She started selling tea for 25 paisa a cup by buying milk for 5 rupees per liter and considers the trust and appreciation of her customers as the real wealth she has earned over this long period.
What you should know
To the west of Chandranigahapur Chowk on the East-West Highway is 'Amako Tea Shop'. Where 87-year-old Narkumari Gurung of Chandrapur-4 struggles to hold a teapot from early morning. The fragrant 'Kadak Chai' she makes over the low heat of firewood attracts the attention of its connoisseurs.
‘When I am not satisfied with my home-made tea, I come to drink my mother’s tea,’ said tea connoisseur Hari Acharya, ‘I drink at least 3/4 cups in the morning.’
Narakumari’s tea shop is located in a small hut covered with thatch. There is no hoarding board, nor a name. But the name that tea connoisseurs love to call ‘Mother’s Tea Shop’ is famous. Mother is busy adding more flavor to the tea according to the taste of the connoisseur. For the locals, this place has not only become a place for drinking tea but also a place for political gossip. People from all walks of life and classes gather here to gossip and increase public relations.
There are few locals who have not come to taste the tea at Narakumari, which has been brewing tea continuously since 2028 BS. The then Chief of the Central Region Police Office, Hetauda, DIG Ganga Pandey (currently retired from AIG), was amazed after tasting his mother’s tea while returning from a visit to the east. ‘Customer satisfaction is like a blessing to me,’ said Narakumari, who looked happy after a customer praised the taste of her tea. ‘I have spent my whole life in tea. It makes me happy to see the number of tea connoisseurs increasing.’
Local leaders, activists, businessmen, farmers, employees, and travelers traveling east-west along the highway come here in search of their mother’s tea. Seeing customers coming from far and wide to enjoy the taste of her handmade tea fills up the mother’s energy even in her old age. She says she consumes 25 to 30 liters of milk tea daily and sells up to 180 cups of tea daily.
Narakumari is also called ‘Havaldarni Aama’ by some. Her husband was a Havaldar in the Indian Army. Even after the death of Havaldar ‘Ba’ (Kaman Singh) in 2049, she continues to live a single life selling tea. Born and raised in the cold climate of Lamjung, she arrived in Chandranigahpur at the age of 32. The same year that Madhesh fell, she started selling tea on the main road in Gaur-Chandranigahapur. She initially started her tea shop in a hut on Maila Darlami's land on Gaur Road by paying a monthly rent of Rs 50, and after a year and a half, she moved to the current location.
She started selling tea for 25 paisa per cup by buying milk for Rs 5 per liter. She considers the trust and appreciation of her customers as the real wealth she has earned during this long interval. Sometimes her daughter Parbati Gurung also comes to help her mother. Narakumari, who has been living in a rented house, is currently thinking of building a house with the money she has saved by selling tea. She has annexed 16 acres of land nearby. She says that she has been earning Rs 5,000 to 7,000 daily by selling tea.
Division Forest Chief Hemant Sah believes that the specialty of 'Mother's Tea' is her mother's tea-making skills and the consistent taste over the years. Narakumari also adds, ‘I am always careful not to let the taste go up and down.’ Her mother’s watchful eye is always on the pot of boiling milk. For a few years, she also made and sold tea on a gas stove. But after many people said, ‘It didn’t taste like the one cooked on a wood stove,’ she stopped using gas.
She raised a son and two daughters by selling tea. Her youngest daughter, Kalawati, sometimes helps her mother at the tea shop. Her mother makes the first batch of tea in the morning herself. Then her mother’s cleaning and puja begins. At that time, Kalawati steps forward to make tea.
After finishing work, her mother comes to pick up the teapot. Her activity, which starts at 4 am, continues until 10 pm. ‘Anyone who comes to drink tea first looks for their mother,’ says Kalawati, ‘Many have become accustomed to drinking tea prepared by their mother.’ Narakumari was honored by the Rautahat Literary Network a month ago. ‘Such days come in life,’ said her mother with a happy expression.
