A Short Film
By Feeya Asmal
Tea has always been an important facet of my family life. When I was younger, my parents could always be found with one hand on their third or fourth cup of tea, attentions locked on each other as they chatted about their day. I would often lie awake at night for as long as I could and listen to them talk. Not much has changed in over 20 years except that they no longer have their many cups of tea together. As I grew older, I too began to partake in the family institution of tea consumption. As my mother and I lived in our two (wo)man isolation over the last 15 years, tea was our medicine, our psychologist, our cure for insomnia, and our bond. Every Indian family would tell you the same holds true in their house. Tea is a sacred part of our daily life. It is the bond that often holds us together. For me, many continents away, and after spending 25 years together, tea is what connects me to my mother. And her to me.
