I avoided a final wave to conceal tears rolling down my cheeks to spare my mother the pain, who I knew couldn't bear to see me cry.
At 21, I was moving to Istanbul for college. Turkey is a popular destination for Pakistani college students, Turkey is the 3rd destination country in Asia for Pakistani students according to UNESCO and currently, Turkey is hosting 2,948 students from Pakistan according to Turkey's ministry of education.
Being the youngest in my family, I had a close connection to my home and family. I felt pangs of sadness especially during festive times like Ramadan and Eid, which were always the joyous occasions in our household. We all used to sit on the "dastarkhwan," which is a beautiful tablecloth spread on the carpet, and happily savor the yummiest meals together while discussing what's new in our lives.
However, amidst this sea of change, I was at peace knowing that there was one constant source of comfort that was accompanying me to this foreign land -my beloved cup of Pakistani chai. Packed within my luggage, a carefully sealed container of tea leaves journeyed with me to the far-off land.
Chai has always been a part of my life, from my sister sneaking an extra teabag in my cup away from my dad's attention at the age of 4 to my first sip of chai away from home in Turkey, sitting on the bare floor between unpacked boxes, watching my dad assembling pieces of my bed, it all hit me with a wave of nostalgic feeling of familiarity and comfort.
However, the unique taste of Pakistani tea is hard to replicate elsewhere; the perfect blend of cardamom, the right amount of tea leaves, the perfect ratio of milk to tea and just knowing how long to brew is an art to master.
In foreign countries like Turkey, the scarcity of raw ingredients often makes it a luxury. In chai the main and most important component is the “chai patti” tea leaves, even though Turkey ranks third highest in tea consumption as per the Food and Agriculture Organization, the çay drank here is quite different than Pakistani chai, the tea leaves in Turkish cay is much lighter with a unique aroma, whereas Pakistani tea leaves are way more rich and intense.
While Turkish çay is undoubtedly refreshing, it doesn’t quite match the satisfying hit of Pakistani chai. The craving for chai intensified when I went without it for two days which caused moodiness, and headaches, as Pakistani tea leaves are not readily accessible in this new place. However, the thought of tea leaves arriving soon brought a sense of calmness but my friends were the happiest because apparently I’m a real life Grinch without chai.
In conversation with Shahana Khalid, 49, a Pakistani expat living in Istanbul Turkey, a housewife, and mother of two who accompanied her daughter who is enrolled in university, also expressed her concerns regarding the difficulty of having chai in a foreign country, “prices of the raw ingredients are ridiculously high compared to Pakistan, but the sacrifices are worth it”, Shahana sighed, gently shaking her head pondering about the cost she had to pay to hold onto something dear to her heart, as she continues to bargain the price of tea leaves and other spices from the shop owner. The shop, Memons Trading, a Pakistani market located in the touristy Fatih district, the air was filled with the scents of exotic spices that were transported back to the street of Karachi's spice bazaar. It was a small store with neatly organized shelves that showcased an array of diverse spices and goods.
Imran Musa, 42, the shop owner, explained why the price for patti is so high, “The expense of covering their flight fare is added onto the product”.
This isn't the first time Pakistanis are paying high prices for their chai drinking habit, as per the Guardian the Pakistani government spends about £500m annually from the central bank’s hard currency reserves for tea imports. It's gotten to be such a back-breaking issue that Pakistan's federal minister Ahsan Iqbal urged locals to cut back on its chai as Pakistan has had to resort to borrowing funds to meet its tea import expenses.
Nonetheless, this never stopped a true Pakistani from savoring their chai, even in a foreign land. When I noticed my patti supplies are getting dangerously low, I asked my dad to send in 5kg of Pakistani tea leaves from Qatar with the help of his friend, I took a three-hour trip to the outskirts of Istanbul pick up the tea and on my ride back home in the bus, I joyfully carried a huge bag filled with tea leaves, attracting curious glances from fellow passengers.
“People come from far away just to have a cup of tea,” Mustafa Ahsan, 32, a manager at Karachi Darbar restaurant based in Taksim, Istanbul said.
Mustafa said that not just Pakistanis but people from Middle Eastern countries show up at the restaurant just for “karak chai”, even though the restaurant is famous for its Pakistani cuisine mainly chicken biryani and karahi the majority of people end their meal with the hot cup of chai.
Just like Pakistan's street side “chai dhabas”, in Turkey, people gather in çayhane, for çay sessions.
-a typical night out, people sitting, having çay at çayhane in Kadikoy -
At a çayhane in Kadikoy, the clinking of tea glasses fills the air as people sit across from one another at a tiny table, stirring sugar in their cay, alongside smoking cigarettes and chit chatting.
“Seeing a kettle makes me think of my family, specifically about my close connection to my father,” says Ayse Gurel, a 22-year-old classmate. For her, tea is a comforting link to her childhood. “I drink 2 liters çay a day”, she says proudly.
“I can't survive a single day without Pakistani chai,” I told Shahana after we left the store with a kilo of patti that she finally bought after bargaining with the shopkeeper for 10 minutes. She was excited to brew with the fresh leaves and sit down to watch her favorite Pakistani series with her daughter later that night. “I cannot do without it,” she said.
“Chai for me is the comfort of familiarity in an alien land”
