a tentative girl of eight, measuring one teaspoon of tea leaves, a quarter teaspoon of sugar and half a cup of milk for the chai...then gingerly carrying the same on a steel tray and two white cups to her parents on their wedding anniversary!
a tired hostelite sipping her nth cup of black tea in the wee hours of the morning, sleep long forgotten-adrenaline and fear her only companion, apart from the warmth from the chipped ceramic mug
an enthusiastic twenty something intern learning the ropes of corporate life, on the road side tapri outside the office...A glass of cutting chai in hand...All differences forgotten whilst bonding over sweet, over-boiled oh-so-familiar-glass of masala chai and office gossip, along with her colleagues!
a newly wed wife missing her husband in his nth tour away from the city...weaving dreams of future with her boyfriend-turned-spouse, as she sat with her cup of elaichi, adrak and saunf chai and Mariegold biscuit, body wrapped in a tight shawl that Bangalore winter...pining away for together times...
a harried multitasking mom sipping her semi-cold cup of tea, as she juggled to get her daughter ready for school...savoring the familiar warmth of the morning tea, slowing going down the throat, as she revised the notes with her teenager before the Annual exams.
a beaming with pride mother sitting with hot cuppa Earl Grey with scones and clotted cream , in an unfamiliar town , far far away from her home, near her daughter's dormitory...soaking in the sight of neat, yet small tea-house...and that of her daughter all grown up, mature...talking to her like an equal
a friend connecting with another school friend, after thirty odd years...over a pot of slowly brewed chamomile...much like the love and connection over all the years of friendship - calming and soothing....and very distinct!
a pensive and quiet forty-five something, thinking about different flavors of life gone by ..into the wee hours of night...strongly brewed like tulsi-cinnamon flavored tea, relaxing like lavender chamomile, invigorating like ginseng oolong or just downright bitter like moringa tea...
Every cup of tea has a story to tell...
I am fortunate I have begun to enjoy and listen to mine ,
without rushing towards the future!
"Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves -
slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.
Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
