We, as Indians, thrive in a society built on chai. It’s a staple, whether to start, end, or simply get through the day; present to visitors; drink at a roadside dhaba or railway station; or offer in the deadly ‘chai paani’ combination. Masala, green, black, oolong, or the redundantly named Starbucks creation ‘chai tea latte’ – there’s a chai for everyone.
The offer of a cup of chai embodies the very notion of Indian community and hospitality. Having spent the past several months working in the public health space, I have become accustomed to the endless cups of overly milky, sweet chai that are offered by government officials. From the North East to the South, the dialect, dress, and diet may differ, but the offer of a steaming hot cup of chai remains the same.
What struck me, though, was the equal regularity with which these offers of chai come from the poorest of the poor in the interiors of rural India. A government health program evaluation had taken me to Rajasthan last year, where I interacted with the end-users of the health program in several villages in the state. During that week, I was amazed to find that everyone I spoke to unfailingly invited me into their home for a cup of chai, or sometimes even a meal. These weren’t people who had resources to spare, especially on someone who had come barging into their home asking bothersome questions about their use of government health facilities. Regardless, the immediate reaction to my visit to their home was the offer of a cup of chai, a wonderful phenomenon I have continued to experience as I spend more time in rural India.
It amazed and humbled me to be at the receiving end of such warm and genuine hospitality. It is an experience that is wonderfully Indian, the epitome of the Indian concept of courtesy towards friends and strangers alike. Small gestures like these are what have built us into such a strong community, where cousins are called brothers and sisters, and everyone is an aunty or an uncle. I feel so happy and proud to be part of such a tightly knit society, where favours are a given, formalities are few, and most houses have an open door policy (though perhaps not literally). And at the end of the day, it all comes down to that steaming hot cup of chai.