train chai dream.
Click link below to hear chai call!
train platform chai callllllll
You wake up into a dream somewhere in the middle of India. The rhythmic rocking back and forth that first lulled you to sleep is suddenly disrupted by the high-pitched screeching of metal against metal and a jerking halt — almost throwing you out of your bunk — followed by doors banging, cold wind blowing and the frantic sound of ‘foreign’-speaking travelers fighting to get on and off the train. Then, an echoing chorus of baritone voices all singing the same repetitive two-syllable melody, “chai-ee, chai-eeeee, chai-eeeeeee!” weave together into a cacophonous symphony cutting through all the other noise.
The dream blends into reality as your eyes open to the blurry vision of a steaming aluminum teakettle and a bucket of clay cups attached to a dark skinny man behind a thick black mustache moving up the isle. You are not dreaming. Desperately fishing your tired fingers through pockets wrapped up in a twisted sleeping bag, you finally procure 4 rupees and return the call, “Ji, ek chai!” One chai, sir! You meet eyes as he navigates through the luggage-laden throng to your bedside.
With pointed awareness, he pours a dark, thick stream of chai into a small clay cup, raising the pot as he pours, for a frothy finish, without spilling a drop. He places the hot cup in your welcoming hands, warming your fingers and dampening your face with tea-perfumed moisture. The earthen cup touches your dry lips and the sugary, spiced chai rolls over your tongue, awakening your taste buds, slowly spilling warmth across your throat and down through the center of your chest into your stomach, warming you to the core. Ahhhhhhh, yes. All the painstaking travel has just paid off again with another perfect cup of Indian chai.
