Chiyaa

A few Sundays ago I went into Thamel to do a little Christmas shopping. Katie and I had, ordered rice bags that were being made into purses and I was picking them up. When I walked up the backstairs to the sewing room of the shop, I was greeted by Krishna and Ram, the father and son who own the shop. I was informed the bags were not ready but would be "soon." Soon in Nepal could be anywhere from a half hour to a half a day. I was contemplating what I could do to "kill" the time. Shop a little more? Go to the office and check e-mails? What to do? My thoughts were intreupted by Krishna saying "Mero bihani baschu, tapaii chiyaa khanus." Which simply means my little sister sit and drink tea. As I stumbled to think of reasons why I could not, things to do, people to see, Krishna left, and Ram informed me he is bringing tea. So I pulled up a stool and sat. As I sat and watched Ram work, I was able to hear more his life. He has worked in his father's shop since he was seven (he is now 27), but would like to open his own shop some day. He has been to France, and Germany, because a family he met in Nepal and worked for now lives there and paid for him to come. He use to live in a tent village on the river, but was able to move into houses run by an NGO, because his father was their Nepali translator, all of which he did for no cost. His mother works at home, but spends her days going back to the tent villages and streets around their house and takes care of the poor and sick however she can, whether its bringing them home to bathe or cloth them, or simply to talk with them. As we were talking Krishna came in with our chiyaa, and the conversation continued. We shared about our families, home, and the work we do. As I got ready to leave, I asked Krishna what I owed for the chiyaa, in which he laughed and said nothing. He explained, Chiyaa is more then a drink, it is the time spent drinking chiyaa that is important, and that you must always find time to drink chiyaa. I smiled thanked them both, hoping they knew that I meant for both the bags and the time. As I walked out the door Krishna called after me, Remember, my bhaini always have time for chiyaa.

A few days ago, Katie and I were in a rush to meet a friend when we walked past Krishna and Ram's shop, we stopped in for Katie to return a purse. As we walked in we were greeted by Krishna saying come have chiyaa. And so we sat, drank tea, and were ridiculously late in meeting our friends, but I will always have time for chiyaa.