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30/08/09

A Tea-Time-Tale by Mayuri

I bet we all remember our first times--- first cycle ride, first prize, first drink, first salary, first kiss, first lie... first this & that...
But I also remember my first cuppa tea! :) :)
Because it occured to me after a long wait and lots of anticipation!!! And it happened in too special a way to forget!!!

Okay now, lets begin from the beginning.
For me, tea meant......
...a fancy drink
...a childhood tabooo
...an elders delight
...an enigma
Yes, I was not allowed to have tea. This rule courtesy my grandma; she did not like her children to have tea- and I a kid to her ever. So I never ever had a sip of tea for 27 odd years of my life! (Wonder if that's some sort of a record)


Anyways, I know I was always drawn to this mysterious drink, its woody color and the-then indefinable aroma. Tea was like an enigma for me, something I'd always associate with adulthood (!), choice (!!) andmaturity (!!!) Weird? But that's what it was for me. Those delicate tea sets were equally fascinating, uhhhh, forbidden too! I had watched my elders and cousins sipping their tea and wondered how it tasted. Imagined if it tasted anything like horlicks and decided that it certainly tasted better. Assumed if tea tasted like hot-chocolate and conclued that being the elder's drink it was, it was bound to have a better (read: less sweetened) flavor. The days passed by and I simply belived that I wasn't cut out fora cuppa tea (ironic, haa)... But I'm proven wrong. :)

Animesh (my husband), an avid tea lover himself, never liked the idea of us having different beverages.(Him: Tea; Me: All except tea) So early one morning, he handed me a tea mug and asked me to taste it. ("your introduction to tea", he quipped) He was kind enough to say that I could leave drinking if I did not like it!
So I sipped.
Relished.
Loved it.
And thanked Animesh for my first cuppa ever!! I love him so for this special cuppa and for this perfect moment. :)

Three weeks down, I have travelled across six states, eleven cities and stopped at a number of tea stalls. Needless to say, I enjoyed every single cupppa tea I had.
Proud to be the new kid on the tea block, though still experimenting with tea types and snacks to go with chaii. I liked samosa n plain marie biscuits so far...
Here, may I ask the readers of this post: would you tell me whats your favourite cup of tea & snacks? I'd love to try it out :)

I want to thank Om for letting me tell my tea-story @ chai-ki-dukaan. For letting me be a fellow chai-wali on your blogspace. This whole experience is awesome. Thanks buddy! :)

P.S. Two days back, I asked amma (my grandma) as why she kept me away from this wonderful cuppa. She chuckled and said "Some things are worth the wait"
I agree, amma!!

Some tea-pics now:



My first tea-mug @ Home, Hyderabad :)
Chai at a dhaba on way to Patni-Top (Jammu)


Bollywood Masala Mix & Truck-Driver Especial Chaii @ Cha Bar, New Delhi.
Chai ke Glass @ Cha Bar

* Posted by Mayuri


16 comments:

  1. ah what a lovely beginning of a love story that seems is going to last a long time....and such an appropriate platform...to share it, this so special a chai ki dukaan...thanx :))

    touched by the togetherness, your husband desires with you...sweet :)

    you are so right, mayuri...drinking tea sure is a sign in our culture at least of havin crossed the line to not being so child like any more.....funny when i think when i started drinking tea....after finishing college i think :))

    and last but definitely not the least...superb photographs....

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  2. Such a beautiful post, Mayuri.
    27 years...wow! that's a long time, a really long wait.

    I can relate with the post because
    I remember, as child I was not allowed to have 'chai'. "Bachche chai nahi peetay," is what I was told. :( I was 12-13 yrs old when I tasted tea. However, I started drinking tea only when I was 18-19 yrs old. Today, I can't imagine a day without my daily dose of chai :))

    -- writing this while sipping hot ginger tea :)))
    It is raining heavily right now here in Delhi... perfect time for a cup of garam chai with a 'chai-time story' at 'chai ki dukaan'. Thanks for sharing with us :)

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  3. and lovely pictures, Mayuri.
    I esp like the 'Chai ke Glass @ Cha Bar' Beautiful :)

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  4. Awwww...Mayuri that was way too cute.thats not astonishing to me either,as I have never tried TEA in my life till now ;-)
    however my first cop of coffee which doesnt date back long either was special too..some firsts are simply unforgettable!!

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  5. I reconnected with tea after some time -- It went like this - I was visiting a friend in San Jose. It was after quite some time that I was seeing him. Also I was coming straight from airport. I reached his place and he said.. what will you like to have.. Water.. etc and then said, Or I could make tea for you. Those words stuck with me. I wanted to say YES ! Please make tea for me. But I did not. I could not perhaps. But I kept thinking of tea all night.

    After that I visited another friend the same evening and as soon as I entered his house, he said - Chai peeyegi.. garam garam. I said YES !!! and we both had tea sitting on his Jhoola sekofying dhoop.

    I loved it ! and it was then I reconnected with tea ! Ah memories

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  6. simply wonderful. i don't remember the first time i started tea... but i know that i used to drink it sometimes and then i was off it for approximately 10 years... sort of fashion in my family when all my cousins left tea... i recently started drinking tea again... and i must say in my office tea is definitely better than the coffee available

    nice post.. wonderfully written and yes i also remember "bache chai nahin peete"

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  7. Welcome Mayuri! Very well written post :)

    "So I never ever had a sip of tea for 27 odd years of my life! (Wonder if that's some sort of a record)" - well...I'm gonna turn 25 soon and I havent tasted tea yet...thats my record...ha! My reason - my mom thought I'd never drink milk if I happened to like tea...
    Will be back for more :)

    Sweety

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  8. i liked you 'my first tea mug' pic and nice post.

    i think i am that rare species who dont like chai. i drink only when i have fever/cold, kind of kaadha.

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  9. thanks everyone for dropping by, reading this post & leaving your comments. am glad to see that you liked my post. in turn, it's nice to know your own first-tea memories. thanks for sharing :)

    @ joy :)
    true, chai-ki-dukaan is a special plateform to share tea-tales :)

    @ swati
    right, that bacche-chai-nahi-peetay line had become our parents's trademark evening punch
    line (at tea time)
    hope you enjoyed your cuppa tea :)

    @ vaishali
    yes, some firsts are way to special.
    do tell us whenever you have your first cuppa tea :)

    @ iya
    that was some cute tea-tale! thanks for sharing :)

    @ AKS
    nice. am sure you office tea tastes good :)

    @ the-sagittarian-blogger
    my nani would completely agree with what your mom said... but maybe you will also start drinking tea in future. do share the experience with us :)

    @ geet
    hmm.. that's perfectly ok :)
    what's your favourite beverages/ drink then? :)

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  10. I love this blog, where tea lovers collide and just share their reverence to this wonderful creation...Oooo...chai!!!

    =)

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  11. coconut water and plain water :)

    sometimes kanche waala soda waali bottle or slice or thumbs up,and it is like once in a month.

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  12. Welcome to the chai ki chuski club :) on chai ki dukaan!

    we all have our firsts of Tea I guess :) mine is dated back to sometime around 1996 when a group of theatre enthusiasts took me to a chai ki dukaan "up the hill, across the road, down the lane" from my college!

    us-se pehle I used to be, Auntiji main chai nahin peeta! nahin auntiji, Doodh bhi nahin peena! achcha nimbu paani bana deejiye!

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  13. @ nirja
    yup.. its great to share :)

    @ preet
    no chai? :)

    @ om
    shukriya dost.. am honoured to be a member of chai-club :)

    interesting 'first tea' tale you have, kabi detail me batana :)

    @ everyone
    three cheers for chai & chai-ki-dukaan!!

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  14. Lovely post! And lovely pictures!

    Always have been a tea drinker, right from the time I can remember!
    The milk nutrients were obtained by consuming loads of dahi and butter!

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  15. Some things are definately worth the wait or you wouldn't realise their importance at all.. :)

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  16. @ jas
    thank you :)

    @ sam
    true! thanks :)

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