Celebrating India’s favorite beverage – chai
For India, chai is more than just a beverage. Chai and the chai tapris (tea stalls) evoke a bundle of emotions. For this International Tea Day, we are taking you on a chai-tapri tour. To the familiar transparent chai-glasses, aluminum kettles, and the smell of ginger, elaichi, and brewing tea leaves. We bring to you, from tea gardens to the vibrant chai tapris which are also spaces for wonderful conversations.
Women pluck tea leaves at a tea garden in Jorhat, Assam (Photo by Amlanjyoti Deb)
Getting it right – A tea-seller somewhere in Uttar Pradesh making sure the proportions of ginger to tea is perfect (Photo by Rahul Raman)
Work in progress – A tea seller prepares the next batch of chai at a small tapri in West Bengal (Photo by Dibakar Roy)
Better together – Pakodas and samosas complement chai the best. Specially, on a rainy evening (Photo by Rahul Raman)
The familiar smoke and vapor coming out of a roadside tapri induces warmth on a chilly morning (Photo by Rahul Raman)
A woman preparing chai and pakoda at a tapri on a National Highway. Women account for 50% of the total direct and indirect employment generated by tea in India (Photo by Rahul Raman)
Chai always tastes better in a clay tea glass, which is a familiar sight at chai tapris across rural India (Photo by Rahul Raman)
A tapri cum dhaba provides shelter to commuters on a rainy day in Latehar, Jharkhand (Photo by Rahul Raman)