Our Morning Walk Local Tea Shop

India definitely likes her tea. At almost every corner of the street, length and breadth, criss crossing the country, the chae shop is omnipresent. And mind that all of them are of different flavours, tastes, aroma, strength and colour. You won't get the same type of tea anywhere, because the processes that go into making them are all different. The same follows in Bengal. The same follows in Calcutta. And it's the same in Lake Gardens, where I have been residing for the last 7 years now - during which time having ventured across the umpteen number of chae shops - I have zeroed to Babu Cabin.

In the bachelor days -bread toast, poached egg and tea comprised the breakfast. Especially weekend breakfasts- when friends used to come over the previous night and we dissolved the hangover in the morning tea. The weekend mornings at the shop literally burst with people - some coming back after their daily bazaar, some coming for daily dose of adda (a must for a Bengali) and others casually, to have tea. The one special thing about the shop, which is true even today, is the service. No matter how many customers are in the queue, no matter how many different varieties of tea have been ordered, the tea arrives within a minute.

Storm in a tea cup?

Since I was new to the place, during the times when I was not with a company I used to watch all different men who frequented the place. There was a man who hardly used to speak to anyone and used to take a corner seat, take out his Charminar cigarettes, smoke (circa 2005:mind that Ramadoss didn't implement any anti-smoking campaign. Now they have the Marlboro man in the walls saying "I want you to not smoke here") and sip. Another thorough gentleman who, I have seen is  able to speak on a wide ranging subjects. There were others who came from all walks of life - from the office executive to the next  door neighbour to the local shopkeepers - Babu Cabin was the meeting point of many inhabitants of Lake Gardens.

The shop opens at 5 in the morning and shuts shop at 8 in the night with a 3 hour siesta break.Also to be noted is the varieties of  tea that one can get - some take milk tea with sugar, without sugar, liquor tea, another unique type called "double half" - which is extremely high liquor tea and tea goes with biscuits and the owners even remember who prefers what kind of biscuits. Experience, I

guess. They have been running the shop for near to 5 decades with a lot of passion, zeal and professionalism - something which needs to be appreciated. Making tea in oven like temperatures, - baking hot summers to cold winters - is not every one's cup of tea.

Over the years, the breakfast business folded off. And now it is only tea and biscuits. Able hands to support the system was one of the several reasons why breakfast was no longer prepared.

And over the years, our habits also change. Gradually I started waking up early and started jogging in the nearby Lake. While returning back from the walk, Babu Cabin's tea became a must. The crowd at 7 in the morning is a different set altogether from what I was used to see at 10. Here too, I came across different people from the walks of life. An advocate, who loves his Royal Enfield. A Doctor, who never misses his morning tea. And a certain Mr. Talwar, who has always enjoyed his Rafis and Kishores.

The morning sip is the most refreshing sip of the day and those 5 minutes spent over tea are the most valued moments of the day.

Thank you for  reading!