[Note: This article is not gender specific although it may seem so]
Nagpur is a city which was once famous for its oranges and now for its millionaires. From being a ‘one month cynosure’ during the Winter Session to one of the fastest growing Tier-II cities in the country, the transformation has been stupendous.
People, mainly students migrate to bigger cities for better educational opportunities, jobs or for whatever reasons. Migrating to bigger cities has its ‘wows’ and ‘lows’. For boys, the wows include the neatly dressed or nearly dressed girls among others and for girls it includes, well, ask them. But for almost every person who has spent some part of his student life in Nagpur, the tapri culture becomes as integral to his life as his mobile phone (and blimey! do we love our mobile phones or what!!)
Arguably the heart-beat of Nagpur, the tapri’s are the real hot-spots of the city. Here, you will find a tapri at every nook and corner. Hence, the local saying, “You are never too far away from a tapri in Nagpur”.
Tapri’s generally seem to be occupied with boys and men but there are also girls who love the tapri ‘chai’ as much as we do. One will find quite a lot of girls at tapri’s enjoying their chai’s during the daytime but you won’t find many during the tapri’s peak hours. [For the alien kind, the tapri’s peak hours are from midnight to around 5am]
Tapri’s for me, are Nagpur’s knowledge kiosks. You’ll get more accurate information about the city at a tapri than at any other place. They are the audio-visual newspapers of our beloved city. But for me, the best part of a tapri is that the richest of richest and the poorest of poorest enjoy the same hot tea in the same glass while standing on the same footpath. Equality personified.
Hope you enjoy your next 'cutting'.
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