of minutes if not seconds any delay and they say it is as cold as
water. While some prefer it luke warm and some take it downright cold. The
variations are as varied as there are races, one of my cousins wants his tea to
be served hot with steam rising from the cup, he would take the cup place it on
a table near him and watch it till the steam slowly subsides, when only then would he take the first sip. Give
him a cup of tea that is not scalding hot and he would send it back saying the
tea is cold. When asked the response was classic, “watching the steam rise from
the tea enhances the pleasure of anticipation it is the same as the romance of
waiting for ones beloved” .
This set me off thinking of
tea and romance Indian style and what I observed was that no matter how harried
the life of the Indian couple, no matter how hard up he is for time and space
no matter how rushed the days, irrespective of age and social status morning tea
time is a time for romance Indian style. And each couple has perfected its own
style of romantic tea ritual.
I know this couple, the
husband makes the morning tea as he is the one to get up earlier of the two and
after his morning walk returns home and makes the tea and wakes up his wife, by
the time she finishes her morning rituals the tea is ready. The husband serves
the tea along with the biscuits and takes it out in the verdandah, where the couple
enjoy their first cup of the day. Now, the wife takes extra sugar in the tea,
and it is the husbands duty, once she is seated across him to add the extra
sugar to the tea and stir it and hand over the cup to her. And if the husband
adds in the extra sugar in the kitchen she takes a sip of the tea and leaves it
saying its not done properly. And the days when the husband is off on tours,
she has no trouble with making and drinking the tea by herself.
Then there is this other
couple who have their first cup of tea in the balcony of their apartment, while
reading the paper. The husband reads the paper while the wife prepares the
morning tea and brings it out to the balcony. Once she places the tea cups on
the table the husband stops reading the paper and gives it to his wife, who
reads the paper while the husband drinks the tea. Once she finishes reading the
paper, the husband removes the thin layer of cream that forms on the tea if
left to cool, and hands over the cup to the wife.
The one with most consequences
was the ritual of one of my many aunts and uncles, it was the husbands duty to
make the morning cup of tea for the wife. My aunt after having the cup of tea
would enter the kitchen only after her husband served her tea. She would not
have the morning tea if any person other my uncle made or served it to her. And
God forbid if for any reason my uncle did not make or serve tea to her, she
would not enter the kitchen itself forget cooking. My uncle had to first make
the tea and serve her and only then would she enter the kitchen. One good thing
about this was no matter how big the quarrel between the two of them, it would
have to be resolved by a cup of morning tea else the whole house would go
hungry.
As for me and my husband, we
get up in the morning and wait for the maid to come and give us the morning cup
of cheer.
