Diya Tea House

Diya Tea House is at 8, Arcot Road in Sathuvachari. It’s right on the main stretch, so there is never a quiet moment. The traffic on Arcot Road is constant, with buses and bikes zooming past the front door. We have a few benches where people sit down for a bit. The walls are a bit faded, and we haven't bothered to repaint them lately. We spend most of our time behind the counter. It gets quite hot in the afternoons because the sun hits the front of the building. We keep the kettle going almost all day long. There is a small drain outside that we have to watch out for. It’s not a fancy cafe with air conditioning or anything like that. Just a plain room with a high ceiling and a few fans that hum loudly. Most of our regulars are people who work nearby or drivers stopping for a quick break. We know most of them by face. The floors get dirty pretty quickly with all the foot traffic, so we end up sweeping three or four times a day. We don't have a big menu. We just focus on the tea and maybe some biscuits. It’s a simple life at number 8. We open early and close when the street lights come on. It’s just what we do here in Sathuvachari.