The Art of Tea making ....

She used to make tea so artfully ...
Early in the morning ....
I would sit on the Kitchen slab next to the Gas stove ....
And watch her make tea ....
I was the DIL (Daughter in Law) ....
And she was the MIL (Mother in Law)....
Kya ulta zamana tha ...
But pyar tha ....
She would first boil the water in a vessel ....
With herbs ...
Then pour it into the kettle ...
 And the tea cups ... to keep them warm ...
Then reload the same in the vessel and add the tea leaves and milk ....
Then, after it had boiled over ....
She would pour the concoction ...
Back again into the kettle ...
Let it boil in it once ....
Then the kettle off the Gas stove ...
And covered with a tea cozy .....
On a tray with the sugarfree capsules...
A pot of sugar ..
Lots of Rusk ...
One each for everyone else but lots for me ....
Then, we would take it to the porch or the lawn or sometimes in the lobby ....
And, wait for the patriarch of the family to return ....
Return from his morning walks ...
And, then the whole family had tea together ....
Didn't understand the funda then ....
Now, when I do ....
I don't have time for tea ...
No family gatherings ....
No tea,,,
No breakfast ..
No Lunch ...
No Evening tea,,,
No Dinner ...
Nobody is ever there ...
A hectic life ....
Where there is no one together at any given time ....
A fast paced monotonous city life ...
The Art of Tea Making ....
Lost for now ...
Now it is cutting from roadside tea stalls ...
Or in Restaurants ...
But, that tea ....
And the flavor of real love and labor is lost.

If one has to learn to love a man ....
Learn it from her ...
She loved and worshipped him ...
That was true love....
You don't find it anymore.