HOT TEA ACROSS INDIA

 Author : Rishad Saam Mehta

Publisher :Tranquebar, Year 2011

 

Review by Indra Mani Lal               

Excerpts :

( ) The tea stall was a simple bamboo hut with a thatched roof affair. The chaiwalla was boiling tea leaves in a sturdy copper vessel on a high pressure stove. I asked for a cup of tea and he told me that the milk for the day was on its way. I expected a bunyan and dhoti clad milkman, wearing shoes but no socks to arrive on a cycle and deliver milk from a large aluminium can. The dudhwala did come, dressed to my expectation. But instead of an aluminium can he had a big black buffalo. The tea stall’s supply of milk literally came straight from one.

( ) I decided to set up my little tent on a grassy knoll by the Lidder river, near Shesh Nag lake in Kashmir. I even tried to get my own fire going. This is when Mohsin Khan, a shepherd who was passing by, stopped to watch my attempts to start a fire. As dense clouds of smoke started to rise without the hint of a flame, his curiosity turned to concern. He quickly came and squatted next to me. He rearranged the wood, took out some shavings from a cloth bag he was carrying and soon a crackling fire was going.

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My Take: The author takes you across the length & breadth of India in his travels by hitchhiking or his trusted motorcycle or trekking. The narrative is lucid, making you to read on to find out what happened next.

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Subject Type – Travelogue

Narrative  Style – Excellent

Readability – Excellent

Maintaining Readers interest – Excellent

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