A couple of weeks ago, I participated
in a competition organized by a famous tea company from a social networking
site, in which they wanted the participants to give ideas for advertisements. Here’s
the elaborated version of what I thought up:
A son studying in a hostel finds his eyes closing every now and then as he tries to study for his exam. He gets up, frustrated and goes to the kitchen to make tea for his own self in order to stay awake. As the tea brews, memories of his mother bringing tea for him while he studied come to his mind that make him really wish that she were there for him or that he were at home.
From the hostel kitchen, we are led to the welcoming kitchen of a
loving household, where in front of the stove, stands a granddaughter making special
kind of tea with just the right mix of ‘masala’ her grandfather preferred. She
carries the tea to her grandfather’s room and places the tray on the table next
to her grandfather’s antique rocking chair, seated on which was not her
grandfather but the sleeping form of his wife. The light thump awakens her
grandmother, who picks up the cup of tea as the two stare at the picture of the
deceased. Tears trickle down the cheeks of the woman, who has taken up the role
of her husband in order to keep his memories alive.
In a family of over-enthusiasts, a newly-wed girl who has never tasted
tea ever, amidst the numerous flashes and clicks of cameras, takes a sip for
the first time from the hands of her ‘sasu-ma’ in her 'sasural' just to please
her in-laws as the whole family of tea-buffs, old and young, gathers around to
magnify this interesting little activity to the height of an event worthy of celebration.
From the hustle and bustle of that family living room, we are led to a
room that literally holds pin-drop silence and reminiscent within the room, is
a businessman, on a trip away from his family, taking some time out from his
busy schedule in order to relax himself with a cup of tea and stare at his
happy family photo. His thoughts travel to the life he lives, where every
evening, his wife would carry a tray with enough cups and mugs of different
shapes and sizes according to the preference of the variety of people forming the
joint-family household setup. Soon to follow would be another tray carrying
assorted tea-time snacks and biscuits for everybody. He smiles for a while
before the silence of the room brings him back to the striking loneliness of
the present.
The concept is that tea is a part
of the routine lives of these people and when you are away from your loved
ones, the only thing that you really remember is the everyday happenings and
the customary things in your life, which is pretty much what you can relate
your routine cup of tea with.
The concept I presented was quite
clichéd and I agree that there was nothing new about it. Maybe because I
inherently believe that there’s nothing new about drinking tea either. Ever
since I can remember, I have seen my mother keep a pot of tea to brew on the
stove regularly in the mornings and evenings. I also remember having
tea-biscuit for breakfast with the help of my mother before I left for
kindergarten class. The nursery rhyme in the title also brings back a lot
memories of the most common and basic toys that most young girls grow up
playing with - tea-cup and kitchen sets.
For someone accustomed to
drinking tea more than thrice a day, up until a few years ago it was quite
surprising for me to hear that some people really don’t drink tea! Since, it’s
like an overall family tradition to have tea with breakfast and in the evenings
at least, we’ve long since wanted to teach our older Mithoo to drink tea. On
the other hand, the little-est and not to mention the cutest member of our
family, despite being less than four months of age, really shows family instincts as she excitedly stares at our cups of
tea.
