The Chai Wallah. (Part 2)

Chai recipe!

After receiving the hospitality from so many people and making it for my own guests, I have a pretty good recipe going. Everyone has their own taste, but this general recipe goes over pretty well. Obviously, there is some eye-balling involved in the measuring process. For an honored guest, extra sugar or cream is added.

1 cup water
1 cup whole milk (water buffalo if you can get it, with a fat content of 8%)
2 heaping Tbs loose black tea (3 or 4 tea bags of lipton might do it)
2 Tbs sugar
Fresh ginger- a piece about the size of the end of your thumb
Assorted spice
      -4 pieces clove
      -3 pods green cardamom (powdered might be available in states?)
      -1 dash of ground cinnamon
      -there are other good spices to experiment with, but this is a good start

-Without lighting the fire, combine the water, tea, and sugar in a pot. Add the ginger after crushing it with the back of a knife. Add the assorted spices after cracking up any pods.
-Light the fire, bring to a boil, and let it foam for 30 seconds.
-Add the milk, return to a boil and let it foam for 30 seconds.
-Pour the chai through a tea strainer while serving

Makes 4 servings
 

Scenes From a Chai Stall

This sight in the background caught me off guard. The officer stood at an intersection with a megaphone explaining traffic rules and correcting motorists disregarding the instructions. That's almost what I feel like doing sometimes. I could shake his hand for being so dutiful.

Culture point: notice the  man sitting on that handsome new motorcycle. I turned around from sipping some chai and this stranger was looking quite comfortable on my bike. Personal space is tight, so generally, any parked vehicle doubles as an acceptable place for anyone to sit. It's part of the community mind set that is something to adapt to. 

The Chai Wallah (part one)

 

This wallah is fundamental to life here. His presence is constant in a place characterized as "reliably unpredictable".
The chai infrastructure is remarkable in my opinion. In a place where electricity comes and goes, water runs out and is delivered once a day, and traffic obstructions range from cows to craters, the chai will go on!

No doubt, chai pushes me to my limit sometimes. For instance, you can move heaven and earth to organize a team and trucks to deliver aid in natural disasters, but if that team hasn't had it's morning chai yet, your caravan is going NOWHERE. It just wont. And it's excruciating.

However, when your long day is seasoned by, true story, a cow using your motorcycle to pick it's nose, you KNOW a chai wallah will be on the next corner to offer you a chai time-out.

Chai is truly a constant in South Asian living. It ties a lot of the struggles and comfort together in a pretty unique way.
 

Batti Choaka Walla

These guys are making a food unique to my region of the state. Hint, its not baked potatos.

Those are dough balls stuffed with spices and ground chickpea. And those aren't wood coals, but rather the embers of a burning dried cow poop and grass mix.

Even better, whole eggplants are smoked over the pan while the cow patties burn down. The eggplant is peeled and mixed with boiled potatos, chilies, and masala.

The roasted dough balls are tumbled clean(enough) in a sheet and tossed in a refined butter. The dough balls are then ready to be broken up and eaten while scooping the veggie mix.

It's enough to make you cry "Uncle!"

Yep. Totally asleep. Woke up to see the crowd and...
went back to sleep. 

On a last minute call, we packed all night to catch a 3am train out of town. Due to disagreement with a conductor on the platform boarding was going to be tight. With Bollywood-star-like agility we ran along side the moving train to find an open door. But that night was a Bollywood tale of woe as every door was locked and we had to walk back past hundreds of half-sleeping people who just watched the effort.

If anyone could help us find the next solution it would be the uncles at the ticket window. Not pictured are the 20 other men I waded among trying to rouse the employees. No matter how people pushed or persuaded, the help window remained open, but not doing business.

This experience typifies some of the most trying moments here. Just when you want something to go right. But a way was made and we caught our flight by using an alternative bicycle rickshaw, 4 hour bus ride, and regional flight to catch our intended flight.

Khan Saaf Kerna Wallah- The one who cleans ears

As I was sitting over chai with a friend at the motorcycle shop an ear cleaning guy walked by. With a simple head bobble of communication the ear cleaner got to work. He used forceps, a brass spoon/hook tool, and a rod with a cotton swab end to extract ear debris. As he went, debris was wiped on the back of his thumb, showing my friend each bit.

When both ears were as clean as a whistle they both examined the accumulated crud and haggled on "How much is that job worth?"

For the use of this picture, I sprung for the cost of the procedure, which was roughly 8 cents USD.

I have never had my ears cleaned this way as ear drums have been known to get punctured from time to time.

 

Language milestones and new friends

These were my trusty barbers back in the hill town. Just 200 feet from my apartment. They spoke zero English and getting the right haircut or shave required some quick learning. As many barber shops across the world, it was good place to sit and hear guys talk. Hours of sitting and struggling to chat turned into some of my best learning time.

A major milestone of my time in the hill town was a late evening conversation during Ramazan. The barbers had broken their fast, there were no customers to interrupt, and it turns out my Hindi gets better late at night. We were able to listen to stories in Urdu, the Muslim variation of Hindi, and discuss what the most important parts were. It was a huge milestone to have a conversation and move towards a main point to be understood.
I miss seeing these guys every day, but they will be my first stop when I need a shave and can get back to the hill town.

Intoduction to Jackfruit- “Kahatul”

Jackfruit are common in markets from May to September. For some reason I passed it up until I was in a position to harvest it myself. I believe the proper method of harvest is as follows:

-First, tie a rock to a rope and throw it into the tree precisely over a fruit.
-Hand the rope to room-mate and encourage him to move around and tug at the rope until the huge 1 inch diameter stem breaks.  
-Lurch forward to catch the jackfruit
-Reconsider the wisdom of running underneath a spikey 25 pound object falling 30 feet from a tree.
-Next, at least break the fruit’s fall as to limit damage. Because who has practice doing this sort of thing?

A large fruit contains roughly 75 fleshy pods. When fully ripe the flesh tastes sweet like the ripest strawberry imaginable without being rotten and a consistency between custard and a slimy banana (depends on your outlook). It can also be cooked as a vegetable before it’s ripe. Some say it can be seasoned to taste like meat. Although I’d welcome the chance to see that done, my experience with the unripe jackfruit tasted like a firm sweet potato.

Culture point: It is rare for South Asians to choose to eat this fruit in the ripe stage. They sure love their pan fried and spiced vegetables. That’s just dandy until you pull down 25 pounds of sweet ripe jackfruit and your local friends struggle to find a polite way to say, “Well, good luck eating that yourself”

Kite flyers

While getting to know different neighborhoods I met these guys walking along with a kite. I was able to tell them that I had never flown an Indian kite. Eager to show off, that kite was soon soaring out 200 feet. They wanted to see a foreigner fly one, so I took the reins a few times. Each time, I would maneuver until it dove way down out of view behind a tree. Each time the guys would grab the string, correct the flight and bring her back into view. I was impressed.

Cultural: Kites are a big pass time for kids. A nice one costs about 25 cents. They will pilot kites from roof tops, alleys, near power lines. Anywhere. I say “pilot” because they can be precise. Not flying like Mary Poppins would, but rather the Red Baron. A special string with glass filament is imported from China for kite fighting. A leader of this string is used for the segment connected to the kite. Each pilot fights to cross lines just right and cut down his or her rivals. I cannot wait to see this in person. I think I better get practicing before the kite festival in January.

Goodbyes in the hill town

Try to imagine the wonderful combination of a former temple

musician, a neighbor with about zero hearing, a daughter

learning guitar, a loving mother, and a son who likes to

show off his 5 styles of self-taught Kung-fu. What can't you

learn on Youtube these days?

This is the family and some neighbors whom I was blessed to join every week for prayer meetings. As I got started in language studies this was a time for me to hear worship, scripture and prayer in Hindi. The time grew rich and deep when I spent time with these folks outside of the meeting. In time, I wasn’t just listening to them worship, but I got to worship WITH them. I certainly didn’t understand every need we brought up in prayer, but they were shared needs.

I can only try and tell you how much fun they are. I never expected my time with them to grow from a weekly task to a highpoint of the week. I had fellowship with other westerners, but the encouragement found in this household was as sweet as it was unexpected.

 

Mukhun Walla

When I step off the vikram bus that gets me home from school there is generally a snack vendor of sorts. Sometimes the snack has "sick day tomorrow" written all over it, so its tempting, but today it looked great.

You pick the raw ear you want and the muckun wallah throws it on the coals and fans away. He finishes it with some numuck (salt) and nimbu (lime) and serves it in a green husk. It's far from tender, sweet, or juicy, but tangy and salty isn't bad after Hindi school.

The corn stand is a great place to talk to people. This time, the 2nd sentence from a guy was, "So if you want to stay at my house for the next 3 or 4 days, you are welcome!" Yes, it sounded that odd in person too. Then the next 8 times he offered as well. But I just wrote it off as super Asian hospitality.

After talking and sharing for 20 minutes the conversation turned political. Friend #1 told me "I believe Obama is a shadow person. You know, someone sent from above to better the world". Friend #2 chimes in with, "Oh, Jackie Chan too, being that he is from Korea". How would you field that?!  Just when you think a conversation is getting predictable.

Butcha Billy (baby cat) Wallah

It's not every day that a kitten falls through the ceiling of your hardware store and you go home with a new room mate. (feel free to imagine that scene). We had him for a few weeks until a family came along that wanted him.  His favorite pass times included mewing loudly, eating chicken livers, and pouncing on feet (which got REAL old).

We came to find out that South Asians range from being uncomfortable around cats to highly superstitious about the curses they bring. There are always exceptions, but cats are not often kept as pets here.

 

Bunder (monkey) Pile

It takes a second look, but there are five monkeys
 in this pile. If you were there in person you could see the
 smallest one trying to wriggle its way out of the
sleeping pile, but to no avail.

The peace in this photo represents about 3% of a Rhesus macaque's life span. The other 97% of their lives are spent being noisy, gutsy, thieving terrors raiding between jungle and residential areas. Rather than Curious George or the red barrel monkeys I want you to imagine the wicked witch's blue monkeys minus the color and outfits.  There are friendly monkeys in the area, but these are not them.

 

The Ferris Wheel

For reference, I am sitting straight up and the operator has
wedged himself in to rotate with the wheel.
Spinning quite rapidly by then.

 

A few of us met up in a hill station to escape the heat of the valley below. The town and surrounding range were originally given to the British for their role in defending India during the Anglo-Nepalese war of 1814. It was developed to be a summer retreat for the Britishers of Delhi. Today, it still functions as a refuge from the weather of greater Uttar Pradesh, spotted with universities and boarding schools remaining from pre-independence.

A few of us tried out the Ferris wheel in one of the parks. It was the combination of a thrill ride, a vista point of the Himalayan foothills, and an acrobatic exhibition as the operators climbed, spun, and hung inside the frame to
power the ride.

 

 

Muhdoo Muhkee (Honey Bee)

 

I had an opportunity to learn about bee keeping in South Asia. This is just another little thing that could come in handy working here. We drove an hour into a national wildlife park to pick up a man
with the expertise to help rob this hive for the first time.
Having only a short season without blossoms for honey production, a cerana indica (species) hive is productive enough to be robbed three times a year. This native species is smaller, but more docile. I rarely wore a mesh hood for protection and did not get stung. I learned that when you spin the honey out of the combs with a centrifuge, you need to do so inside. As we refined the honey a swarm of bees hung by the screen window trying to get some honey back. Over 7.5 pounds collected in one day!

Hindi Pun Alert

Coming up with your first Hindi pun is a very small landmark for a language student, but a landmark none the less.

 I was walking to class one day and I saw something blocking cars up ahead. Not surprisingly, this was the culprit. My first thought was, "Who does this guy think he is?" Turns out that was my first Hindi pun since the Hindi word for cow is pronounced "Guy". Puns are actually pretty popular here. I haven't tried that bad boy out on any national friends yet.

Aam Wallah

Mango facts I have discovered here:
-There are 1,200 separate breeds of mango in India. Size and color varies enough that, from a distance, I have mistaken some breeds for pears, cucumbers, or cantaloupes.
-The word "Aam" (mango) is also the word used to say "common". There's a political party here called "Aam Admi" meaning "The Common Man", but sometimes called "The mango men".
-The European Union banned the import of mangos and a few other produce from India this year. Their loss is my gain, since a flooded market here has driven mango prices down a bit.
-A good price for mangos converts to about $0.40 per pound. We buy them 5 pounds at a time! Mango salsa, mango smoothies, mango for breakfast, mango juice, etc. You get the point. Mangos are a bright spot in the weeks of language learning.

Pictured above is a real champ of a mango. I had to laugh when I looked down and my first thought was, "I'm gonna need a bigger knife". Not a bad problem to have.

Hatthi Wallah

Some classmates and I visited a national wildlife park with one of our Hindi teachers. Although we didn't see any tigers, we did see tons of elephants, peacock, water buffalo, and a few species of deer.

A handful of elephants are kept in zoo setting. We were allowed to get right up and pet them while they ate.

The elephant's trunk was incredibly strong. Just putting my hand on it made me wonder if it was for a good reason they don't generally let you do this in an American zoo. The 12 year old attendant looked pretty capable of stopping the elephant if something went wrong, so I just went with it.

The Na'ii Wallah

I was sitting in a barber chair waiting for my friend to get a haircut. The second barber asked if I wanted a head massage. I definitely didn't go in there looking for a massage, but after three offers I decided I might as well go for it.

So the guy starts poking and pressing and rubbing my temples and hairline. Not too bad. Once he moved off my head, the internal monologue started.

"Oh ok, I guess my neck could use a massage, shoulders too.
Wait, Ok, we're doing the back now, lower back. I guess he's going the extra mile.
Arm massage? I think this is just a full arm Indian-rug-burn, but ok.
Now the hands? This is good, just more hand holding than I expected.
Whew. That wasn't so bad. Wait, he's getting tools out? What are those?"

It was hard to not laugh at times. The machine he used just vibrated on top of my head (as pictured above). Overall it was worth the laugh of getting into something I didn't expect. And for 50 rupees (85 cents USD) I might do it again.

Colors Everywhere

Even dirty old dump trucks are saturated with color here! I found this when I got away from work and got into a smaller part of town. I can't say too much for the everyday smells, but the colors are overwhelming in a good way.

And this is how a standard heavy duty construction truck gets decorated. It's not a name like Ford or Chevy, but Tata. 

The Press Wallahs

Meet the press Walli. She is the best. She and her husband do a wash and iron service just next to my home. I always drop off my ironing and practice my hindi.
Between my toddler hindi and her broken English, we converse well. Example:

Walli- This collar is dirty.
Me- Well, I washed it.
Walli- Not good enough, better try again.

And yes, that is a charcoal (koila) powered iron. It probably weighs 8 lbs. So she's no push over.

And just for a price check, 12 shirts are ironed 4 times better than I can do it for 60 Rupees or $1 USD. Worth it.
 

Guess what...

Dinner tonight had some chicken sausage in it. For once, the joke "Guess what... chicken butt" was not funny. But I am still grateful to the cook and for the sustenance.

Hindi learning went so well today that I can't help but thank the Lord. He is good always.

Lunch in an Alley

We found a good place to eat some momos (steamed or fried dumplings) for lunch. The "building codes" take some getting used to around here. The story from the owner is that he once had a food stall in the street at the end of the alley to his house. One day it dawned on him to turn the alley into a building and expand his restaurant. Whatever works.

Interesting fact, the owner also breeds and trains dogs in the courtyard area between his restaurant and his house.



I TOLD you there were monsters under my bed!

It's strange. Although I've barely seen insects outside, specimen inside the house include (but are not limited to) scorpions, 1.5" bees, preying mantis', palm sized spiders, and caterpillars. We told a veteran of South Asia about the bugs and he just smiled. But when we brought up the caterpillar he said, "Was it furry? Oh no. DON'T touch the fury ones!" I guess you can't even trust the cute and fuzzies here.

This guy was about 4 times the length of a lightning bug in the states and had two light on his under-side.                                     These things haven't been a source of anxiety. They add variety from mind-boggling hindi lessons.

 

Call Us Rŏka-Wallahs

Big shout out to K&P Masonry! We used some masonry skills right away. Some of the stairs to terraced gardens needed to be rebuilt. This is what we pulled off in a morning when we had a week to wait for classes to start.  Not bad for not having any tools.

In addition to the full-time task of acquiring language, part of our living arrangement is to be doing handy work around the place. It pays to be handy I guess.

Lookin' Out My Back Door

What a view! Complete with neighbors playing cricket, birds chirping, and the temperature finally dropping from 97F.  I'll be making short posts about the daily routine here.

Keep up with prayer updates to see how work is going here and how you can take part!