A Lot Happens Over a Cup Of Chai!

“Neetu, Can you make me some Tea?” First time he asked me on a break.

“Oh yes… with some extra sugar, yea?”

He grinned back in reply.

I don’t know what I like about the way he asks. His deep voice or his signature squinch smile, but there is something very special about it.

Everything was so romantic of that day, the gentle cool evening breeze, the beauty of sun going down the horizon, smell of freshly mowed lawn, the mild music played in amphitheater and two of us sipping the hot cuppa lost in our own world of banter. That day, I made him tea for the very first time in our office pantry. Ever since he has fallen in love with my chai and now it has become a lifelong commitment, I make it every day for him.

The little secret was , I added few pinches of hot chocolate powder to a cup of extra strong Darjeeling tea and off course loads of love to make it extra spicy.

A tickling to his chocoholic palate nerve, a serotonin fix, I would say ...A way to man heart is through his stomach??? Indeed!

Till this day, our morning tea time is something very very special to us. Busy or not busy, guests or no guests, good moods or not, we never miss having it together. A small balcony garden, with ravishing beauty of plants and flowers around, I have crammed just 2 bamboo chairs and small round tea table for two of us alone. Just for two of us. I would never change that set up, a good old fashioned cup of tea with my best husband for a perfect start to the day. Now 5 yrs have gone; we are still lost in our small world of happiness and bliss, whims and fancies, the good, the worse and the not-so ugly days of life.

Some bad days, he refuses to take his eyes off the newspaper and I with the ear plugs, we still sip teas together. My anger flares up, his fuse too goes off. We may not want to see or hear each other, but being together is a small little way to show “I’m with you, no matter how cranky you go”.

We’ve had some of the best moments over a cup of chai.

When we slogged all nights at Cerritos (CA) going brain dead with coding & stuff the stroll to Iranian chai shop only kept us alive, the first time he asked me out to a café, Barista I think but ended up walking to a nearby chaat Bandar to gulp samosas and masala chai when tyre went flat midway, When he came all the way to Gurgaon to meet me and over a cup of tea we decided to get married, the beautiful memories of him leaning on to our chai table and read out my ultrasound reports to our parents, grinning on the phone and the best times we’ve had having virtual teas together during his business trips, when the only solace was chai over the Skype . Every moment was truly special.

Ahh, what’s not to love? When you’re special someone knows how to handle your grouchiness. I’m one like that who moan..groan…ewww..ah –chooo and can be too touchy when I fall sick.

Last week was down with bad flu and couldn’t get off my bed. For the first time DH made me a glass of black tea with lemon, ginger, pepper, honey and some mint. I was surprised; he has no culinary skills, literally nothing at all. My man had called my MIL asking her for herbal tea recipe for cold. What do I say???...I was literally floored. Was it the caffeine spell or love bell? I dono ...

As usual he insisted we have it in our balcony dragged me there to show my dessert rose bloom at its best and the Sun peeping out at last! What more can I ask for? A lot..a lot happens over a cup of chai.

A Lot Happens Over a Cup Of Chai!