October 21, 2008 (ANI)

 

What is your morning cuppa? Coffee or Tea? A simple enough question but just think about it, why is it not just a simple answer to a simple question. How fanatical are we about that morning cup of tea coffee or whatever it is that you drink first thing in the morning. I recollect my dad used to drink some vile concoction with ground wheat and what have you. It looked scary and I'm sure tasted awful. But he was fanatical about it for several years. Now he is content with his weak, oh so weak tea. My mother likes her tea really "well done"...seriously.... she boils it about as long as one has that kaali daal boiling on the burner.

 

I have at different points of time in my life changed my options. It was warm milk till my twenties...South Indians believe it activates the internal system like nothing else! Then with marriage one adopts many of Mr spouse's tastes so it became a miserable weak tea. Dropped the sugar with age, his age...not mine. Then came the rebellious phase and switched to coffee, back to my South Indian roots. Then came in the healthy eating/drinking phase so switched to green tea. And now its vairagya....I'm into warm water.

 

Why are we so fanatical about what we drink.... id like a diet coke with a twist of lemon please (does it really matter?)...Actually do you have a zero coke... tea - weak, no sugar and some lemon...coffee.... oh that is a whole story in itself if you have been to Starbucks... you wont give your lover so many instructions as you would give your Starbucks guy! It doesn't matter if you don't get your orgasm but you still want your coffee right! You betcha!

 

Why can’t we settle for the mediocre with our beverages? I know Bond likes his martini shaken not stirred, though he will quite readily sleep with anybody. I know of an ex Indian Prime Minister who used to import his tea from China, a special variety tea, with special qualities. Did it do anything special for him.... thereby hangs a tale.

 

Yes we all need that stimulation, that kick in the morning to get us out of bed and get the day rolling. Oh there are some God forsaken souls who don't need that, who spring up in the morning and on an empty stomach do their convoluted Acharya Ramdev exercises or else go jogging in Lodhi garden looking so sprightly it makes me puke...lets not even think about such extra-terrestrials. Lets face it there are more "we are like this only" types who need that morning cuppa of steaming whatever and the smell of newsprint to get our day going.