Mumbai Cutting Chai(Tea)

Waiting on a bus stop for a friend, a conversation arrives  , "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 ,out side a railway station, 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 cutting chai ki  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 chaiwala.

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.And later in the night there are Chai walla's around ever nook and corner of Mumbai.

"Chai walla" giving 'Chai' to vendors 

I don't know how many people here have had Cutting chai from the typical Indian chai wala ... but I have 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 monthly customers for free with his name printed on it and he says "its for advertisement"his name is "Ruju", I must say, everyone have to innovate in order to survive, some of them even offers free bun maska to a customer after completing 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 just a mixture of water, tea, sugar and milk, sometimes during fever and cold ginger, that's it. Must say this has opened a new outlook, fascinating.

I really feel many look down on such individuals like mochis, wada pav walas, chaiwalas etc as illiterate , frail, nasty, manner less people, but all this is because of the situation and the crisis they face, may it be financial, or personal. But they are no frail and passive, in fact very hardworking than all the highly qualified and socially sophisticated people, passionate, determined, who makes the fullest out of what they can really do.They are also friendly and warm.

Cutting chai

Cutting chai walas are everywhere in Mumbai.

It may not be official, but chai tea has to be the national drink of India.

Served with plenty of milk and sugar, the spiced chai is the pick me up drink of the masses.

It costs four to six rupees per cup and is available everywhere. $1 CDN buys about 56 rupees. 

Decide to take a walk and try out one of the most generic beverages know to mankind

You can’t really pick the spot but there is something in the aroma or the way the froth of the chai moves up and down in sync with the chai wala’s expertise at mixing the tea but you can’t help but be drawn to this captivating sight and soon enough tea is all that you are craving for.

Hot Hot "Chai" Being pored 

The "Chai walla" will pour you a cup instantly and he brought it to me and then you indulge and take a sip and it tastes perfect. The perfect blend of spices and milk and sugar and of course the chai powder. As you stood by the road you noticed that most of the people who were having chai will be having it in these tiny cups which will be half the size of your cup. Once you see this you do get curious and then you have to know why it’s a half cup and not full glasses. When you finally overcome your fear of actually being an outsider and do ask you get to know that it’s called “Cutting Chai” which literally means cutting your chai in half. People in Mumbai are so busy with their work that they have literally no time to waste away. But they never say never to a cup of cutting chai. At any time of the day or night people are always looking forward to have a cup of tea maybe with  little munchies to go on the side. There is a certain charm about stopping in the middle of whatever it is you are doing for a quick drink. As drink away to glory on your “full” cup you realize it’s not just the taste it’s the feeling that wells up when you are having a cup of tea. It's this sense of calm that wells up inside of you, gives you that much needed peace in this fast paced world.

The chai in itself is very simple to make with just little ingredients like sugar, milk and sometimes that something extra special ‘ingredient’ like ginger or lemon or Indian masala. 

You can never get enough of tea in anyone’s opinion from your grandparent's opinion to our generation. There is nothing in this world that matches the feeling you get when it's raining cats and dogs outside and you take a walk and you get yourself a hot cup of tea and just stand and watch the world of colors and raindrops. The feeling is indisputable. There may be a lot of coffee lovers (Even I am a coffee lover) out there but you guys should know this much, you are definitely missing the good stuff of life and it doesn’t get better than having something like chai during the rains.

Be it four in the morning of nine in the night no one argues when it was time for a cup of tea. It’s not only that there is also an instant friendship that you form with your regular chai wala where he knows exactly the mix that you like even before you open your mouth to place an order. His knowledge at knowing exactly what you need to cheer you up after a long hard day cannot be replaced by anything in this world.

If there is one thing every mumbaikar has to be proud of its there to have chai at any point of time be it day or night. If it goes with a vada pav its even better. Put together a bunch of colleagues or friends!. Mumbai might be famous for a lot of things like Marine Drive, Colaba, Gateway and how can anyone forget the famous vada pav but in my personal belief the cutting chai which is so right in its name is what gives flavour, aroma and the much needed comfort in the city.

It is really nice to know what people think about Mumbai. Some people come to here as tourists some come for work etc. But by the end of the day there are lot of people who just fall in love with this place and decide to settle permanently. We know that it is one of the highly urbanized or industrialized cities of India. So lot of the people migrate here because of the job opportunities that it creates. And lot of youngsters come here to pursue their education and career because as compared to other cities this provides more career options and job opportunities after that. But there are few people who are little upset with the conditions or the lifestyle of Mumbai. Therefore people can have good things to say as well as bad things to share about Mumbai.

 

When some people interviewed few tourists from Spain they said that they like Mumbai because it is different than other cities. They have been to Mumbai lot of times and would love to come very often. They had visited many places like marine drive, CST station, Gateway of India, Elephanta caves etc. But they never went to the suburbs. They said that they liked street shopping because it is cheaper and also that they loved Indian clothes as they are sick and tired of the western clothes. Though Delhi and Banaras are cheaper than Mumbai but they still love to shop in Mumbai. When asked to rate Mumbai in the scale of 0 to 10 so they said that they would give an 8.They also shared what they disliked about Mumbai, and that is, the poor people stayed in the streets and they are left helpless and also the children are left hungry. They did not understand why the government wasn’t doing anything about it. And the other point that they raised is that they felt that the people in the south of India were much sweet than the people in the North of India.

 

Well undoubtedly tea has been my favorite drink ever, even though i don't drink Pepsi or coke, but my tea is very necessary for me. Tea refreshes up my mind.
So I am called a tea addict :D
I make my first cup of tea early morning, then later on with friends , that's the moment when u enjoy your tea, and drinking tea in the rains make your day :)