My cup of tea for you !

Friends !! Today, early morning, I am so happy to serve you a special hot cup of tea, which I have prepared from the blending of some unique ingredients.  But I am harbouring a doubt also whether you will really enjoy its taste or not. The reason is: when I served this tea to my friends and sisters –some of them liked its taste and others did not. However, all of them have their different opinions and reasons. And I found that no two tea-tasters, if I call them so, had the same observation. Rather, none agree in their explanation too. I was surprised and was little disappointed also to realize that my wonder effort had gone in vain.  I don’t think you ever…ever… have a sip of this kind of tea––absolutely my artistic creation. I was little upset too. So, first, I choose to offer you for your feed-back.

You might argue that it is a virtual tea, so how can one provide one’s opinion regarding its taste. Don’t be bothered, friends!!! all tea-s are virtual  vis- a- vis all tastes are virtual, so you should not worry about your opinion. Be frank, so that I can overcome my angst.

Of course, I was not so easily to be gulped down by disappointment, so I was pondering – where was I wrong with my tea. Normally, I feel so proud of my tea-making that if anyone comes to my home, I jump on my toe to prepare tea for him. I do not allow others to take hold of the tea-pot and other accessories.  I often relish an episode when one of my teacher asked me, “What are you going to do with your Philosophy (Hons) degree ?”, I had a ready answer that I will open a tea shop and will serve variety of tea to (পাডা-passers-by). Still, I have not yet given up the idea of tea-making. Often I experiment and fulfill my desire of being a ‘tea-maker’ for my friends and family. I fondly remember another incident of my great teacher who stayed just two kilometer away from my old house (now I stay 20 kilometer away from his place) used to come to my house just to have a cup of tea made by me. So I had a wild assumption about myself that I am a good tea-maker, if not the best.  I was so confident about the taste (rasa) of my mixing of pharmacological properties and actions of the ingredients that I used to think that it need not be validated by any scientific hypothesis. I used to be sure that alchemical operations will be just right for the guest or for the family members, for whomsoever tea is prepared. I normally take care of the therapeutic principle of harmony among the five primal elements -- earth, water, fire, air and ether-- while mixing the ingredients, that produces rasa (taste) in the body, because their disproportionate mixture may disturb the body-concord.

But this time I was disillusioned somehow and I am sharing my disillusionment with my FB friends. I am offering them my new creation of virtual tea which I have made early in the morning as a routine affair, which I usually do. No one can doubt that the FB tea is virtual in all senses—the cup is virtual, the tea is virtual and the important thing is its taste is virtual. Though I never thought that in reality taste can be virtual also, but that happened yesterday when my friends did not like the taste, barring few of them!  I was shocked and my pride was wounded.   But as soon as the idea cropped into my mind that any taste -- be it sweet, bitter, acid, sour etc is virtual in all respects--- my so-called ‘disappointment’ was peter out. But one wonders how the personal tragedy sometimes inspires, like Vālmiki, to write the Ramayana spontaneously emanating from his being overpowered by an intense feeling of pathos, which is the context of ātma-mukti – a way of catharsis to dilute one’s sorrow through tea-making.

Let us analyse how it happens. The word rasa is associated with palate, carries with it a different meaning and often gets elevated to the domain of art and beauty too by default. Making tea is analogous to the preparation of a dish the taste of which is derived from the melding of numerous ingredients. It also, thereby, justifies the metaphor of taste for an aesthetic degustation which may be regarded as existing at once in the food, the taster, and the act of tasting--- concept of aesthetic flavour, an essential element of any work of visual, literary, or performing art that can only be suggested, not described.

 

Since our childhood we have been taught that taste resides in our taste-buds so whoever is relishing anything keeping on his tongue, he enjoys only his taste-buds only. It is not the tea or whatsoever which is tasteful, it is the tongue which holds the taste. If there is no tongue there will be no taste whatsoever. We have been taught in our undergraduate classes that the whole world will remain non-existing for us if we do not have any senses, so called five senses. Unless one has sense organ one cannot prove the existence of the taste vis-à-vis any kind of sense-experience. Imagine my friends !! Just imagine !! I am afraid it will be a weird world. My God !! The existence of the taste of the tea is now under microscopic observation captured by the so called skeptics. The resident of the taste is not the taste buds but the Rasikajana (connoisseur) who enjoys it. Are you not aware of the example, that a song, a drama, a literary piece, a mural painting produce rasa (taste) in the audience or spectator? How can rasa be in the drama, poetry or music? Wait please, my friends !!! The cup which holds my tea never !!! never can taste the tea it carries.  Though it has continued to carry the beverages since its inception and will continue to carry as long as the planet will exist, yet the cup will never have the taste of the tea. Each one of us is like a cup—the holder of the tea merely. So how can we poor creature taste in unanimous way? Why should there be unanimity in taste when our society is plural and we possess multiple cultures?

Taste refers to the dynamics of emotional representation of flavors crafted into the work (my work is tea here for your consideration) by the writer and relished by a 'sensitive spectator' or sahṛdaya, literally one who "has heart", and can connect to the work with emotion. A rasa, so to say, is a synthetic phenomenon and the goal of any creative performance art. It seems to be conveying a notion of selfhood or personhood which is unique and innovative for the creator.

If taste would have been there in the tea all would have the same kind of taste and no two persons will differ in their opinion. Had it been the case that it resides in the cup, it is the cup that will enjoy the taste of the tea first and we, the recipient, will be having the residue of the cup only, but neither can cup taste it, nor can we.  If it resides in the taste buds then definitely it will differ from person to person. It is my taste-buds only, it is none others’. Your taste-bud is yours, and not mine. So our perspective differs. And, lo!! We have infinite number of perspectives – add them together and you will be transported to a parallel reality, full of wonder and bliss, where one experiences the essence of one’s own consciousness and reflects on.

The idea was constantly buzzing in my head and I was robbed off my foolish pride of making wonder-tea. I started mocking my own fate because my courage of appreciating my own creation of tea was now blunted by my thought. Tears rolled from my eyes both of joy and sorrow for I was a good tea-maker and now no longer an excellent tea-maker. Nevertheless:

I glorify the art of tea-making…
Nay, the refinement of the self !
The tea-taster recreates himself,
creates the tea made of ingredients.

Time consumes for boiling,

at a certain temperature…

And, finally, it is there streaming hot ---

On the table, spreading its aroma, 

Tempting you --to have its taste!!!