Real Taste

It was 26th of December 2009, I was going home, lying with Chetan Bhagat's "2 STATES the story of my marriage" on berth 43 in S2. I was not feeling good. I wanted to be home as soon as possible. Suddenly a chai wala came shouting chai chai. It was around 11pm, train has crossed the Allahabad, it was too cold outside. I couldn't resist myself and ordered a chai. He gave it in a disposable glass one made of plastic. I asked kitne hue bhaiya, he showed me all five fingers of his left hand. Chai was fine I just sipped it without noticing that i am sipping a tea.

I reached my station around 4:30am. It was dark and cold there. I was feeling like having a tea. I went to a shop just behind the station. Lot's of people were there at that shop a boy of around 17 years was operating the shop. He was serving only tea in the night. I ordered one, he gave it in the earthen pot(purava). I sipped it .......and I felt first time in my life being in heaven. It was the smell of the soil which I can smell while sipping the tea from earthen pot. It was the smell of the soil which made the taste of tea like nectar.

I am putting it here because I don't want to forget the real taste. I don't know whether it was cold or Chetan's novel which gave this real taste to chai. I tried at same shop in earthen pot on another day but it wasn't taste same.