Chai Tea

Blog Post 13

3/17/2023

27O9’31” N 78O3’14” E

Chai tea is to Indians what Starbucks is to Americans. It is the preferred beverage of all. The first thing that you are offered when you enter someone’s home is a chai tea. And in the beginning, I would never accept, not wanting to intrude, but as I saw more, I realized it brought people joy to give their guests hospitality, and so I started accepting. I never expected how much chai could tell me about the world.

Four chais specifically come to mind with their accompanying people. The first chai was made by a fascinating man with a vivacious personality. He was extremely passionate and full of reactions and excitement to the world around him. His chai was similarly abundant, filled with wild spices and tastes. His wife on the other hand was more reserved at first glance, but upon spending more time with her you could see a twinkle in her eye and the kindness and excitement that matched her husband’s. Her chai was a classic, delicious chai at first but hid more intriguing flavors under the surface. When we visited the Langa musicians, their chai was sweet with delicious with teas and flowing flavors underneath. My favorite chai, however, was from a small village in the middle of the Thar desert. We arrived on camelback, and our guide took us to his home in the center of the village. He lived in a complex with multiple small houses with thatched roofs. Then a lady with long white hair and a beautiful old sari stepped out and brought us two chais in old white cups. I will admit that with the first sip, I felt trepidation, but as I tasted it I realized that it was the most familiar, comforting, and delicious thing I had to this point. It was rich and creamy, warm and sweet, and somehow all too familiar. Like hot cocoa in the winter or my grandpa's delicious cappuccinos.

It is astounding how chai is so different but so central, no matter where you go. This simple theme of drinking chai clues into something much deeper. It starts to reveal the central themes and differences of humanity. We as human beings are ever-shifting, malleable creatures. When we are born, we have our bodies, and maybe some base psyche, but that’s it. Culture shapes everything else. Growing up in one culture for the beginning of my life made it difficult to see that, but as I travel the world, I realize more and more how humans can be so different based on their cultural foundation.

(Before I go any further, I’d like to clarify something: these differences cannot and should not be used to divide people. Because cultural differences are so general between different groups, and individual differences can be so great, if you pull two Americans off the street you will find more differences between those two specific people than you will between two separate cultures. That’s the nature of humanity. Still, these cultural differences are profound and give fascinating insights.)

Chai tea is a small and simple example of these differences, but there’s another, one that is so foundational to all humans, that it's easy to overlook. That is the communication of body language. When you grow up, you don’t learn one language, but two: spoken, and gestured.

Gestured language is learned through copying each other. A baby observes for years and slowly mimics the tiny cues that make up every interaction we have. And while there are general universal gestures that all understand, there are also profound and nuanced differences from culture to culture.

Take, for example, the movement of the head. In America, we generally have two motions: the up-and-down (yes) and the side-to-side (no). But in India, I’m constantly baffled by the whole range and nuance of the motions that take place. Some main ones I have noticed are the tilt of the head to either side, and a general shake in both directions that forms an infinity sign with the nose. On many occasions, our guide for the first two weeks, Ashok, would have to make some interaction like buying a parking spot or tickets, but rather than have a long conversation, he would exchange maybe one or two words, and then ten seconds of sometimes rapid, sometimes tentative head movements would occur, after which money would be wordlessly exchanged, and then we would leave. I am still baffled as to what they mean and I understand I can only truly know their meanings by spending years here watching and absorbing as humans always do.

It’s a fascinating experience to step out of your culture and see these incredible and subtle differences, one I wish all could have the chance to live. One might think that focusing on our differences might undermine the unity of the human race, but astoundingly it does not. These differences may highlight the diaspora of humanity, but it somehow also gives an inexplicable feeling of unity. The notion that, though we are all separated and different we are just trying to live as best we can and communicate beautifully with each other.