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 (shop) encounters 01

Bean & Leaf Café --- Our Tea Kadai

On the outskirts of Chennai, inside Ashiana Shubham senior living community, there is a small tea shop that opens every day around 4 in the evening and closes by 7:30. It sells the usual things—tea in many varieties, strong filter coffee, samosas, puffs, and veg rolls. A couple of benches sit outside the shop. People come, sit, eat, drink, and talk. Slowly, the place fills with voices, laughter, and familiar faces. 

Five of us retirees meet there every evening for about an hour. There is no plan and no serious discussion. We talk about anything and everything, most of it unimportant—and that is exactly why it is enjoyable. 

 One among us is a retired general physician. Everyone simply calls him “Doctor.” He has lived in the community for eight years, longer than most, and almost everyone knows him.

 I am a retired building services engineer. The others include two former bankers and an educator, each with their own personality.

 Doctor is a passionate photographer. A camera is always hanging from his neck. He clicks pictures of people he finds interesting and happily takes photos of families who visit their relatives, often at the request of residents. 

One of the bankers is a freelance Journalist and he loves quoting famous people and is a serious movie buff. He watches at least five movies every week—three in the community clubhouse and two by travelling into the city. 

Every evening, at that small tea kadai, time slows down. For one hour, with tea in hand and friends around, life feels easy and complete.

 

 This piece is just an Introduction of the place and as time goes by I would surely pen and share more conversations and stories