Tea and the earthen cup

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

There was heartening news in newspapers that having been elbowed out by more utilitarian plastic and paper cups over the years at railway stations, 'kulhads' (earthen pots/cups), introduced by former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav 15 years ago, were all set to make a comeback at catering units from July, 2019. But as you know, such a decision often doesn't translate into precise implementation in India, or takes ages to be implemented! The same is the case with plastic cups paving the way for earthen pots.

However, I must say that Lalu had his fingers on the pulse of the masses. Tea tastes the best when it's sipped from a kulhad. The pleasant smell—similar to the pleasant smell of the soil after the first drizzles— emanating from a fresh kulhad, coupled with tea's earthy aroma can't be replicated by pouring it in fancy porcelain, plastic or paper cups. There's a desirably quaint rusticity to tea. One can immediately relate to tea to a T. It's, therefore, aptly called the 'broth of the masses' or 'beverage of the people.'

You may be aware that the two finest tea estates in the world, Darjeeling's Makaibari and Castleton, taste their premium tea by sipping it from kulhad. All discerning tea-tasters know that the proven criterion of judging the tea quality is to pour it into kulhad and then sip — nay, quaff — like wine.

One more thing in the favour of tea in a kulhad is that it's also an indication of acceptance in social communication in some communities across the world. This is because the tea itself is a relatable beverage. When served in a kulhad, it becomes an icing on the cake!

By the way, fancy tea kiosks at Lavasa, India's first private city near Pune, serve piping hot tea in a designer kulhad. They look so beautiful that after sipping tea from them, the tourists carry them home as souvenirs and pieces of decoration! Yours truly had tea in a designer kulhad at Lavasa and shelled out a hefty sum. But I'm not regretting.

It's, therefore, time to reintroduce earthen cups everywhere, at least for tea. The nostalgic aroma will come back again. Lalu Prasad Yadav must be smiling in the prison. Some pearls of Lalu-brand raw wisdom never lose their relevance. And they mustn't.