Chaiwala

A chaiwala prepares masala chai on a coal fire in a street of Kolkata, surrounded by a small gathering of customers and bystanders
A chaiwala in Varanasi pouring a cup of chai

Chaiwalas are mainly people who prepare, sell or serve Indian tea on streets or small roadside shops.[1] They boil a mixture of water and milk, add tea leaves and then strain the tea into containers or a tea kettle.

A lot of chaiwala tend to come in from different parts of India and run small businesses in major cities. Chaiwalas usually serve tea in a small glasses or unglazed clay teacups (Kulhar) but in recent years they have started to serve tea in plastic cups. Traditionally chai was made in brass vessels; however that appears to be changing in some places.

The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is a former chaiwala.[2][3][4] He occasionally used to serve tea to the customers of his father's tea-stall outside the Vadnagar Railway Station. His chaiwala background was mocked by Mani Shankar Aiyar, a senior leader of the then ruling Congress Party.[5] BJP seized on this opportunity to emphasize the humble background of Narendra Modi, by opening a number of "NaMo Teas Stalls" [6] and organizing an public discussion campaign termed "Chai Pe Charcha".[7]

In response, former Chief Minister of Bihar and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also claimed to be a former chaiwala.[8]

Chaiwala in popular culture

In the 1955 classic film Shri 420, the hero (Raj Kapoor) brings the heroine (Nargis) to a road-side tea stall. The chaiwala insists on receiving a payment of two annas for the two cups.[9] In the 2009 drama Slumdog Millionaire, the lead character, Jamal Malik (played by Dev Patel), is a chaiwala in an Indian call center.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "What is a chai wallah?". Chai Wallahs of India. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  2. ↑ From ‘chaiwala’ to PM covet: A sneak peek into Modi's industrious life
  3. ↑ Narendra Modi: from tea vendor to PM nominee
  4. ↑ Zach Marks. "Narendra Modi and the Calculus of Tea". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Rahul disapproves of Aiyar's 'chaiwala' jibe at Modi, TNN, Feb 7, 2014
  6. ↑ BJP opens NaMo Tea Stall, conduct 'Bhoomi Puja' before rally, 4 February 2014
  7. ↑ The minds behind Modi's 'achhe din' and 'Chai pe Charcha' campaign, Darshan Desai, Mail Today , Ahmedabad, May 21, 2014
  8. ↑ "Lalu Yadav claims that he is real Chaiwala". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Raj Kapoor Proposes To Nargis On Street - Shree 420 Most Viewed Scenes, Shemaroo, Published on Feb 2, 2012
  10. ↑ IMDb Slumdog Millionaire Quotes

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, November 29, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.