Tea drinking in India transcends all boundaries, and is a national pastime. Boy, do I love a good cup of chai (several in fact!).
Kolkata is one of the few places in India where one still finds the roughly hewn, lightly fired clay cups used. In many cities and towns, the clay cups are replaced with plastic ones. Sadly, this is slowly happening in Kolkata too.
Making the clay chai cups provides much-needed work for poverty-stricken villagers who travel to Kolkata to find a job.
I was horrified when I saw the clay cups thrown to the pavement; what a waste; as if there wasn't already enough litter! However, it occurred to me they weren't meant to be re-used, and it wouldn't take much for them to disintegrate when exposed to the harshness of the sun and monsoon rains. They will ultimately return to whence they came - Mother Earth - to begin the cycle again.
© Clare Wise de Wet | Wise Photographics