Old-school chai wallah..

Summer is here, so the frequency of my interaction with the chai wallahs of northern India is likely to dip a little. I shall soon begin my 'tales of the pani wallahs.' But for now, here is one of Rajasthan's most popular men-of-chai, Mr B.R.Choudhuri of Kerwa village. He can be found at a truck stop somewhere between Jodhpur and Pali. B.R is notable because he retains the old-school clay serving cups, which by reputation add much flavour to the sugary tea. Mine certainly had a little more smokiness than usual and when i got to the bottom I could see the charcoal residue of an open fire. While we sipped a villager was unloading thousands and thousands of these clay cups into a storage shed. I asked B.R whether these would last him a month and he laughed loudly in a 'where-did-this-amateur-come-from' sort of way. "Three days" he said, "a thousand cups a day". I handed the empty cup to B.R with thanks, but he gestured for me to throw it away so I placed it on the ground gently. But B.R said "no, smash it." So I did. When I went for a post chai pee, (Me: "where is the bathroom?", Driver: Bathroom is everywhere sir") I stumbled across the evidence of the thousand chais out back. 100% biodegradable, though I note that not all B.R's clients were forced to smash their cups violently on the ground. Such fun can be had with foreigners eh!