All over a cup of tea.
There is but one pervasive beverage that is common and sort of uniting factor in a diverse country of India, and that’s tea. It even propelled one of our politicians to the position of Prime minister. Indeed tea is an omnipresent drink in all the classes of society. The varieties of tea seen in the recent, its quality differed among the classes in the past but its presence is however eternal. Tea has a very interesting history of its own, from being stolen out of China to being the reason for the Opium war, tea has had it all. It is indeed an addictive substance. There are substantial people who claim it as their laxative, I can hardly blame Brits for their addiction. History and politics aside, tea is the quintessential Indian beverage. This drink is the part and parcel of our lives. In fact, “offering a cup of tea” is an idiom in Kannada to imply the closeness of a relationship.
The morning tea in Sainik school was an everyday festival. The two large Aluminum kettles, one for senior and the other for juniors, carried by a stocky waiter from mess to our houses followed by an aggressive rattling of the handle to the kettle, served as an alarm to all. Personally, the next 5 minutes of brushing my teeth to putting on the PT kit was the fastest task ever performed by me till day. Then running to wash your tumbler and drinking a glass of water and getting inline to fill it to the brim collect your snack and return to your bed to relish your hunt was the way to start the day. As they say a good beginning is half work done, likewise in school this beginning would really set you well for the day since if you would miss tea, there was a high probability you would be late for PT and that was the worst way you could start your day. The taste of tea honestly didn’t matter, there was something soothing about that hot tea being served on cold mornings of Bijapur. The winters were indeed chilly and tea turned into an elixir, like that in a videogame which would boost you when consumed. If you were lucky or early enough you could help yourself with a second serving. The most priced tea one could have was on Saturday, the day we would have a cross country race, this Saturday tea would come with a bun, the freshly-baked previous night. The race before the cross country was for buns, and the tumbler full of tea to dip it and relish. There was no other way you would want to eat that bun better than this on a chilly morning. The soaked bun in tea, hot and steamy soothed all the malice you had for the school momentarily. As all good things come to an end, this moment would also eventually be crushed under the passing wheels of time only to be created again in the future. There was nothing different about the tea in the evening, albeit in ample sunlight, and a few more exciting snacks.
Tea, at home, was a usual affair, mostly with memories taking me back to school days. I can now usually demand any snack I need to accompany it. I honestly have no favorites and have relished many combinations. As I moved out of campus, early days in Dharwad had few tea kiosks where all friends would gather along with my uncertainty of college, UPSC results, calculus, ever forgetting volatile organic chemistry concepts. These discussions freed us momentarily. I eventually found a few refuges in and around my college tea shops. The most memorable tea time was after the second hour of college, there was a sudden rush to the bakeries in front of the gate, the rendezvous of friends from other branches to tea points discussing cricket, college affairs, assignments stirred as a sugar for the tea. The guffaws, repartee, and light humor jokes at others, relaxed us. There are always spots you will remember about your college which stands as a bank of your memories, you deposit your memories to it and care less for the physical building but keep accessing it via internet bank. After years if you pass by your college you will feel happy if you see them exist or nonetheless feel nostalgic about it and move on. My college had 3 such places in front of the college where I swapped depending on the group I was walking with at the threshold of the gate. The first was the bakery to the right, where I would go if the group was of non-smokers. Usual veg puff in mornings and other bakery condiments with tea was the usual practice. The other shack to its left was the den for smokers served tea and breakfast. The breakfast would challenge and improve your immune at the same time, as said unless you were with the smoking gang you wouldn’t venture into it. There was another bakery which was new and this was also another place we visited for our morning tea. This place is where I could claim to have started the trend of bun and tea among college folks as an ode to my school days. The other memorable place for tea was Babu bhai’s shack inside the campus. I loved his Samosas the combo with red chutney was heavenly. This was ideal for both evening tea and morning as his shack was between hostel and academic block. This shack hosted us for the preparative holidays during exams. This shack had ample trees around it and made an ideal place to sit and guffaw over various issues. The other place which I remember is a tea cart guy who used to open only in the evenings, opposite the back gate of BLD medical college. He used to nicely dice the gingers and then crush them add them to tea it gave a distinct flavor to it. Occasionally if I was passing by this place I made it a point to have this tea, this also helped me to mingle with another college group that stayed nearby. Exam times were stressful, I used to to have a full meal before the exam only to walk out hungry. Soon after the exam, we made a point to go to another tea shop that made great snacks specially Bhaji, and treat ourselves. This was the ritual we would stop ranting about how well did we have the exam. We have had more evening tea sessions and spots than one in the mornings. There was something about this soothing beverage that sort of helped me relax.
Once I moved to Manipal, cafeteria near the library was my go-to spot for tea. But my “Perk cafe” was the Parotha Point opposite Manipal gate no 3. This place was also between my room and college and served as a lunch spot sometimes. The evenings here were memorable, I met a few amazing Ph.D. students and the discussions over the tea from science to politics were amazing. None knew, that each of us was an aficionado of something. Tea, history, music, cinemas, science (of course), alcohol, tobacco, etc the range of topics, the discussion and the smoothing butter on the aloo parantha and the pocket-friendly prices it offered was greasing our bonding and conversation. The sonderness of each of our lives was discussed with such awe. There is one thing each of us could agree that we walked out of that place as much learned and an enlightened person we were a day before. The free-flowing of thoughts with tea and great company is the reason we beg time to pause and join us, but it won’t, it says I need to move on.
The canteens of IISc dotted the campus. The one nearby lab was a go-to place in the morning usually with breakfast. We would sometimes walk to another farther point for tea. There was another in the quadrangle of the new building, I loved the samosa served. Then again that was a point where I met many more great minds. We discussed science and people of science and career in science. The confessions of an average Ph.D. student are the indicator of how well you would fare in the field. The other places in and around campus had many “Condiment shops” serving tea. There was another kiosk that served vada pav with tea, this was another go-to place. The tea has been around many pondering and uncertain evenings, it served as the reminder of money you had before you could find a job. Time, money, and tea the combination you need in the right combination.
Days passed, but tea still remained as vital as before. Lonely times, busy bustling home, cold bus stops, hot pakoras, rainy days, lovely dates, cozy beds, dreary nights, nostalgic thoughts, tea has been the companion of it all.
