Waiting on a bus stop for a friend,I overheard a conversation, "Yaar, seer dard se faata ja raha hai, aur aaj koi chaiwala nahi dikh raha hai, din kharab ja raha hai", Then suddenly my mind was bombarded with a thought that no matter where, outside a corporate office, a five star hotel, colleges etc there has to be a Chai ki tapri, A day for many tea lovers is impossible rather than incomplete without a garam chai ki pyali, isn't it? It is impossible to sustain a entire day, full of hustle and bustle without it. In the fast and busy life of Mumbai this wish is only possible with the chaiwalas, Hence today i decided to dedicate an article specially to all the chaiwalas!
On an average, according to me, each chaiwala sells around 300-500 cups of tea, the so called Tapri or the stalls starts at 6 in the morning n continues late night till 11.00, Hard to digest isn't it? Mr Tiwari a stall owner at CST says he is a resident of Bihar, has a family including a wife and 3 sons, Since anyone can walk in this city, to try luck and make some money for better living, due to financial crisis he came to mumbai some 2 years back, He says "To make chai here is an art and a pleasure to make", he takes pride in his profession and also feels he is doing a noble job, well that was not really supposed to be sarcastic, those were his words. He also confessed that every 4 litres of milk contains 1 litre water. The most popular chaiwala near oval maidan, Probably known by all as Guttu vouched me that there is no other Tapri in the world that makes better tea than his preparation.
Now, the story I take pride in sharing with all, I met this striking impressive man Duggi, he is definitely one of a kind, like all other chaiwalas he carries out his normal chores from morning to evening sorry rather night, but he is not really normal, he is a polio patient, he walked out of the house as a sacrifice since his family thought of him as a burden, with4 kids to nurture and worsening the matter they were broke, Duggi is a Keralite, residing in dharavi along with 5 others, whom he addresses to be his friends, he has no palms and hence his hands are disfunctional, still he makes around 375 cups of tea all day long, Unimaginable but Commendable. Must say he is a very strong man, who has a strong aspiration, desire and will to build a home back in homeland, marry and have beautiful daughters.
I don't know how many people here have had chai from the typical Indian chai wala ... but Ive had my share from the chai wala's. I learned some funny facts about this business, like these days these chaiwalas have also gone hi-tech and come with all sorts of promotional schemes & offers.Recently chaiwala in my locality, offered alarm clock to this montly customers for free with his name printed on it and he says "its for adversiment".His name is "Shanker Yadav", I must say, everyone have to innovate in order to survive, the one near regal cinema offers free bun maska to a customer after sompleting 20 cups, It also added immensely to my idea of Tea, I never knew that there are so many types of tea, Masala chai, elaichi chai, patti chai, honey chai, cutting chai, adha cutting chai, 2 rs ki chai, strong chai etc, for me tea was jus a mixture of water, tea, sugar and milk, sometimes during fever and cold ginger, thats it. Must say this opened a new outlook, fascinating, isn't it?
To conclude, I really feel many look down on such individuals like mochis, wada pav walas, chaiwalas etc as ilterate, frail, nasty, manner less people, but all this is because of the situation and the crisis they face, may it be financial, personal, mental issues or tunnel outlook. But they are no frail and passive, in fact very hardworking than all the highly qualified and socially sophisticated hep people, passionate, determined, who makes the fullest out of what they can really do. they are also friendly and warm, after all this little research i was super tired, when Anna Patil, a owner of tapri handed me a cup nad said"Muli thakli ashil na, he ghe, tuhjya sathi Anna special", i have no words to express the affection i felt for him and for his consideration. Hence I say LONG LIVE OUR GREAT INDIAN CHAIWALAS.
Now, the story I take pride in sharing with all, I met this striking impressive man Duggi, he is definitely one of a kind, like all other chaiwalas he carries out his normal chores from morning to evening sorry rather night, but he is not really normal, he is a polio patient, he walked out of the house as a sacrifice since his family thought of him as a burden, with4 kids to nurture and worsening the matter they were broke, Duggi is a Keralite, residing in dharavi along with 5 others, whom he addresses to be his friends, he has no palms and hence his hands are disfunctional, still he makes around 375 cups of tea all day long, Unimaginable but Commendable. Must say he is a very strong man, who has a strong aspiration, desire and will to build a home back in homeland, marry and have beautiful daughters.
I don't know how many people here have had chai from the typical Indian chai wala ... but Ive had my share from the chai wala's. I learned some funny facts about this business, like these days these chaiwalas have also gone hi-tech and come with all sorts of promotional schemes & offers.Recently chaiwala in my locality, offered alarm clock to this montly customers for free with his name printed on it and he says "its for adversiment".His name is "Shanker Yadav", I must say, everyone have to innovate in order to survive, the one near regal cinema offers free bun maska to a customer after sompleting 20 cups, It also added immensely to my idea of Tea, I never knew that there are so many types of tea, Masala chai, elaichi chai, patti chai, honey chai, cutting chai, adha cutting chai, 2 rs ki chai, strong chai etc, for me tea was jus a mixture of water, tea, sugar and milk, sometimes during fever and cold ginger, thats it. Must say this opened a new outlook, fascinating, isn't it?
To conclude, I really feel many look down on such individuals like mochis, wada pav walas, chaiwalas etc as ilterate, frail, nasty, manner less people, but all this is because of the situation and the crisis they face, may it be financial, personal, mental issues or tunnel outlook. But they are no frail and passive, in fact very hardworking than all the highly qualified and socially sophisticated hep people, passionate, determined, who makes the fullest out of what they can really do. they are also friendly and warm, after all this little research i was super tired, when Anna Patil, a owner of tapri handed me a cup nad said"Muli thakli ashil na, he ghe, tuhjya sathi Anna special", i have no words to express the affection i felt for him and for his consideration. Hence I say LONG LIVE OUR GREAT INDIAN CHAIWALAS.
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