Fancy a cuppa?

by Zoe Gossage (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

Making a local connection India

Growing up in England, whenever someone comes to visit you will always hear my Mum telling my Dad to put the kettle on and Mum offering tea to anyone who came by. Tea would be made for a friend, neighbour, builder, whoever. It was a chance to pause and catch up with someone well known or in the builder’s case, a soon-to-be friend. More recently in the baking heat of Rajasthan, India, I was reminded of tea being an offer of friendship as I drank ‘chai’ - a sweet, spiced tea, almost everywhere I visited. My first try of this sugary nectar was the day after I arrived in Delhi and took part in a walking tour with a University student, who had previously lived on the streets. He then grew up in a care home, where he was sponsored to study a degree in travel and tourism and learn English to a high standard. That first hot, sweaty day the chai was a shock to the system. I hadn’t expected it to be so hot nor so sweet. But our group found an alleyway of shade and drank and talked about our first glimpses of the capital city. Later in my trip I had been travelling around on trains, tuk tuks and buses as part of a group tour and on one free day I was determined to explore by myself. I was recommended a local massage place and returned to the street very relaxed after a blissful hour and therefore thought I would meander downhill back to the hotel. I walked through the main streets of Udaipur filled with shops offering all sorts of interesting objects for sale. As someone who enjoys documenting travels, through bullet journals, blogs, photos and collecting tickets and crushed pennies, I was quickly drawn to anything unusual. This was a leather shop. However, rather than bags, this one had leather bound books for sale, imprinted with typical indian pictures such as camels and elephants plus pretty patterns. As I stepped inside the shop the smell of leather hit me and the man walked out of the shadows to talk to me about his products. Since cows are thought to be sacred in India this leather was made from camel skin. It had been hand stitched around the handmade paper and I was fascinated by the workmanship. I was invited to take chai as we started to haggle against each other for what should be paid. Drinking chai had lead to me purchasing not only the big book but three smaller ones as gifts for a fair price (to me) and a greater sale for the owner. The large book then became my India scrapbook and inside I documented my travels. One particular photo and business card, inside, reminds me of later that day. It is of another man and a small boy inside his shop. This was the next place I visited on my walk and I went in, intrigued by the colourful objects hanging around the doorway. Naveed was the owner and he invited me inside to look at brightly coloured photo frames. I chose some frames I particularly liked in bright blue and white and was asked to wait whilst they were couriered by motorbike to be fitted with glass. Again I was offered chai and told to sit. Naveed talked me about his family, of his nephew who was at school learning English. As Naveed’s sister brought me the chai she was encouraged to bring the nephew out to meet me. Thus he quite shyly introduced himself and we had a basic conversation. Naveed then quizzed me about what I knew about India and was pleased with what I had learnt from the guides in previous towns. This time the chai had lead me to learn more about the India in thepast, (how historically surnames referred to different family backgrounds) help a child practise speaking English and make more new friends. When I returned home my family visited to hear about my travels. I offered them tea, and we sat down with a cuppa to look through my Indianscrapbook and they listened to tales of my adventures