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When something becomes such a big staple part of our lives, it can be the greatest comfort as we go through life and change.
A family member casually remarked that I had missed an occasion to celebrate International Tea day, given the tea fanaticism that marks my daily life. Most of the world drinks this brew in varied forms and with different additives ranging from milk, sugar, honey, lemon or sometimes just plain black.
My fascination with tea began in my childhood when my uncle, being a tea lover, introduced me to the brew in my school days. That started my lifelong association with chai though my taste and affinity for it evolved over time.
The fragrant masala chai that I drink daily unlocks powerful memories right from my childhood to the sleepless nights and early mornings during my college days when I simultaneously pursued two different degrees, the chai breaks with friends from the campus reading room before the finals and more recently, the late-nighters, that is inherent in a corporate environment.
The short work trips abroad tested my tea affinity. I almost always skipped breakfast on mornings on those occasions and lined up outside the nearest Starbucks for a chai tea latte, the closest affiliate to my chai back home. I had experimented with a few other outlets tasting teas blasphemously labelled as chai before settling in on the Starbucks solution.
From Hong Kong to Singapore, Sydney to Tokyo, this solution worked well for me so much to a point where I would locate the nearest Starbucks before I enter my hotel or serviced apartment. When work opportunities forced permanent relocation, I had to look for more permanent solutions. Just like the character in O’Henry’s All for a cup of tea, I scouted out the Indian grocery shops and noted their delivery times, their adherence to the brand I ordered.
My chosen grocer learnt not to mess with my chai brand though he often took liberty with replacing my preferred dhal and other food brands. My husband’s preferred go-to-brew became a mug of masala chai when discussing serious issues though, he had no particular love for caffeinated drinks.
Back home, I made it a point to show off my tea brewing skills to my closest relatives and family starting from the amount of tea powder to be used, the tea masala (homemade or bought) that should be used in conjunction with just the right amount of milk and the art of filtering it after brewing it for just the right amount of time.
While I may win no culinary prizes, my chai making skills caught the fancy of my family and friends and the labour of love marked a turning point in increasing the number of tea drinkers in my social circle.
Needless to say, the tea affinity continues!
Picture Credits: Pexels
Author of Maya & the Mind Mystics novella. Word Sculptor. Wodehouse fan. Bibliophile. Chartered Accountant. An ardent believer of the reality of multiverses. read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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