Chaayakkada (n): Tea Stall.
There is something unique to these tea stalls which are found in every nook and corner of the God's Own Country. Mostly found to posess the same model across most of the south indian states like Kerala, Karnatka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the model, according to me, is in the most strongest form in Kerala.
Mostly a 15ft. by 15 ft. space furnished with old wooden tables and mostly benches as in primary classrooms, illuminated by a 100W bulb and protected by a thatched roof, these tea stalls stand as signature buildings of the Kerala State, just as red painted KSRTC buses which are unique to the state.
The proud owner of the tea stall would be either one of the Kumarettan, Chandrettan or Sukumarettan or the likes of it. In some cases, the owner would be the chef, 'tea-maker', waiter or would play any suitable role that he/she would fit into. Yet, in some other cases, the owner would play the role of a hotel manager.
As the rooster gives away the alarm at sunrise, these tea stalls also come into life as early as 5.30 or even earlier. From morning-walkers, temple-goers, auto rickshaw drivers to daily wages labourers, the customer profile varies from one end to the other. Be it any customer, service from the cafe would be uniform across (Regular customers may be served even better).
The rates of all the items on the menu, mostly written with a white paint on a blackboard hung on the wall, are supposed to be economical and affordable. To maintain goodwill, the owner might serve the customers on credit as well.
These tea stalls become the centre for heated debates and discussions from early morning itself. From politics in Kerala to the Capital (thalasthanam), from Congress to the Left parties, from petty issues to national issues and what not. Everything under the sun is discussed here. Of course, the panel varies at various point in time of the day.
Another thing that is unique to these tea stalls is that all these tea stalls have at least one local or sometimes a Kerala state daily for its customers to read. Even if a person doesn't have a newspaper at his home (which rarely happens in Kerala), he can very well grab the day's top stories from the daily at the tea stall. This actually creates a big impact in the way people think and opine about the various social and economic issues concerning the state and the nation, making him a responsible citizen.
I have rarely seen this format of tea stalls in North India. Hence, the kind of information flow created by these 'news houses' are absent in North India. The south being blessed with this format of tea stalls, enjoys the priviledges endowed by these mostly unnoticed and rarely talked about tea stalls.
Anyways, be it a long drive or a tiresome journey, for me a 'choodu chaaya' (hot cup of tea) is inevitable. Thanks to the small tea stalls. But for them, I could never have relished the strong tea served in glass vessels.
