The Tea story and River Hooghly

In Kolkata, May is a hot and humid season. Scorching summer heat cannot allow one to forget the winter air that lightly breezes our face. The freshness of air ruffled hair. The chills in the air are a sign that hot tea needs to be ordered from the roadside kiosk or ‘chaer dokaan’ in Bengali. As my mind drifted away in the Kolkata winter, I could not help but share my early morning walking tryst along the River Hooghly.

The winter had set in Bengal, and a cool whiff was in the air. Quickly, in an impromptu way, I decided to drive down to the riverbank and relish my morning tea or ‘cha’ by looking at the river. While the city may appear chaotic, its soul has not changed much, and one joy is having the ‘cha’.

As I kept nearing the banks, I slowly rolled the windows down. The ‘City of Joy’ Kolkata from Calcutta has changed considerably. The poetic alleys, the rustic lanes with Art Deco and Neo-classical buildings or as we say, ‘bari’ has become older. These were almost entirely neglected in the newly created garbs of modernism.

The riverbank is a melting pot with diverse activities. If one conducts diligent Cultural Mapping, it is far from a monologue. The complexity behind the distinctiveness of all activities is mind-boggling. It brings me to a reading from the British Library’s South Hampton to Calcutta’s publication. One of the narrations exuberates the deep connectedness of Calcutta’s people to Hooghly. It brings about a comparative narration of London and Thames, as is Calcutta and Hooghly. This book shares interesting first-count stories about festivals, rituals, daily activities, and many other activities immediately beside the bank.

One such age-old tradition is the making of ‘bhaar’– the quintessential Bengali earthen clay tea cups. They are made from clay dug out of the riverbed and moulded by potters. The clay is given a delicate shape and baked thoroughly to render an earthy tone to the tea when sipped. Potters have maintained this craft for centuries and here I am sitting with my first cup of tea, sipping from the ‘bhaar’. I kept sipping the tea, looking at steamers transporting passengers across banks. There were early jobseekers soaking at the moment, and tea sellers earning the first trade. All while the city is slowly waking up to the hum-a-droll of the activities around it.