The Teacup

 The Teacup

   Lalitha held her mother’s pinky finger and walked down the china town and stopped at a ceramic shop. Her mother bent down and adjusted her saree and whispered “Lallu, everything in this shop is fragile, don’t touch anything or it will fall and break and Amma have money just for the things we need. Be a good girl and wait right here and hold this bag and I will rush out as soon as I can”. Lalitha nodded and held the bag strongly looking at her mother walking into the ceramics shop. Everything was so beautiful. They had mugs, plates, vases and really cute teapots. The shopped looked like a rainbow, name the color and you have it.

Lalitha stood there holding the bag of groceries and waited patiently and her mother walked out the shop smiling widely with a box in her hand. A chinese lady walked alongside and they chatted as they approached Lalitha.

“This is my daughter Lallu. We have to go now. See you again.” 

The chinese lady smiled at Lalitha forming fine wrinkles near her eyes. She had a warm and motherly look. Lalitha held her mother’s hand and walked back home wondering what’s in the box making her mother so happy.

Lalitha sat at the dining table and watched her mother unboxing the parcel. 

“Isn’t it beautiful Lallu?” Asked Lalitha’s mother proudly showing off a matte teal coloured teapot.

Lalitha nodded in astonishment. 

Such a beautiful color. This teapot is sexy. It has a thin top and a fat belly. I bet amma is gonna make us all tea in the evening once appa is back,” Lalitha thought to herself.

Later that evening, Amma prepared some mutton curry, and paratta. They had visitors and Lalitha saw her mother preparing tea in the newly purchased tea set. It came with 6 cute little teal colored teacups with a golden line around the mouth. Lalitha stood near her mother as she poured hot masala tea out of the teapot into the teacups.

There were only 3 guests. Amma poured 4 cups of tea in the teacups and served them to the guests and Appa. She didn’t take one for herself. Lalitha wondered.

Amma walked back to the kitchen and Lalitha asked excitedly, “Amma can I have a cup of tea as well?” Mother smiled at her warmly and poured the tea in a different mug which they use by daily basis. 

“But Amma, I wanted to drink from that new teacup.”

Amma bent down once again and touched Lalitha’s cheek softly and said, “The teacups are fragile and they were purchased to use when guests are here. Be a lovely girl Lallu and have this chai.”

Lalitha was sad but obeyed whatever her Amma said and drank from the mug.

Since that day, Lalitha never asked to drink tea from that tea set nor ever witnessed her mother drinking from it. It was always the guests. Years passed and Lalitha’s mother bought a few more tea sets. Despite having more than one set for the guests, they all had the same fate and ended up being used for the visitors only.

One fine day, Lalitha brought home a guy and introduced him as her boyfriend. Amma was delighted and as usual decided to make her signature chai and served it in the same Teal colored tea set and after all these years of waiting, Lalitha managed to take a sip out of that cute little teacup. Mother’s chai was same all these years, but it felt a little extra emotional and yummy because of the long awaited teacup.

Amma and the tea set made many other visitors happy. Except for this one day, the house was filled with people and there was a strong smell of jasmine benzoin and a fading devotional music in the background. Lalitha sat at the corner of the living room. Every single furniture was covered with white clothes, all the photo frames were taken down. Appa was sitting by Amma sobbing. All Lalitha could think of was the tea set Amma loved so dearly and never took a sip out of it all these years. The rituals were all done and Amma was gone forever and all that was left was Amma’s memories and a photo of hers on the table with fruits and flowers around it. Lalitha went to the kitchen and made a pot of chai, poured it into the teal teacup and placed it near her mother’s photo expecting her to at least take a sip from it now~