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A cup of tea

Intake of tea checks halitosis, helps in digestion and aids in reviving stressful eyes

An ounce of tea has gallons of antiquity. It is replete with resplendent history, mesmerizing mythology and appealing anecdotes. It is the oldest beverage and still widely drunk for its rejuvenating capacity and refreshing quality. It triggers the dimensions of our dynamism. Today, it competes only with water in consumption. The origin of tea and the discovery of its taste were pure serendipity. Chinese emperor Shen Nung was a serious stickler for boiling water. Once, water was boiled in a garden and the leaves from a nearby plant accidentally fell in to render the simmering water brown. The emperor drank the mixture and declared it a delicacy. He eulogized it as donor of vigour of body, contentment of mind and determination of purpose.

Tea-break

Respite during any session is always referred to as `tea-break.' `High tea' and `tea party' are of common usage. Evening tea led to entertainment outside and thus tea dances came into existence. The phrase, `teetotal' is said to have been derived from tea-meetings organised to skip alcohol. Teaspoon is the standard measurement for administering medicines. Only Prufrock of T. S. Eliot would measure his life in coffee spoons. Tea leaves have a few vitamins and more fluoride to fight dental decay. Intake of tea checks halitosis. It helps in digestion and aids in reviving stressful eyes. It moderates muscle relaxation. It is heartening to heart by improving circulation. The decoction of tea diffuses diarrhoea.

History notified an event as tea party in which no cup was served but barrels were thrown aboard. On December 16, 1773, a group of patriots threw the export cargo of tea sent by East India Company into the sea, in Boston. All other American cities exemplified Boston. The stakes became skirmishes, escalated into battles and culminated as war for independence and authorisation for autonomy. It demonstrated that a storm might brew in a teacup. Tea grew accidentally with coffee in Sri Lanka in the plantations of James Tailor, a Scotsman. He found it an `ugly little shrub.' After a couple of seasons, a virulent leaf disease devastated the coffee plantation. The ugly little shrub remained invincible and tea industry got a start. Emigration of workers to plant tea plantations and supplant coffee stubble led to their permanent settlement and cascaded into racial discrimination and rebellion for liberation. When plantations of Kenya wilted due to severe drought, demand for Indian tea was on the increase. The incredible demand paved way for unbridled greed. Planters in the Nilgris exported the condemned quantum to exploit the situation. It exploded and resulted in shutting the doors of entry forever. Nature balances and it helps to moderate even human nature. Ineligible profits lead to inevitable loss.

Indian legend

According to Indian legend, Bodhi Dharma, in the fifth year of his seven-year continuous sleepless contemplation to develop insomnia, plucked the leaves of a proximate bush and chewed to ward off his weariness. The bush was the wild tea tree. As per Zen, Bodhi Dharma peeled off his eyelids to avert drowsiness and threw them away, which sprouted as a tea plant. Hence, tea helps in enhancing awareness and effacing slumber. Zen alone considers tea as sacred and sipping it a ceremony. In Japan, tasting tea is a kind of meditation to be done attentively with love. Washing the limbs and entering into the meditation hut with a sense of devotion is a pre-requisite. Seekers sit silently and sip tea drop by drop with utmost sincerity. At that moment, they themselves become the tea they take and the distinction disappears. Serenity dawns in the Zen garden and the whole environs are filled with joy, tranquillity and peace. Tea ceremony helps an individual to have a taste of the divine. He extends this attitude to every endeavour that he pursues. He becomes a lesson when he reads, dance when he dances, game when he plays and flute when he sings. He observes without duality. He is not even a witness. As J. Krishnamurti says, the observer becomes the observed. Then `being' and 'doing' become the same. Thus early morning tea is not only a stimulant but also a symbolic nirvana.

V. IRAI ANBU

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