Vegablonding off the beaten track

Chai-ddicted!
Imagine you are walking down the street in India. Every house is painted a shade of vibrant, gaudy color personifying personal taste. Every truck has a 'blow horn' sign on it creating a deafening orchestra. Every chai wallah is preparing copious clay cups of sugar-infused deliciousness waiting to create mini flavor explosions on your tongue. Chai time declares that it is break time in India. These five minutes enable the mustachioed men to enjoy time away from laborious jobs, discuss politics, and allow us tourists to escape the hectic heckling. My dancing tongue and I have become chai-ddicted!
Even though the British brought tea cultivation to India, the Indians have done what they do to all foreign influences- add spice, in every sense of the word! In India each ingredient is not only tasty, but also important like ginger for disease prevention and cardamom for digestion.
Chai is the constant companion of India but with regions varying distinctly in religion, politics, and hygiene, all chai is not the same chai! Going from East to West Bengal by train I had the uncomfortable experience of waking up early in the morning to find my milk and sugar substituted by salt and lime! I later discovered the difference stemmed from both economic and cultural views; in the smaller rural areas sugar is unaffordable and milk is revered because it comes from the holy cow.
Through India's chai culture, I have learnt that Eastern mentality emphasized visualization and creation whereas my Western mind required reasoning and rationality and that is the main reason why many foreigners find Incredible India to be frustrating at times. For one chai-moment in time I have adopted their philosophy and savored every detail, awakening each one of my senses like never before. To me, my chai-ddiction allowed me to sit back and take in the sensory overload comfortably. These rare moments in life create everlasting impressions in my memory and are what I live for as a traveler.