The train grinds to a halt at the dusty railway station of Bhuj. I groan as I straighten my hurting body on the top sleeper. The trip had been long, bone jarring and uncomfortable. As I rub out the restless sleep from my puffy eyes, I hear the ubiquitous music heard all over India - Chaiiiiiii, chaiiiiiii, garram garrrram chaiiiiiii...
Chai is the common thread that runs from the length and breadth of India - Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Surat to Patna - “unity in diversity.” The whole country is dotted with numerous Chai stalls and from dawn to dusk, thousands of people converge into these stalls (think about the squares in Europe) – office goers, laborers, philosophers, poets, writers and occasional tourists. Anytime is an occasion to have a cup of Chai.
The subtle differences in Chai from different regions are amazing. In North India, the “Chai” is creamier, sweeter, and spiced with Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon or pepper – the result, the delicious “Masala” Chai to warm one’s cockles on a cold winter morning. In the East, “Cha” is served in a Kullhar or Mutka, tiny clay cups, which give the Chai a distinct earthy flavor - an experience to die for, whilst you sit and enjoy the fragrant breeze from the endless green rice fields. Down south, “Chaiya” is served in shot glasses. Your jaws drop as you watch the “Chaiya Master” beat up a creamy froth (did the Italians steal this idea for their equally delicious cappuccino?) by pouring the tea energetically back and forth between two glasses – the result of this rhythm is a tiny shot glass of purely delicious frothy “Chaiya”! The Indian Chai experience is not complete without the “Irani Chai”, the recipe that was imported by the Iranians living in Hyderabad, the “high tech” city in South India. The tea is distinctly Iranian (the tea leaves are processed in a different way) but the Indians have heartily adopted this foreigner as their own.
The crowning glory of Indian tea experience is the Kashmiri tea Kahva, a green tea infused with crushed almonds, green cardamom, cinnamon and strands of saffron. This aromatic tea becomes an exhilarating experience when sipped aboard the Shikara’s (the local wooden boats) elaborately carved wooden verandas while drifting across a crystal clear lake high in the Himalayan Mountains.
I order for a cup of chai and wait expectantly. The chai-wallah pours out a steaming cup of the delicious chai and I hand him five rupees. He grins happily as I sip the hot concoction with a satisfied smile on my face. The bone breaking journey is just a faint memory.
