The Spoon That Stirred A Thousand Teas

Neel picked up the spoon lying on the dusty shelf, wiped it clean on his loungi and stirred his tea mixing the sugar in equal proportions. He relied on the morning tea the same way as the early bird relied on the early worm. With a soft “clunk-clunk” noise, he stirred the hot beverage and pondered on the day ahead. Soon, Ghosh babu would come with the day’s newspaper and sit on the bench outside. He would then order his usual cup of tea with a spoon of sugar stirred just once; and thus the day would begin with his usual customers. He would serve them tea and discuss cricket and politics.

All his customers preferred a copious amount of sugar in their tea. The spoon on the dusty shelf of the shop knew its way. It knew what each customer liked. Two large spoons for Mitra da, the peon at Coal India Ltd., three for Alok babu, the retired traffic constable and one spoon and stirred twice for Anton Sir, the manager who jogged past every day.

Neel talked to all his customers. Although, just a tea stall owner, Neel was quite knowledgeable. He had an inquisitive nature and he tried his best to gather every bit of news from his customers. Lakshit, the paan shop owner told him about all the local gossip and rumors while Renu da, the one who owned a TV told him about George Bush senior. He would listen to everyone calmly. One might even say, he was one of the traditional inn keepers who heard the tales of the weary travelers in utmost silence. Neel seldom offered opinions. Meanwhile, the spoon kept count of the number of stirs for each of the customers so their morning tea was never disappointing.

The secret to a successful life is the right practice; the wise say so. In life, experience is one of the strongest tools. If you know what to do in a certain situation, you certainly are on the road to success. As you walk along that road, you keep doing the same thing again and again until you are imbibed with an instinct that takes care of every situation. This is when one is said to be experienced. In every aspect of life, the experienced are always respected. Not because of their age or seniority. They are respected because in any situation, the experienced will never panic.

It so happened that one day Neel interfered with the spoon’s work and was about to put an extra helping of sugar in Mitra da’s tea. But the spoon which had stirred a thousand teas knew of the danger and slipped out of Neel’s grip. With a clatter, it fell to the floor at Neel’s feet. The day was saved.