A glass of chai at the friendly neighbourhood teakadai
It was an Onam day back in the early 1990s and a neighbour declared: Most teakadais (chai shops) are closed! It also reiterated a general assumption that if a tiny shop is selling tea, then the owner has to be a Malayali. Back in Madras then or Chennai now, the Nair prefix to a teakadai was a normal reflex within our imagination, and often a reality too.
Naturally in many Tamil films, the Nair teakadai is where the hero and his friends hang around. The caste prefix though is a cliche as Malayalis include diverse communities united by language. Back then, these hole-in-the-wall ventures would offer tea, coffee, other hot beverages, soft drinks, butter biscuits, murukkus, while the more adventurous ones got into whipping up Kerala parottas and curries.
Ruling the roost
It wasn’t as if other linguistic groups did not venture into this caffeine dispensing business but Malayalis largely ruled the roost. This was an organic reflection of age-old ties when northern Kerala, popularly known as Malabar, was part of the Madras Presidency till 1956. Even the southern princely state of Travancore-Cochin had its links with Southern India’s pre-eminent metropolis. In their quest for a job, it was natural for men to hop onto the various Mails chugging from Mangalore, Trivandrum, and Quilon, and reach Madras at dawn. All these trains have a rich history dating back to the British Raj when the colonial rulers were busy dipping into the spice and timber reserves of the Western Ghats.
For those landing at Madras Central, often a stint in a teashop owned by a State-mate was the first step. Some lingered while a few diversified into having their own shops often named after family members even if for the general public the reference point paused at the assumed Nair prefix.
Special items
The men pouring the frothy teas into tiny glasses did not mind as long as the business was good. Even in the supply chain of snacks, the Kerala influence was evident as some shops offered pazham pori (sweet banana fritters) and sugiyan (a sweet bonda stuffed with green grams, grated coconut and a hint of sugar).
Cut to the present, idlis and pongal are also served in an obvious nod to Tamil Nadu’s rich culinary legacy, while the owner from a Koothuparambu or Tirur thinks about the theyyams back home or the need to celebrate Ramzan in Malabar. Much before branded ‘mallu’ restaurants made a splash in Chennai, these teashops offered a tenuous link to Kerala, and they still do in a warm city busy celebrating its birthday month.
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