Chandran's Thattukada (Chandran's Tea Shop)

I reached the Jorhat airport on a cool February  afternoon. The flight from Guwahati felt like a family trip. Everyone knew everyone, except for me. I felt like a new comer in a hostel constantly on the threat of getting ragged. It was an indication of what was to come. A flight where everyone knows everyone means I am headed to a small city. It was a small city by all means.

The airport was a very small one and I guess the flight I came was the only commercial fight to Jorhat. The airport is more of a military base. I wanted to take a cab to the hotel. But there was none  available. I got out of the airport hoping for some kind of transportation to the hotel. I see an auto stand a little ahead. I reached the auto stand and asked the first auto driver I saw to drop me to the hotel. He quickly agreed. I asked "Kitna" (How much). "Dho so" (₹200) he replied. Not having a clue on whether it was the right price or not and realizing whatever be the case I didn't have too many options, I agreed.

There was a young man in a blue shirt and jeans standing next to us listening to this conversation. His features indicated that he did not come from this side of the world. He asks me in flawless Hindi (flawless as far as my limited understanding of Hindi goes) "Sir, mere ko bhi town ki tarah janna he. Aap ok he tho mein bhi aake saath aaonga, sou rupee mein denge" (Sir, I also have to go towards the town. If you are ok, I ll come with you. I ll pay ₹100 of the ₹200 that you have to pay.) Realizing that the man did not look to be a native and hence realizing that my probability of getting robbed is less and also looking at the probability of getting robbed by the auto driver also gets significantly reduced when there are 2 of us (that's an engineer speaking), I reluctantly agreed

So we started our journey. My fellow passenger says that he is working with ONGC and he is travelling to a location that is 70 kilometres away from Jorhat and that he is going to town to catch a bus. He says he is currently based out of Ahmedabad and he is in Jorhat for a visit. Something in his face says that he is not from Ahmedabad.

I ask him from Hindi "so apka native kahan he" (where are you originally from). He says Kerala. As if i have found my sweetheart lost from the ages,  I ask affectionately with a beaming smile "Malayali aanalle" (you are a Malayali!!). He replies with equal or more enthusiasm "athe" (yes).

I have never taken the phrase, "Wherever you go, you will find a Malayali there, even in moon" seriously. I felt it was just an over representation, even though I must confess that there were Malayalis in everyplace in India that I have been. I still remember a place called Karakambadi, a remote village in Andhra Pradesh, close to the temple town of Tirupati. The owner of the hotel where we stayed was a Malayalali and for some reason he was very suspicious of us. Maybe because we were Bachelors then and we had mischief written all over our face. But just imagine this. In the North East corner of India, on a  place alien to me, the first person I meet is a Malayali and that too in a pooled auto rickshaw. Malayalis are indeed everywhere.

Binu (his name) and me then starts our conversation in Malayalam. He says that he was posted in Jorhat for 5 years in the past. He gives me an indication of the town, gives direction to the hotel that i am to stay and gets down in the bus stand. Our driver Montu seemer happier than the both of us that he facilitated the meeting of 2 Mallus in Jorhat.

I may never meet Binu anywhere again, but 2 things I know for sure. Firstly, Malayalis are there everywhere, I wouldn't be  surprised even if they find one in moon. Secondly, a Malayali can always recognize another one.

Self Righteous me....

A Monday morning in Venad Express is always crowded. I was lucky to have a reservation in the AC Chair car compartment. Outside my compartment I can see people standing, not an uncommon sight. My journey started at 5AM in the morning from Trivandrum to Aluva. I was on my way to the Nedumbassery Airport to catch my flight to Pune, the city where I work.

Next to me, was seated a family of 4. From their accent and mannerisms, I could figure out this is one of the NRI (non resident Indian) families on a holiday from US. The grandfather, who looks to be residing in Kerala from his dressing and mannerisms is on a trip with his Son and his family. The son seems to be somewhere between the 2 cultures. His son, the youngest of the group though seemed very excited. Probably his first train journey. Lucky that he is not with the majority that does not have a reservation or a seat. It may not have been that exciting.

The tea vendor comes calling "Chai Chai". The younger ones face gleams even more. Another first for him I guess. They buy tea. Through out the course of the 3 hour journey, they drink 4 more cups of tea. Tea drinking, I must confess is highly contagious phenomenon. I also had my 2 cups

The family alights at Kottayam. The empty cups of tea they had were left at their seats. Wonder if they would have done it in America. I am sure they would have picked it up and disposed it properly. What happens when they come back to their homeland? I thought for a moment whether I must give them a lecture on social etiquettes. I decided not to.

I took my 2 cups and went outside and disposed it, feeling pretty proud and to a certain extend self righteous

On board came a foreigner ( a real one not an NRI). From her accent she could be French or even from Russia. The curious contagious phenomenon of tea drinking spread to her too. She too bought a cup of coffee from the vendor that came by. She drank her tea, and to my admiration she not only picked her cup, but the 4 cups that was left by the earlier family and disposed it off

It was a moment which not only bought my short lived self righteousness crashing down to mother earth but also made me realize that we are way way behind as a  society.