Caught between managing a circus at work and coming home to an overflowing kitchen sink, reruns of 1990s sitcoms and instant noodles.... the title "Hot Tea across India" felt soothing and exhilarating all at once. The book had been gifting to me earlier in the day by someone who sympathized with my yearning for adventure which cannot quite compete with my inability to get off my fat ass and do something about it... the yearning, that is... not the fat ass. The latter being a family inheritance.
Those of you who have read "Catcher in the Rye"... remember when Holden says that after reading some books, he just feels like calling up the author and having a chat? Well, that is exactly how I felt about the author of "Hot Tea across India", Rishad Saam Mehta. His down to earth prose and sense of humour make you forget you are reading about the experiences of someone you don't know... in fact, it easy to imagine he is your buddy regaling you with his crazy adventures over a beer.
The objective of the book seems to be simple: to narrate the adventures of the author in a straightforward, witty manner. So you will not find words like schadenfreude or strudel... which can cause those brought up on a rich diet of magic realism and literary sauerbraten to balk at the simplicity of the prose. However, that is one of the many charms about this book... it does not take itself too seriously. And a word about the cover design: Charming!
This book deserves a reader who is willing to hop onto Rishad's Royal Enfield while he takes you zipping across India. Don't expect any continuity between the chapters. The story line, like the narrator's adventures, follows no fixed pattern. Dive headlong into this book and find yourself sharing dinner with a Kashmiri shepherd, having a run-in with the J&K police, buying tea for a penniless sadhu in Rajasthan, scouting for "authentic" dhabas in the Grand Trunk Road, getting fooled by wily wild asses in Kutch or finding out just how seriously they take bandhs in God's Own Country. And you will find the hot cup of tea tagging along with you on the journey... unobtrusive and comforting. The book does not dwell too much on the history of tea, the different varieties available or the geography of the tea growing regions in India. But anyone who has found comfort and warmth in a cup of hot tea on a cold morning far from home can relate to Rishad's fondness for the beverage. In this book, tea is taken for granted, like mom's cooking. And just as coming home is not the same without mom's food... travelling across India is just not the same without the hot, sweet, milky tea energizing you along the way.
"Hot Tea across India" is a great book for armchair travellers as well as those who need the little nudge to go and find their own adventures. And from personal experience, it could also be a fun, easy to read book to cheer yourself with during a windy Bangalore evening.
"Hot Tea across India" - Rishad Saam Mehta
Published by Tranquebar Press
Price: Rs. 195
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