Tea Kadai 04 - A week of casual meet

 

On 8th January 2026, the tea shop felt a bit empty. The doctor didn’t come, and Senthil, the banker, was also absent. Still, the rest of us gathered as usual and chatted without any clear direction. Soon the talk turned to love and death. Ravindra quoted some famous person, saying a man becomes mature only when he learns to love death. Mr. Shridhar added that a man actually dies twice—once at marriage and again at the end of life. He also said love begins not in college, but in school.

When Ravindra asked Sundararajan about his college romance, Sundararajan got irritated and asked why Ravindra always talked about love. Ravindra shot back, loudly, that it was his constitutional right to talk about any subject he wished. An awkward silence followed. Shridhar quickly calmed things down, saying there was no point getting upset when all of us already had one foot in the grave—it was better to laugh. Mr. Gururaj, who had just come for tea, caught the last part of the discussion, and soon after, we all dispersed for the day.

On 9^th January evening the forum met as usual but was totally subdued due to yesterday’s uproar and the subsequent discussions of the incident over WhatsApp chat wherein our freelance journalist was not willing to accept that his angry reaction was not called for and he kept insisting that we have no right to give him sermon as it is constitutional right to express his views and thoughts about others. A quite day of tea and samosa at the tea kadai.

10^th January evening we all met as usual and we had a guest Dr Panigraha , an oncologist who has come to visit his son who is staying in the villas which are for multi-generational accommodations within the gated community of Ashiana Shubhum and studying medicine at the SRM university nearby. Casual conversations took place till the time of dispersion.

I did not visit on 11^th January as I had gone to the city and could not get back till late evening and thereby, I missed meeting the regulars at the tea kadai.

12^th January evening the forum met as usual and the conversation today drifted towards the amount of water that needs to be drunk in a day by an adult male. Journalist stated 6 litres as per a doctor he met outside whereas our doctor said that the maximum fluid intake has to be 4 litres and as per Google it states 3.7 litres for male but Ravindra was not willing to accept this and he question Dr Panigraha who had also come today and his opinion was between 5 to 6 litres. It was quite evident that each had their own opinion and there was no consensus in arriving at the quantum of water intake. The conversation ended with this topic and all of us dispersed for the day after our usual sip of tea / coffee and snacks. 

13^th January both me and Dr Mohandas reached the shop at about 4.10 pm just to see a board tied on the shutter of the shop stating that the shop would be closed from 13^th to 17^th January on account of Pongal celebration as the tea master Guru is traveling to his home town Madurai. We just sat outside the shop and had small talks and also Doctor was checking my bridge camera and its operations and he was quite amazed by the zoom it has… I do have a Canon Power shot for which I paid just Rs 33000/- whereas Doctors has a much costlier camera because it is a SLR with a prime lens. I have always felt that the camera I have suits my purpose as I am just an amateur photographer and with built in zoom it is good for my wildlife photography and I never felt the need of having a SLR with large lenses. 

 

 

Tea Kadai -Episode 03 Jan 7th 2026

 

Though the shop was closed yesterday, 6 January, due to Guru’s ill health, the Doctor, Chellappa, and I still spent some time together, chatting about general matters. Our discussion soon turned to the sudden influx of over a hundred monkeys belonging to two different troops and the frequent infighting among them.

Kalpana, the owner of the adjoining vegetable shop, joined our conversation and recounted how, just last week, the monkeys had snatched away a bag of maize corn along with some other vegetables from her shop. Even yesterday, a few monkeys made repeated attempts to grab the vegetables on display, but a vigilant Kalpana managed to drive them away by brandishing a long stick. Since the tea shop was not open, we all dispersed after about an hour.

Today, the shop opened as usual, and slowly we regulars gathered at our familiar spots—on the steps and on the side bench. As conversations unfolded, the topic gradually shifted to women’s dressing sense. Our freelance journalist mentioned a discussion he had with a couple of women who spoke about an incident within the community. Apparently, a gentleman had commented that women should not wear revealing clothes. The women strongly objected, stating that the choice of clothing lies entirely with the wearer and that no one has the right to dictate how another person should dress.

This discussion drew parallels with a recent controversy involving Sivaji a Telugu actor’s speech at the pre-release event of his upcoming film. During the event, he praised the anchor for wearing a saree while shaming women—including his co-actor—for wearing what he described as revealing clothes, using derogatory language. This act of moral policing quickly went viral across social media and news networks, leading to widespread criticism. Eventually, more than a hundred prominent women from the film industry lodged a complaint with the Movie Artists Association. 

You can see the news Outrage on Sivaji's comments

 Joining this conversation was Mr Gururaj, a visitor to the shop who had come for tea and who had retired from Pond India. He strongly expressed that it was wrong for men to judge women based on their choice of clothing and spoke firmly against the continued moral policing of women by men. All of us wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment, and soon after, it was time for us to head back to our respective homes for the day.

Tea Kadai Episode 02 Jan 4th 2026

 

                                            

 

  

Today is the day of introductions. There is Vibra Narayanan, the owner of the café; Guru, the skilled hand behind every cup of tea and coffee; Dr Mohandas, a general physician with a passion for photography; Ravindra, a freelance journalist and quoter of famous personalities quotes; Senthil, a former banker; Sundararajan better known as Chellappa—a retired professor from Delhi’s distance learning faculty; and finally, me, Ramesh, a retired building services engineer.

This evening, however, the doctor was absent. The rest of us gathered as usual, settling in while waiting for our tea. As we sat there, a mother and her differently abled son, around 32 years old, walked into the shop. The lady ordered a ginger lemon tea, explaining that her throat was irritated after watching a movie at the clubhouse, where the air-conditioning had not been working.

Guru mentioned that the tea would take a little time to prepare, and in that brief pause, the conversation naturally drifted toward the various issue’s residents had been facing. The lady spoke about the maintenance team—their slow response and what she felt was a general lack of concern for residents’ problems.

Her words resonated immediately with the journalist among us, who was already frustrated by ongoing issues with the cooking gas supply to his flat and this story is for another day. He became animated, voicing his anger and accusing the maintenance service provider of inefficiency and even fraudulent practices.

The discussion grew louder and more intense, opinions overlapping as freely as the aroma of brewing tea. By the time the conversation finally settled, it was time for us to disperse.

Thus, ended another evening at the tea kadai without the presence doctor, but rich in conversation, shared grievances, and the quiet assurance that tomorrow would bring another cup of tea and another story to tell.