In Nepal, tea is not just a thirst-quenching beverage, it is the language of dialogue, a bridge of relationships, and sometimes a symbol of power. The phrase ‘We went for tea, nothing more’ is a common phrase in Nepali politics. But there are examples where this common tea meeting and meeting has sometimes signaled the formation of a government, a change of power, or the beginning or end of a coalition.

Looking at the political history of Nepal, many ideas are born in informal tea chats outside of formal meetings. Not all of those ideas are transformed into decisions, but the seeds of decisions are often planted in the cup of tea. Analyst Hari Sharma, who was also the political advisor to the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, says that ideas are revealed more than decisions in tea meetings. 

There are many images between politics and tea. For example, there is a trend of linking tea storms with politics. Such statements are made publicly when conflicts between leaders increase and when there is turmoil in politics. In Nepali politics, the then Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has mentioned this many times from a public platform. 

But analyst Sharma says that this should be viewed from a different angle. ‘Those who sit around, talk big, and have no results, and are gossiping, are said to be trying to bring a storm in a teacup,’ he says, ‘but in today’s society, this definition has changed a lot.’

Sharma adds, ‘If we look at the parties, Congress President Sher Bahadurji seems a bit tired. KP Sharma Oliji’s strength is still there, so if you give it to me, you will also survive and you will also benefit from it. On the other hand, there are people in the Congress who have signed up for a special general convention, waiting for their turn because the election is coming, what will happen to those people? If elections alone create new legitimacy, what do those who say that an all-party gathering should do?

What will Sushila Karki do if there is no election? If we have to say that the talks between Oli and Deuba are nothing now, then it is a storm in a teacup. If a storm comes to the sea and the desert, it will drown. But it is said that a storm comes and goes in a tea cup.'

Amresh Kumar Singh, an independent MP in the then parliament who has witnessed many political decisions and processes in the past, claims that all important decisions in politics are decided in tea meetings. He says that since every political decision and process begins with tea chat, it cannot be compared to a storm in tea. 

Singh says that all the decisions made in the power equation between Congress-UML, UML-Maoist, Congress-Maoist, etc., all of them started in some way or the other from tea chat. The last Congress-UML equation was made on 15 Ashad 2081 by eating dahichiura.

'That equation was made in a hurry by Sher Bahadur Deuba and KP Sharma Oli for their own safety. Even though they were eating dahi chiura, there was chatter along with the sip of tea,' he says, 'I have the experience that tea meetings have played an important role in expanding external relations from internal equations.'

Another political analyst, Jhalak Subedi, believes that tea culture is a positive aspect of Nepal's democratic development. According to him, it also gives a voice outside the formal structure. But some also see it from a negative perspective. Tea meetings are used to spread rumors and make emotional decisions, which is often used in politics. 

Subedi says, 'Tea meetings are more about generating ideas than decisions, and tea meetings are held again to bring those ideas to a conclusion. In my experience, low-level political dialogues often take place in tea shops. This tradition is linked to the hospitality and chat culture of the Nepalis. Now, you can express your thoughts through social media, but during the Panchayat period, tea shops were a strong medium for bringing politics to the people.'

Tea drinking has become a political culture in itself. There is a history of the Congress starting a tea party in 2034 BS after BP Koirala returned home on 16 Poush 2033 BS with a policy of national reconciliation. BP continued this until 2038 BS, after which it has been followed by Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Girija Prasad Koirala, Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Congress holds a tea party every year on the occasion of Kojagrat Purnima. 

The Congress tea party is not limited to exchanging good wishes, in some cases it is also an 'ice break' to reduce political tension and strengthen mutual relations. Those who had been insulting each other in Parliament the previous day as Bhashmasuras come to shake hands at the tea party. Even during the Panchayat period, tea party was a means of conveying political ideology to the general public.

Subedi says that the Congress started the work of linking tea with political culture. Later, even leftist leaders learned from it. Girija Prasad Koirala, who was the Prime Minister for five times, used to start his important decisions with tea chats. 

According to analyst Sharma, Koirala had the habit of drinking tea in bed at 4:30 in the morning. ‘At 4 o’clock, he would have lemon tea, then tea with milk. And then he would get up from bed and take a bath. Then he would go downstairs (to the meeting room) and have a tea meeting with the party leaders,’ says Sharma. ‘Over tea in the morning, there would be more conversations with the family and people who are colloquially called the kitchen cabinet.’ According to him, serious political reviews and plans would also be discussed during tea. ‘It is not that important decisions are made over tea chats, but I had the impression that a kind of opinion would be set in it.’

Another saint leader, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, is still famous today – Laxmi Didi’s shop in Baneshwor. Since the Panchayat period, Bhattarai would spend an hour drinking tea at Laxmi Didi’s shop and chatting about politics. He was an expert in abusing, joking and satirizing party leaders. No one took offense when he abused them. Some leaders would even tell him that the day he abused them was a bad day. 

‘Many people have become Kisunji’s devotees through tea contact. They knew what was happening in the party and the country through tea meetings. Even when he was the Prime Minister, Kisunji would go to Lakshmi Didi’s shop every Saturday for tea. From there, he would come to my house. He would have intimate conversations with party friends and family members at home too,’ says Bhattarai’s nephew Binod, ‘Political conversations were bound to happen during meetings between leaders and cadres. Especially when he was the Prime Minister, the morning tea party helped in making a plan of what to do and what not to do in the afternoon.’ 

The tea party was not always cordial. The incident of Padam Kunwar slapping Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the then Maoist tea party held at Bhrikutimandap on 1 Mangsir 2069 became an uncomfortable moment in political history. After that, the Maoists stopped holding tea parties. But after the UML-Maoist unity, a grand tea party was held at Bhrikutimandap on 1 Kartik 2075. 

The culture of tea parties in UML began during the time of Manmohan Adhikari. After that, other leftist leaders and new political parties have also been learning from it. The new political party Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had started holding tea parties in its first year. The RSS, which emerged by raising questions about the old parties, tried to establish a tradition by developing tea parties as a 'political culture'. Later, after its chairman Ravi Lamichhane was jailed in a cooperative fraud case, it did not continue. 

From around Singha Durbar to village squares, tea shops have become thermometers for measuring public opinion. From who will be the minister, who will be removed, to whether the government will survive or not, which coalition will be formed or collapse, all these things are first heard in tea shops. The voices of youth, farmers, employees, journalists, everyone mingles in tea shops. This is why tea shops can be considered as an open platform for democratic dialogue, says Subedi. 

Decisions made in tea meetings are also seen as political immaturity. Questions have been raised about the transparency and legitimacy behind such decisions. A UML official says that the decision-making process in politics is always questioned because the current leadership of the Congress, UML and the Nepali Communist Party (then Maoist) reach decisions through informal means rather than formality.

‘Where formal processes are weak, such informal decisions become influential. In such tea talks, plans are hatched ranging from sowing seeds of conflict to destroying them,’ he says.