Chaiwala

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A chaiwala prepares masala chai on a coal fire in a street of Kolkata.

A chaiwala in Varanasi pouring a cup of chai.

A Chaiwala / ChaiWalah / ChaiWallah (Hindi: चायवाला, IAST: chāyavālā) is a

person who prepares, sells or serves tea on streets or small roadside shops in
the Indian subcontinent.[1] They are an integral part of Indian tea culture. Chai is
the Hindustani word for "tea", as in masala chai, and wallah indicates the person
performing the task, so chaiwallah is a street seller of tea.
Chaiwallahs, as an entrepreneurial group, tend to move from different regions of
India to run their small business in major cities. They boil a mixture of water and milk,
add tea leaves and then strain the tea into containers or a tea kettle. They usually
serve tea in a small glasses or unglazed clay teacups (kulhar) but, in the modern era,
they have started to serve tea in plastic cups. Traditionally, tea was made in brass
vessels. The hygienic safety of tea prepared in this manner is disputed. [2]

Contents

 1Chai Wallah in popular culture

 2Notable Chai Wallahs

 3See also

 4References

Chai Wallah in popular culture[edit]

In the 1955 classic film Shri 420, the hero (Raj Kapoor) brings the heroine (Nargis) to
a road-side tea stall. The Chai Wallah insists on receiving a payment of
two annas (anna is 1/16th of a rupee) for the two cups.[3] The scene serves as a
prelude for the famous song "Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua", during which the chai wallah is
shown sipping the tea from a saucer (which was common among the unsophisticated
people). In the 2009 drama Slumdog Millionaire, the lead character, Jamal
Malik (played by Dev Patel), is a chai wallah in an Indian call center.[4]

Notable Chai Wallahs[edit]

The press noted several successful chai wallahs as examples of humble people who
are capable of rising.[5][6] They include:

 Arshad Khan of Islamabad, became a model and singer[7]. He was later revealed to be
an Afghan from Kandahar, living illegally in Pakistan.[8]
 Former Chief Minister of Bihar and RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also claimed to be
a former chaiwallah.[9]
 Laxman Rao of Delhi, author of 24 books[10]
 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claims that in his youth he worked as
a chaiwallah for his father, and used to serve tea to the customers of his father's tea-stall
outside the Vadnagar railway station.[11][12] In 2015, an RTI query was filed asking "whether
there was any record, registration number or official pass issued to Modi allowing or
entitling him to sell tea on trains and at stations", the Indian government responded that
no such information is available.[13]
 Navnath Yewle of Pune, who makes a living running a tea house.[14]

See also[edit]
 Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012
 Tea lady, a similar occupation in Britain

References[edit]
1. ^ "What is a chai wallah?". Chai Wallahs of India. 20 April 2013. Retrieved  30
November2013.
2. ^ Tripadvisor Delhi Is it safe to drink coffee or tea?
3. ^ Raj Kapoor Proposes To Nargis On Street - Shree 420 Most Viewed Scenes, Shemaroo,
Published on Feb 2, 2012
4. ^ IMDb Slumdog Millionaire Quotes
5. ^ Tea Tuesday: Meet The Chai Wallahs Of India, NPR June 14, 2016
6. ^ The chai walas of India, Showkat Shafi, AlJazeera, Oct 2016
7. ^ London calling: The rise and rise of 'chaiwala' Arshad Khan, Rida Lodhi, Express
Tribune
8. ^ Pakistan’s blue-eyed chaiwalla model belongs to Afghanistan, say authorities, Hindustan
Times, Jul 11, 2017
 9. ^ "Lalu Yadav claims that he is real Chaiwala". IANS. news.biharprabha.com.
Retrieved  13 February  2014.
10. ^ New Delhi's most famous tea seller: Meet Laxman Rao, chaiwallah by day, author by
night, Aug 04, 2015
11. ^ Narendra Modi: from tea vendor to PM nominee Archived 15 September 2013 at
the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Zach Marks (28 October 2013).  "Narendra Modi and the Calculus of Tea".  The New
York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
13. ^ "No official record of Modi being tea-seller: RTI reply". India Today. 21 February 2015.
Retrieved  23 March 2019.
14. ^ This Pune chaiwala makes Rs 12 lakh a month. Yes., India Today, March 4, 2018
Categories: 
 Indian tea
 Narendra Modi