604 Fans
Like
60 Followers
Follow
Chayakkadas in Kerala villages – best place to unite and make friends
Kerala villages are lined with a host of Wayside tea shacks or ‘Chayakkadas’ where you would find common people with a lot of time at hand, rambling usually about anything. Chayakkadas in Kerala are very common and have become a meeting point of sorts, where people come to discuss politics, national & international news, movies, gossip and even the economic situation.
Teashops are places where an average Malayalee vents himself and their affinity for tea & tea stalls is legendry. Every Malayalee would have sat on one of those wooden benches that are placed outside the tea stall and sipped a cup of ‘metre’ tea from one of those characteristic glasses. When you place an order for your tea, the teaman exhibits his brilliance pouring the concoction of tea brew, sugar, milk and boiling water from glass to mug and back with unmatched flourish. The tea stays stretched out almost horizontally and you will notice that not a drop is spilled. This is called a cup of ‘metre’ tea.
Plantain ‘kula’s’ hanging on a rope, snacks like parippu vada and pazham pori and a variety of cigarettes are a common see in tea stalls.
Any out of state or ‘not local’ character comes along, tea shops are the best to ask directions. Here is where the visitor gets inner details of the family he is about to visit.
A tea stall is not for the loner. Never would you be left alone, sometimes you can see a person reading the newspaper aloud for the benefit of the others, where many brainwaves are discussed, arguments settled and curiosity satiated. Sometimes there will be two warring groups arguing over a topic and the tea stall owner would be the referee, meant to ensure fairness and peace in the surroundings
So well, that is a Chayakkada for a Malayalee – as they say, the best place to unite and make friends. So don’t miss out a cup of ‘metre’ tea from there during your next Kerala holidays
Related posts:
