Tom Alter’s poetry recitation added colour to a recent tea-tasting session. Goter Gangak took notes
The night was falling.The raindrops had touched the ground with gentle breeze. The sky had put on its grey cloak, a hot cup of tea was accompanied by soothing words of poetry. ‘Reflections’, was an evening of inspirational poetry reading by Tom Alter. Tasting of the finest Himalayan teas by Anandini, was also a part of the event. This session was a part of ‘A New Perspective’ event series organised by the creative community of le Meridien. Tom recited TS Eliot’s classic love Song.
The poetry session was interspersed with talks about the right way to drink tea by Anamika Singh. She explained the need for people to graduate from a glass of chai to a cup of tea and know the difference. “Tea-drinking is a culture in India. Instead of having it with milk and sugar, we should savour the original flavours of tea leaves,” said Anamika. A wide of range of tea was served to the audience like flush tea, green tea, chamomile. Meanwhile, Tom recited Chai Ki Izatt by Maulana Azad which went perfectly with the mood.
Anamika shared her love for tea. “Tea isn’t given relevance in a country, the country with the largest amount of tea drinkers. I intend to change this attitude,” she said.Tom recited one of his own poetry that he had written in his school days. Excerpts from the poem.
“In the night and lily white moonlight,
when the road in light bright;
God comes down to eliminate….”
As all things good must come to an end, so did the evening. But this poetic rendezvous was a beautiful escape from the hustle-bustle of the city, transporting everyone in the room to place much serene and calm.