Serampore, India – It is a warm morning in March, and 65-year-old Ashish Bandopadhyay has cycled the 10 minutes from his home to a tea shop in the Chatra neighbourhood of Serampore, about 30km (19 miles) from Kolkata.Dressed in a pastel pink polo shirt, Ashish takes charge of the shop, declaring it’s his “turn” to run it today. “I don’t work here,” he explains with a smile while tearing open a packet of milk as he prepares to brew a fresh pot of cha (the Bengali word for tea). “I’m just an old-timer and a customer who loves volunteering.”
Located in the old part of the town, this hole-in-the-wall shop is locally known as Naresh Shomer cha er dokaan (Naresh Shome’s tea shop). In India, the process of preparing and sharing tea forms an important part of social bonds.
And that is what this tea shop is all about. For a century, it has been a space for relaxation, conversation and shared moments. But it takes the social bond one step further: customers not only drink tea but also brew and serve it. Advertisement
Ashish, who has now retired from his office job with a construction company, has been visiting this tea shop since he was 10 years old. It is where he meets friends to catch up over a cup of tea.
Each weekday morning, 60-y …
