Garam Chai!
TEA चाय, चाहा - is an infusion made by steeping processed leaves, buds & twigs of tea bush (wikipedia) It is an obsession, addiction and for me one thing that kick starts my day! For me this is the best thing to have happened to humankind. The very foundation of my life was based on Chai.
Tea is not just a drink for me, it stands for the smile that i bring into my life for the day everyday, it stands for the excitement that i sip and the joy that i will share each day. Tea is my cheer maker, tea can pep me up and yes cover up for my daily dose of sugar intake as well. I have spent years to understand the gravity of this subject. People say i am obsessed with tea but frankly its a passion. I do not understand why people who drink water all day aren't tagged obsessed! Its only with tea drinkers that we get branded as TEA ADDICTS! Thats sad... but i am ok with it!
I have my own choice of tea which is less sugar, less milk and strong! I have tasted almost all sorts of tea by now and honestly nothing to beat the conventional cup of tea. One of my friends has the weirdest choice of tea's in the whole wide world. She'd mix bournvita to her tea argh! I never had the courage to taste that silly concoction.
TEA - on a romantic rainy day nothing can best define the romance but a cup of piping hot tea and some lip smacking pakora's. I love to watch the downpour from my window sipping tea and reading a book, that's my idea of romance. When i am with a huge group of friends we usually hop into one car and go for a drive along the ring road and stop by at a Tapri (shack) and sip tea with stupendous amounts of elaichi and adrak! Oh yeah... Ginger tea, my personal favorite of all times. Come winter and i am off in search of the best ginger tea's around and my search usually ends at every tapri.
Tea apart from being the best beverage is medicinal. That's the logic i give to those numerous people who call it an addiction. If its and addiction its for good! I had once caught terrible cold which eventually got worse. I was camping in the hills when the family i was with told me how a PAHADI CUP OF TEA can cure my ailing throat instantly. The tea had Dalchini, Adrak and Tulsi. The magic emelent being Dalchini which actually helped me recover. The Pahadi's also have a very different way of making tea which is in a bamboo shoot! The strangest tea i had was at a tribal's house when the lady made tea without milk and with jaggery and ginger. It was bitter yet very good! But the all time favorite has to be Masala Tea. Appropriate ratio of tea to water, sugar not to too sweet nor too bland, adrak, elaichi and boiled at the right temperature for the right amount of time. Yum!
Well i can write a thesis and apply for a Phd on the subject of Tea but honestly when i chose to call my production company "garam chai films" everybody including my dad laughed on it saying i am obsessed! Frankly i dont care and in all hones'tea', no i am not obsessed.
Tea like i shared earlier is a kickstarter for me and so would my films be. I want them to hot, i want them to set a trend of sorts, i want them to have as much variety as tea has world over, i want them to have healing power as the pahadi tea would have, i want them to have the masala that is a universal favorite like the masala tea... bring freshness and act as their first choice of refreshment! My films would be the GARAM CHAI that everybody wants everyday!
