We start our journey of life with a clean slate. And every day, we add different variables to it; variables to make our life better and joyful. To the best of our understanding, we start adding a perfect blend of skills, experiences,  knowledge, friends, peers and much more, so that we can sail through the ocean of life.

And similarly, the journey of preparing an Indian Chai also starts with a clean pan. Then there’s water, milk, chaipatti, sugar and all the masalas get added to enrich its flavour.

With all the variables (skills, knowledge, references etc.) in our kitty, we are ready to sail. The fire edges us into action. It leads all the dreams and flying hopes to something similar to ‘uphaan’ in the boiling process. Because of heat and pressure, water starts vaporising from the pan. It pushes all the strong concentrates like fats, proteins etc. to the surface. This traps vapour and the milk or mixture, in the pan, starts rising like a balloon. Uphaan is nothing but a mix of variables under pressure, having their own identity, trying to prove their presence and it’s not more than bubbles filled with air, making a lot of noise. Just like the heat & pressures of life start testing all the theories we have learnt and strong beliefs & mental models we have formed. The pressure keeps building up and vapours keep pushing our limits.

Then comes the break free point. The vapour finally manages to break the wall of fats, strong mental models and all the concentrates that are holding us back. This is the eureka moment, where it is realised that all the variables/ingredients can harmoniously blend in leading to something wonderful. And hence the uphaan starts settling down. Every next uphaan is less bubbly & noisy and is more content. The mix then starts boiling.

The entry-level of hardship has helped us understand our uniqueness. All our ingredients have started to blend and now it is to be refined. So we keep practising our skills & uniqueness by doing it again & again, like the mix in the pan, keeps boiling & boiling. While boiling keeps refining the blend. Note, it’s boiling and uphaan is hardly there. At the end of it, chai is ready to be relished.

Life experiences make us the person we are and it’s exactly what makes an Indian Chai, an Indian Chai. We add skills, knowledge & all the apt variables. Then we put it in action, take it through all the hardships and fight the odds with wits & fists, in both profession & personal life. And we keep doing it again & again and keep getting better & better. Chai goes through a similar process. And perhaps, unknowingly, this is what we relate to with every sip of chai. And maybe, the taste of chai gives us the taste of what we are going to become one day.

Remember, if you want to make an amazing cuppa, then you have to allow it to boil. Nukkad Café has already put together a blend of few ingredients in its pack of ChaySutra’s Masala Chai. You just have to use it and boil it with milk & water (add sugar as per taste). It’s the boiling that refines you & the chai and there is no shortcut to fulfilment.

Remember the mantra, “Ublega nahi, toh banega nahi”.