Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyali Ho...

"Chai Garam, Chai Garam....!!”, I had heard these words several times during my recent travel in one of the long distance trains. If you are a tea person, that call would surely tempt you to respond with a "Oye bhaiya, Ek chai", but those words got me thinking about the national drink of our country (unofficially, of course). 


Chai is a savory concoction of milk, sugar, ginger, masala and green tea boiled together in a large steel kettle and served steaming hot.

Tea as a drink has now become almost synonym to the small 'tapri' (roadside stalls) in Mumbai. A small stall with the least investment, it’s a very common sight to see vendors, workers, middle-class men, and nowadays call center crowd flocking around these tea stalls during their free time. They seem to be around every corner. From outside multinational company complexes to railway and bus stations, from new construction sites to industrial areas, these stalls are making their mark everywhere.

Tapri chai is a fix most office-goers can't do without. This is a place where friends gather during the day in true convivial spirit to partake of this hearty brew and catch up on the local gossip. It’s usually served in small tea glasses, but you haven’t really enjoyed it until you pour it on an empty saucer and simply slurp. Tapri also gives solace to a lot of college going kids who find it the most affordable place to pass time between classes (...or during classes). The easiest way to recognize tapri is firstly by seeing a group of people around it and secondly by their kerosene operated stoves.

The Mumbai tapri chai is also a relief to many of the Mumbaikars who go to Siddhivinayak temple every Tuesday morning on foot. This tea is the energy drink that drives these religious ones to their destination. Many generous stalls provide free cups of tea to these regular walkers at various stops on the way. 

One of the oldest restaurants in Mumbai known for its tea is the 'Tea Centre' at Churchgate. It’s not only known for its variety of tea, but more for its ambience. Even though it’s very different than the standard tapris in Mumbai, the experience there can transfer you from today to the olden days with small silver bells on the table to call out to the waiter, beautiful surroundings and old-style furniture. The Tea Centre was initially opened by the Tea Board of India to promote the drink.


I however have never been able to come to terms with the ability of certain people to spend more than 10/- for a cup of tea. So to find out what is the thrill all about, I decided to find out how it felt and went to one of the coffee shops and ordered Masala Chai. Eventually I ended up spending Rs. 40/- for boiled water in a stylish cup, milk, sugar and tea bags given separately. But that of course is a different story. At the end of this little social experience, I had to go to the nearest tapri to enjoy the feeling of having a true masala chai. 

Mumbai is known as the city of dreams, but the tapris of Mumbai are the alarm clocks that help people wake up to achieve those dreams. Its just difficult to imagine a city without few of them around the neighborhood.


As the monsoons enter Mumbai slowly our visits to the nearest chai tapri double up. Mumbai’s cutting chai warms the gullets of many-tired souls on the streets. Blended with an indigenous mix of ingredients, the chai is a must-have for those forever on the streets – throw hygiene out of the window of course! 

Chotu- the Chai wala

Vapours of scented brew stroke the air as the morning sun warms the dusky mud. Sounds of chirping birds mixed with the starting roar of engines and honking rickshaws clamour together. Chotu’s tired eyes are alive as he holds the boiling tea glass and pours it into another, repeating the action with a suave vigour. The first tea of the morning is given out to an anxious young man formally dressed and seated comfortably on a small rugged stone seat. Chotu tea boils in its vessel. Another customer appears saying; “boss, cutting dena!” and the process repeats itself as the day starts filling in rapidly. 

Chotu, the owner of a small shed next to the popular call centre, is just one of the many tea stall owners in Mumbai city. Their lives at the stalls are identical. The day begins at 5am every morning. Passers-by, idlers, busy employees taking a break, watchmen, groups of talking friends and almost every kind of people become a part of that stall and that tea stall a part of their daily life. And only when the city dampens its spirits - around 2am, does the stall shut shop. But the spirit of ‘cutting-chai’ only pauses. After the stall or shop shuts, significant workers of the stall are sent with kettles of tea and coffee on bicycles

Some renowned chai's: light chai, kadak chai, adrak wali chai, adrak-elaichi wali chai, masala chai, Irani chai, doodh wali chai, cutting chai, two by four chai with friends… the list is long and endless…

A lot can happen over coffee.” A good ad line. But tell you what let the copy-writer visit a road side tapri and he will realize that "Everything can happen over a cutting chai!!"