First of things first. Chai means tea in Hindi, so when we order a chai tea at Starbucks, we are really asking for a tea tea. Now that I know this, I am greatly annoyed by it. Now on to more important subjects...
Indians love their chai. Maybe this is because of the influence of the British, I have no idea. All I know is that when I visit any office, I'm constantly bombarded with offers for chai or coffee. And since I am a foreigner, my hosts are usually kind enough to request it chini cum, which means less sugar. This is generally necessary because Indian chai and coffee can be unbearably sweet. Actually, I kinda like it, but few of my friends do.
In any case, I'm beginning to think that maybe Indians' love of chai relates to the fact that it's a perfect and well-accepted excuse not to do work. In the afternoon, you can often see groups of men gathered on the sidewalks for their afternoon chai breaks. Or groups head out of the office together to take up to an hour to enjoy their chai.
At no time should work interfere with these chai breaks. When Joey and Jarret were in town, we went to the train station to purchase tickets for our trip to Jaipur a few days later. While the ticket agent was assisting Jarret, someone came into the office with chai for the ticket agent. He immediately stood up and excused himself for "2 minutes only." He was actually mid-transaction and stopped so he could enjoy his chai in the corner with his friends! Nevermind the waiting customers! Much to our surprise, he did return a few minutes later, but we were too shocked that he'd even left to care much.
When discussing breaks, 'chai' can also be replaced by 'cell phone.' This is because people will talk on their cell phones ANYWHERE and at ANYTIME. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone stopped mid-conversation with me to answer his or her cell phone - usually without an 'Excuse me.' Or, if I walk into someone's office, I have to sit and wait for them to finish their (usually personal) phone call. If the situation was reversed, I would surely quickly wrap up my personal conversation so I could attend to the work conversation. But maybe that's just how we do things in the U.S...
So the lesson to be learned here is that is in India a break, whether it's a chai break or a cell phone break, has more importance than actual work. Visitors have to accept this and plan accordingly. You cannot be anything to change it.
Indians love their chai. Maybe this is because of the influence of the British, I have no idea. All I know is that when I visit any office, I'm constantly bombarded with offers for chai or coffee. And since I am a foreigner, my hosts are usually kind enough to request it chini cum, which means less sugar. This is generally necessary because Indian chai and coffee can be unbearably sweet. Actually, I kinda like it, but few of my friends do.
In any case, I'm beginning to think that maybe Indians' love of chai relates to the fact that it's a perfect and well-accepted excuse not to do work. In the afternoon, you can often see groups of men gathered on the sidewalks for their afternoon chai breaks. Or groups head out of the office together to take up to an hour to enjoy their chai.
At no time should work interfere with these chai breaks. When Joey and Jarret were in town, we went to the train station to purchase tickets for our trip to Jaipur a few days later. While the ticket agent was assisting Jarret, someone came into the office with chai for the ticket agent. He immediately stood up and excused himself for "2 minutes only." He was actually mid-transaction and stopped so he could enjoy his chai in the corner with his friends! Nevermind the waiting customers! Much to our surprise, he did return a few minutes later, but we were too shocked that he'd even left to care much.
When discussing breaks, 'chai' can also be replaced by 'cell phone.' This is because people will talk on their cell phones ANYWHERE and at ANYTIME. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone stopped mid-conversation with me to answer his or her cell phone - usually without an 'Excuse me.' Or, if I walk into someone's office, I have to sit and wait for them to finish their (usually personal) phone call. If the situation was reversed, I would surely quickly wrap up my personal conversation so I could attend to the work conversation. But maybe that's just how we do things in the U.S...
So the lesson to be learned here is that is in India a break, whether it's a chai break or a cell phone break, has more importance than actual work. Visitors have to accept this and plan accordingly. You cannot be anything to change it.
1 comment:
yes yes... when we were in a restaurant ordering lunch, the waiter stopped in the middle of the order - while i was mid-sentence - to pick up his "mobile." He came back 5 minutes later.
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