My resident chai wallah

A chai wallah has set up shop outside my house. This fact warms my heart like it warms the bellies of the labourers on my block. Everyday when I leave and when I came home, people are gathered around his chai trolly for milky sweet tea and conversation. I love the way people stand behind the hotplate with him, watching as he tosses tea and sugar in an arc from their containers into the boiling pot of milk. It's an elaborate and flambouyant process, transforming the mundane to something quite sophisticated - so sophistacated that his clients have a choice of drinking from a glass or taking their tea away in a plastic bag. I think he fears I might object to his presence so he stands up every time my car passes by. So not only does he add awesome street texture but he provides a daily boost to my ego. I don't recall being quite so polite when I was a coffee making student.