“Chai Pe Charcha” : My thoughts on tea

Hello friends! Here is Story #3 to mark “Birthday month” at Indian Chai Stories! A hearty welcome to Gayathri Ramachandran. “To a South Indian brahmin, coffee is intrinsic to life, but tea was anathema….In the land of tea from the Nilgiris, Munnar and Valparai, how could they feel this way?” asks Gayathri. Thank you for sharing your lovely memories, Gayathri!! You took me back to another time and place with the beautiful photograph of your grandmother. 😀 - Gowri

by  Gayathri Ramachandran

Friends promised to drop in for 'high tea' on Saturday and my thoughts turned to what I had been reading recently - interesting accounts of life during the British era in the various tea gardens of India.

Then I dwelt in my mind on what life was like during my grandfather's time in Valparai and Pollachi. I have heard that my grandfather Mr TS Mani Iyer and his younger brother Natesan Iyer had a transport Company in Pollachi which transported chests of tea from Valparai to various places.  There is a street named after my grandfather : 'Mani Iyer Street' ( now called Mani Street), running parallel to the Railway Station at Pollachi.  Natesan Company still has its outpost in Kallidai Kurichi in Tamil Nadu.  My father narrated anecdotes of Naachimuthu Kaunder ( father of Sri Mahalingam) who worked for my grandfather.

I had my early childhood in the sprawling house of my grandfather Mr Mani Iyer in Pollachi. At times we used to accompany him to Top Slip. Mr elder brother Suresh and I would spend our play time sliding down on the grass and watch gleefully as the 'Touch me Not' closed to our touch!!

My grandmother Janaki, who served tea to 'Doraisanis' of Valparai!

One of my aunts, Balammma, would give me interesting accounts of how my grandmother, clad in the traditional nine yards sari, would entertain her British guests - the 'dorasanis' - to tea with impeccable taste and grace both Valparai and Pollachi houses! The tea, I am sure, is the Valparai tea. To a South Indian brahmin, coffee is intrinsic to life but tea was anathema for a very long time. In the land of tea from the Nilgiris, Munnar and Valparai, how could they feel this way?

Valparai

Traditionally, coffe is served in brass / stainless steel or pure silver tumblers and dawara, wheareas tea has the dubious distinction of being served in glass tumblers or porcelain cups. It is believed that tea tastes better when served in porcelain. There should be a 'Tea Ceremony' in the households that serve tea. The golden brew deserves a good treatment!! 

I was brought up on a diet of coffee till I moved to New Delhi after marriage. Tea became the 'word' gaining all importance. Living among the Punjabis, this exotic beverage became a centre point in socialising during wintry afternoons. I was introduced to kadak chai, adhrak chai, masala chai, cardomom chai, green chai and white chai.White tea is costlier than the other vareities of tea. This amazing fact dawned on me when my daughter in law Ruchi presented me with a packet of white tea. In Ooty there is a government run facility which entertains and educates the visitors on the process of how the deftly picked tea leaves become the final product..from procuring the tea leaves to its journey of becoming a magic drink. There they even treat you to a 'cuppa' as you leave the factory.

Whenever I visit Valparai, I wonder if there is any such facility there! Tea brewing is a special art…you can boil tea leaves in water and milk and make it really sweet with fair amount of sugar and sometimes a few bits of ginger to alleviate headache, cold or that bone chilling winter weather! Chai Pe Charcha, with friends, also taught me how to make that delectable beverage for the morning or afternoon in the true British style. In boiling water just sprinkle a teaspoon of tea and close it with a lid. After a few seconds, strain the golden coloured brew and have it with milk/honey/ sugar!! Voila!! There's the 'delightful cuppa' that you can have with tea biscuits or tea cake as the British planters did it in Valparai. 

With Meenu Nair who so efficiently manage Valparai Sinna Dorai Bungalow. We had an awesome stay and tasted the best brewed tea!

‘Chai hojaye!' is a familiar sweet music welcomed with cheer while you play cards or just have some plain 'gup shup'. Oh! my taste for tea grew and the bitter 'after taste' of coffee was replaced with the milder invigorating drink. Tea finally arrived in my life. I enjoy tea in various forms, white, green or golden, with or with out milk, sweet or just black!!! Living in Delhi, the plethora of brands of tea made my head dizzy! Darjeeling, Ananda, Chai Chun, Tetleys, Nilgiri or Kannan Devan but after coming to our own land of tea gardens in the Western Ghats, I became a connoisseur of tea from Ooty and Valparai. I delight in sending packages of tea to my family in Delhi and Mumbai. For friends, nothing can be better than a gift of Nilgiri tea with a note on how to prepare it!!!

Meet the writer

Gayathri in Coimbatore

Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories! Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com. 

My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog in 2018 because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always) - maybe a tall tale, maybe long, short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull. You will find yourself transported to another world! 

This is the link to all the stories on this blog: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/ 
Be sure to add it to your list of favourites! Happy reading!! Cheers to the spirit of Indian tea!