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.
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