Coffee and Tea have been an integral part of my life. Coming from a south indian family, coffee is a daily necessisty, ones life revovles around coffee. Morning coffee and news paper are forever been together in our household.I remember my grandfather with a hot cup of coffee and atleast 6 newspapers around him every morning, he would sit in the front verandah where the morning sunlight is streaming through the grilled windows, with my grandmother sitting on one of the chairs near the window with her cup and engaging themselves in a leisurely conversation. It's been the same at my home for years except for the years my father worked out of city, when my mother's mornings are much duller, her coffee was just a habit. Naanna was home on sundays, and there was a difference in the way she made coffee,that day!
I always have this special love for both Coffee and Chai! My mornings, were always the same... MS's suprbhatam playing in the living room, And amma working in the kitchen and this thick aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the house, a perfect morning. Amma made coffee with so much love, just the way Naanna wanted, not all like that bitter taste, like he does, but she can make just the right way for whom ever she made.I remember going to this shop on Rashtrapati road, used to get a special blend of coffee beans and chicory grounded together, the shop it self was like heaven with all the coffee smell, and interesting people who were waiting for their order. Ahh! the coffee beans, these oval shaped, brown in color, and their aroma, was beyond words can ever explain...Naanna like more coffee and less chicory, right amount of milk, little sugar and boil it, my grandfather's taste was different, not too strong, not too light, hot but not too hot,everything in the right proportion, I always wondered how amma remembers it! Though I knew how to make coffee, I learnt it how my husband wanted from my Mother-in-Law,she would actually measure the decoction and milk for one cup, then heat it up, no boiling and it was simple but wonderful, just like her. To this, I added one more step that I noticed at the coffee stalls, to transfer it from one cup to another,making a thick froth.
Chai, my life!!! My first taste of chai, was at my aunt's place. My aunt makes excellent tea! and I was in love forever.i remember those days, I would have a cup occasionlly, soon it became a part of my life, sitting outside on the staircase with Amma, in our hands our cups,chatting away,it continues till date,one of my favourite time of the day.And sometimes, sing for a long time!!It hasn't changed much after I got married, we continue to do what my parents and their parents did before us, the only difference is I have tea and my husband has coffee, and I love it that way!My day starts with a cup of hot chai and depending on what the day brings, another, another;), the evening chai was (before kids) always with Hindustani instrumental playing in the background, a good book near a window and a something to munch on.
Music, munching and chai changes according to the mood of the day,but the experience remains the same. If it was cloudy, some garam garam pakodas, or bajji's with Kishori Amonkar's Malhars or Mallikarjun Mansur, or Hariprasad chaurasia on rainy day,these are all inseperable. what is a day without Coffee and Chai? Music, Monsoon, Sunrise, Sunset, gardening, they all go hand in hand like good friends. Our special together time was with a cup of hot tea and the rising Sun we see from our living room.. or cuddle up on the sofa with a good book or a good movie with u know what! We spent a lot of time in our living room with books, music, movies and Chai.A Moonlit, starry night, with a cool breeze carrying the fragrance of Night Queen with it, sitar playing in the background, just makes the night magical,add chai or coffee to it, it is divine, simply divine.
To me, Coffee and Tea are not just beverages that stimulate your senses whenever u need! It is life it self, with so many stories, traditions, and many more things that are passed on for generations. "Big things come in small packages", I rather say,they come in a cup of coffee or chai.
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