T(e)antalizing Topic of my choice(AmitL)

Oh,wow…being selected BUFer of the week’s such a thrill, I haven’t got over it yet. So, here goes a post of my choice. Hope you like it:

Do you remember the song(Inane lyrics, but, still…grin..translated to the best of my abilities for Keshi)

Ek Garam Chai ki Pyaali Ho(Let there be one warm cuppa tea)
Koi Usko Pilaane Waali Ho ( A lady around to help me drink it(ea))
Chaahe Gori Ho Ya Kaali Ho(Let her be white or black)
Seene Se Lagaane Waali Ho( She should be capable of hugging me)

(Crazy, says Keshi-wait till you hear some other songs of this sort from Bollywood, Keshi)

So, anyway, I thought it’s high time that I shared my experiences with my favourite drink- tea. So, here goes an educational, yet funny look at cha cha cha.

Does anyone really dislike tea? That warm,tasty,ubiquitous ‘cuppa cha’. In Dubai,be it 0530 AM, or 1130 PM, I/ you can see people proudly clutching that thermocole glass filled with chai in one hand, the second hand on their waist- I guess it probably gives them a sense of having conquered the world, and they feel that they are holding it’s most prized possession in their hands.

Remember the song’ Main aur meri cha(a)i aksar yeh baatein karte hain(Me and my tea-we often talk..)…ok,ok, that’s not the song…that song is ‘mein aur meri tanhaai aksar..…’

Some drink with a slurp(I tried,to see what pleasure a slurp of tea gives, but, couldn’t-how can you slurp when you are using a thermocole glass and not using a saucer?),some drink it in one gulp,some take their time,perhaps more than lunchtime,and enjoy every sip. The standard variety of tea available here is bifurcated into dip-dip/Lipton, Suleimani (Tea without milk), saada(Plain) which is the regular tea. (I’m not mentioning the with/without sugar variety).

Then, of course, you can go into a restaurant and try out green tea, herbal tea, etc. And, there’s the supermarkets, where you get a further variety of teas to suit all tastes, including rose tea, lemon tea, chocolate tea(UGH), et al.
In our office, I see Green, Mint, Camomile, Four Red Fruits(Yes, that’s the name), Earl Grey. (There’s also around 10 varieties of coffee, which seems to be quite popular Down Under, but that’s a post for another day(I work in an Aussie Co’s Dubai branch))

And, don’t forget the various brands, from Lipton to Brooke Bond to Twinings to ?? In fact, here’s a link for tea varieties. LOL…it says there’s something called Chai Tea as well. It says ‘Chai, pronounced with a long "i" as in the word tie, is the actual word for tea in many countries. Chai tea is quickly becoming extremely popular in the West as people are becoming exposed to it as lattes in coffee and tea houses. ‘And, there’s a recipe for making chai latte, too.

Tea gardens: I’ve seen only the ones in Kerala, and they were awesome, to say the least. See pic on left- Munnar tea estates.

That’s as far as Dubai is concerned. Gujarat(India) is, of course, is another unique case.

Tea here is:
- Normal, with milk and sugar OR plain with milk n sugar OR Golden(named so due to the colour) OR Masala Chai usually served at most of the tea larris.(See typical pic)
- Served in cups and saucers, so that people can come closer together, by sharing a cuppa(Doesn’t matter if they’re rich)..one drinks from the cup, the other slurps(And, I really mean SLUUUURRRRRPPPs) from the saucer.
- Drunk in different positions, besides the traditional sitting at table. It could be drunk sitting on the ‘jhoola’ (Swing) which is traditional in Gujarati families. Or, sitting on the ground, in a squatting position(Most workmen sit that way). Or, sitting with a stick in one hand(Like our building watchmen in Baroda do). Or, sitting in lotus position with the feet tucked in. Or, standing(When at the roadside dhaaba, on way to work from one city to another, with an abject lack of time).
- Used as a common medium to ‘relate’ while striking many office deals, during day or night.Like, "Let's settle it over a cup of tea".

I also love to drink tea from the railway station, which comes in an earthen mug, lovingly called a ‘kullarh’. Thanks to our Honble Railway Minister, this mug is back in vogue.

As for me, tea always used to be a favorite for me, right from school days, but, I'm now down to just a max of two cups a day.(Couldn’t relate much to coffee, somehow). Mornings always begin with a cuppa (!/2 a cuppa without sugar, in these days of dieting ). There was a time when I would begin the day with a small kettle(around 4-5 cups) full of tea. (ARGHHH- Can’t imagine how I did it, now). Of course, I haven’t really experimented with chai,nee,tea much…except for the regular variety. Probably because the taste of the other teas is usually bitter-er than the regular Lipton-types.
Still on teas, there’s a leisure website called’ http://chaitime.com/’.

There’s also the famous gesture from shopkeepers in Baroda,when they ask you if you’d like some tea. They shout ‘Do Chai laana(Bring two teas), and wave their fingers in a ‘V’ sign, to and fro. What it really means is ‘Do chai mat laana’(Don’t bring two cups of tea)- this customer is just passing time. So, you're kept waiting for the tea which never comes.One of my cousin's couldn't believe it,and I had to prove it to him in one of Baroda's best garment shops.

There’s some suggested funny phrases I found on a website, related to tea, which go thusly:
- Tea Bag(n): To dip your nutsack into someone else’s mouth... in a tea making process
Did you tea bag your girlfriend while she was asleep.
- Tea Bag(n): The bag you use to make your tea... not something perverted at all
I made tea with a tea bag this morning... (Nee,this wasn’t an ‘A’joke...LOL).

Whew-this post has made me long for a cuppa tea,even though it's nearly 0900 PM...excuse me.Anybody wanna share?

What else? Am trying to think of more 't(e)a-ntalizing topics'.All I can say is If you liked this post idea, don’t ‘tea’se me, just say so in the comments. 'Tea'll next time, byee and cheers!