Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Should chai be the national drink? It isnt even everybodys cup of tea
Chai a few leaves steeped in hot water,perhaps a swirl of milk,sometimes a spoon of sugar has often been more than a regular morning cuppa. On the waters of 19th century,caskets of opium floated to China for precious cargoes of tea. In Tokyo,it became a slow-moving art on tatami mats. In Boston,they dunked it in the sea to signal a revolution. Now,just as tea was getting used to being only a drink,Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has announced great ambitions for it. He said it would be made Indias national drink.
For,it isnt even everybodys cup of tea. Wake up and smell the filter coffee there are many who wait for a decoction of the Coorg in south India. Tea can imbue one with a false sense of certainty,but Ahluwalia should know that there is also a constituency for sattu in Bihar and lassi in Punjab. Do we need to stir the federalism pot further? Since there is so little agreement between the Centre and states these days,perhaps a chief ministers conference should be called for this and then Ahluwalia can read the tea leaves.
