Ashok Tea Stall

Ashok Tea Stall is located in Karampura Durga Market S-7. It’s a small shop, more like a hole in the wall, really. But it’s been here a long time. The stove is almost never cold. We start early in the morning when the market is just waking up, and we don’t stop until the last shop nearby closes. The area around S-7 is always dusty and loud, but that’s just Karampura for you. We have these old metal benches where people sit and talk while they wait. The walls are a bit stained from the smoke and the tea, and the floor is always a bit damp from washing the glasses. We don’t have a menu or anything like that. People just know what we have. It’s a lot of work, constantly boiling water and crushing ginger. My hands are always a bit rough from the hot water and the cleaning. We get all kinds of people here, from laborers to office workers who are just passing through the market. Sometimes it gets so crowded that people have to stand out on the pavement. We don’t really mind the crowd, though it can get a bit overwhelming when everyone wants something at the same time. We just keep pouring and cleaning and making sure the jars are full. It’s a simple business, and we’re okay with that. We just do the work and then we go home.