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Monday, November 07, 2005

Connoisseurs and lovers

Family...
and the day turns into a caravan of chai-breaks, inching forward along the beaten track of warm conversations.

Kashmiri chai - no, not kahwa - but the chai that Lucknow-wallas like to call kashmiri. The chai that the people of Kashmiri Mohalla reserve for very special occasions: Pink. Flavoured. All milk, no water. Loads of dry fruits, warm syrup. Children are allowed to drink this.

I detest it. I drink it.

A friend had once called me 'chai-premi'. Lover of tea.

My uncle tells me about 'his' tea. He says he's a connoisseur. "Use evaporated carton-milk. A little suffices, and it does not cool down the tea. And Lipton Yellow Label tea-bags. Only Lipton. Only tea-bags."

I smile a secret smile to myself... Connoisseurs are not lovers.

Tea is not about measures of xyz ingredients thrown together, on a flame.
It is about mornings, evenings, headaches, preferences, experimentation...

Hibuscus petals with honey. Ginger with Lemon. Ice with boiling water. Jaggery with cardamom.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
Some days it works. Some days it doesn't.

Lovers don't dictate terms to the beloved. They are dictated to.

Chai will not always surrender to your whims. No matter how much you coax it, it will assert its independence. It will spoil itself, and thereby your mood.

There is no fixed 'time' for chai.
Or love.

There is no definite method to chai.
Or love.

There is no limit to the variation of form with chai.
Or love.

You don't always get what you want in a cup of chai.
Or love.

It is rarely excessive - as Kashmiri chai is - and when it is, you sometimes say 'no' to chai.
Or love.

You get burnt if you don't wait before you take the first sip of chai.
Or love.

And like I said, mamoo-jaan, connoisseurs are not lovers.

18 comments:

  1. There's no limit to the number of things one can compare with love.
    Or chai!

    Enjoy your cuppa!

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  2. Chai, is such a magical thing.

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  3. Schweet post. I love making Chai. :-p

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  4. Lovely post. I had never looked at chai in that way. That is perhpas because I don't drink it! But yes, this post made me realise the importance of this drink in social and personal life. So much can happen over a chai!

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  5. Anonymous3:11 PM

    u can like more than one chai at the same time. money can buy chai. chai is cheap. chai does not make demands of "quality time" and "emotional support".

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  6. Zindagi ka zaika nahi, zindagi hi hai yeh. :-)

    Been in love with your writing for a long while; first comment here though. Someday, all of these posts should grace a yellowing dog-eared book that one could carry around.

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  7. i love adrak ka chai (but with the right qty of milk)

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  8. Nice post:)
    Not a chai connoiseur or lover myself, it's just something that soothes a sore throat or warms up a chilly winter evening for me; yet I really liked the parallels - so true:)

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  9. Anonymous3:48 AM

    ek pyala hame bhi milega?

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  10. there's no fixed time for chai or love
    there's bitter rhyme in chai or love
    there's sweetness & fresh wakefulness
    no wonder I'm in chai or love

    cheers,
    d.i.

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  11. david: wah ji, wah! "bitter rhyme in chai or love"... kya kehne.
    anonmous 1: chai is not always cheap. though, i believe you cannot buy the perfect cuppa - we buy the ingredients, not the experience.. just like love... and both are more valuable when given free.
    anonymous 2: mahaz chai chahiye toh ek pyala mil jayega.
    everybody else, thanks a lot :)

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  12. awww....the compliments and love. =)

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  13. shukria Annie -- (though my online dictionary is useless for the kehne part; but...thanks, I'm sure.)
    Incidentally, I've heavily footnoted the word "I'm" in the sher's final line.

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  14. oops! let me try again (had it linked incorrectly); here's for the "I'm" footnote &c.

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  15. Anonymous2:03 AM

    what are you on about? Kasmiri chai doesn't come from kashmiri mohalla, it comes from kashmir.

    and it has Salt in it. its not sweet. its salty, cos you know, it has salt in it.

    and its like not all those things you said. Its just an addiction. You need it, cos you're used to it. If you drink earl gray, its cos you're used to the taste. If you drink `red-tea' from assam, its cos you're used to the taste. You need it at work cos you think you can't go on without its. its all about addiction. Stay without it for sometime, and you wont need it.

    like love.

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  16. You make prose read like verse :)


    Try camomile iced tea...

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  17. Made me reach for my cuppa. :)

    But pink chai? I wouldn't mind trying.

    No, wait. PINK?

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  18. a delightful post, and you're so right - connoisseurs are not lovers

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