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ShareHow much spirituality can there be in a cup of tea? A lot, the Japanese would tell you. My colleagues and I agree, as we found much happiness in cups of flavoured tea. We discovered that a hot cup of tea lifts the mood, lubricates the thinking mind, soothes wrought nerves and is the starting point of many a great idea.
The tea-making exercise is a team effort. In the post-lunch languor of the afternoon, when all one can hear is a faint, distant whoosh from the AC vent and muffled sounds of an odd vehicle passing on the other side of the giant glass window, collective instinct first calls out for a hot cup of tea. Then comes a voice: "Who wants tea?" We gather at my desk for what's now fast becoming a team ritual. Mugs of different sizes, shapes and colours are lined up. There's much enthusiasm when it's time to choose the flavours -- ginger, lemon, cardamom, Assam, earl grey (a hot favourite, the stock of which is fast dwindling) and organic green tea. One teammate knows exactly how to mix the milk powder to make milk of the right consistency. She's the resident expert and even hands out tips every now and then. Sugar cubes are distributed in the mugs as per individual preference. There's light conversation as we, and the mugs with the teabags in them, wait for the kettle to boil the water.
At the very root of it, our office tea rituals are not very unlike the traditional Japanese tea ceremonies -- those are expressions of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility through each deeply symbolic gesture -- a graceful choreography between host and guest. There, they sit on their knees in a very intimate atmosphere for about four hours.
The dialogue is stripped down and everything is designed to keep focus on the moment and to completely forget about anything happening outside the teahouse.
The little door, called nijiriguchi, was designed for everybody to bow their heads as they entered the tea room. The process is a leveler too. The upwardly mobile sit next to peasants, leaving any status symbol -- jewellery, watch, etc -- outside the teahouse. Inside the room, all are equal. The tea ceremony is a timeless realm in a bottle.
When the ceremony is done, the mind arrives at stillness, like tea leaves settling on the bottom of a cup. Like we expect it to do for us too. I can see my colleagues nodding to this one.
