Doll’s Tea Party

If you’re a tea lover and fancy a hot cuppa,there’s no better way to do it than with Varun Narain at the lounge at Ai this evening. With his three-dimensional puppets and shadow cut-outs,Narain will unravel the extraordinary journey of the tea leaf through history,one cup at a time.

Narain,a well-known puppeteer in the Capital,is excited about his latest production,“T is for Tea”. “I’m interested in the stories behind tea,coffee,saffron and chocolate. It’s fascinating to chart how they originated in one country and travelled all over the world as aromatic identities,” says Narain,who,with the help of shadow-puppets and dim light formations,creates a mystical aura of the Orient. “Tea emerged in China . Legend has it that the Bodhisattwas from India visited China and brought tea back to our country. Soon tea spread to Japan and many a haiku was written in praise of the wonderful drink,” says Narain.

“In the present show,Stud the puppet and I have a conversation about how the proper way of drinking tea is not by using tea bags. We go into the past to see how tea-drinking evolved and then the shadow puppets come out to tell the audience about the legends and fantasies that swirl around tea,” says Narain. As winter wraps its cold fingers around you,warm cups of tea,stories in the dark and swirling shadows seem just perfect.

Show starts at 9:30 pm at Ai today. Contact: 9810263567