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That’s it. I have been sitting all day glued to my laptop screen, replying to emails and creating presentations. I felt the need of flexing my muscles which had stayed motionless for the entire day. I was in dire need of some fresh air too.
I stepped out and went for a walk. With no place in mind, I let my legs pave the way.
In about 20mins, I reached the most crowded place of the town – Railway Station. When I say crowded, I don’t just mean people, but vehicles as well, honking aloud to make their way.
I cursed myself to have gotten here and now, I was struggling to get out of this mess. I could see vehicles strolling in from everywhere, flouting all the traffic rules. Not their fault but the design and architecture of this place. There was hardly any space to walk.
After a few hops, skips and jumps I entered the narrow lane adjacent to the railway station. Because no vehicles were allowed there.
I stopped. I didn’t want to walk any further and certainly didn’t have the patience to immediately go through that mess I passed just now. Not at least for another half an hour or so.
I wasn’t tired but needed to cool off a bit. I headed towards my usual spot; a local cafe.
I called for a cup of tea. I took a few hurried sips of hot ginger tea, as soon as I got hold of it.
Now, if you are getting an impression of the likes of Starbucks or Cafe Coffee Days, I must say, you are badly mistaken.
When I say ’Local Cafe’ I mean an ordinary tea stall which is notoriously known as ’Chai Ki Tapri’ in Hindi.
Since I had been sitting at one, I thought ’why not talk about it.’ This one is located just outside the railway station, separated by 3-4 feet metal barricade.
The structure is placed in such a way that the tea can be served on either side of the barricade. The table top is elevated and attached to the upper part of the cordoned fence. So, it acts as a window for the people in the railway premise, and for outsiders, the entry is from the other side of the road.
It is not a huge space and you will find such stalls in every nook and corner. Just one or two stalls are not enough to meet the demand for Chai (Hindi word for tea). There are many in the area but they remain unaffected by the competition. After all, they just need a few miniature glasses, tea kettle, ingredients, a gas stove and small space as an investment to become The Tea Seller.
As I continued to write, I ordered for the second cup and the tea seller happily filled the same flavoured Chai on the miniature version of a glass; and gave it to me. Now, they have started to provide paper glass for take aways, I observed as I took my first sip from the second cup. Oh my gosh, it tastes so well.
Speaking about the taste, it is unique. Its not only the locals but people from another country like it. No, no, I never had anyone visit here in this stall but to the similar outlet close to my office. I took my Australian clients there once and they liked it so much that they preferred to have that tea till the last day of their stay in Mumbai.
Basically, they serve two types of tea. One for locals, depending upon their tastes, which is always on the gas stove boiling and the other, which is also called as ’pewer’, it is nothing but pure as per your likeliness – custom-made.
Sometimes it is a landmark or a meeting place. People chatter and discuss. It extends to all the age group. It is also a smoker’s paradise who prefer sips between puffs.
I lost the track of time being so immersed in writing about it. I didn’t even notice how long this post is going to be. Anyways, I decided to publish it as-is. The traffic, too, was cleared now and I headed back to my home.
No matter how fancy the other modernised cafe shops are, the chai ki tapri still remains close to our hearts.
Hope you would have liked it if you ever had been in any such stalls. Hope this post helps to re-live the experience you would have had.
Please do share through comments if you have been able to relate.
MOVING NOTIONS 