Campus Edibles

A cup of tea is the solution to all equations!

The 'Beau-tea' of TSC

Naziba Basher
Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

It is in our nature to love winter mornings. Every morning, it is absolutely essential for one to look out the window, open it, put their hands out in the air and just feel the misty breeze tickle the fingertips. Then comes running up to the roof or just wandering out on the streets for a while and feeling refreshed. Nothing beats the chilly winds of a Dhaka morning and there is hardly anything else in this world that can make it better than a wonderfully brewed cup of tea. Nothing out of the obvious, it is common for Bangladeshis to love tea. And when you combine a fine winter morning with a steaming hot cup of tea, heaven comes down on Earth while you sip warmth into yourself!

In every corner of the city, heck, even in every corner of the country, there will barely be people, young or old, who do not drink tea. Tea, one of the biggest assets of Bangladesh (with the tea gardens in Sylhet), has never been an underdog when it comes to appreciated delicacies of Bangladesh.

The beauty of it in Dhaka though, is how every 'mama', attending their own tea stall, will bring something different to their own self-made tea. And that is exactly where the wonders of TSC (Teacher Student Centre), of Dhaka University, makes a grand entrance.

The circular boundary wall surrounding TSC has about six to seven different 'mamas' and their happy little helpers selling cups after cups of warm tea.

One might wonder why I'm calling it 'delicious' because, after all, it is just tea. But in TSC, no tea is just tea.

You will find a variety of tea in TSC. For example, Aroma tea costing Tk 10, Maltova tea costing Tk 8, Bourn Vita tea costing Tk 10, Chocolate tea costing Tk 15, Boost (may sound like 'BOOSH' when the sellers say it, so don't get confused) tea costing Tk 8 and Horlicks tea also costing Tk 8. Of course, the ever-favourite coffee, costing Tk 8, is also there for those who need that extra kick of caffeine to get the day started.

Tanvir Alam, a student of Dhaka University, says, “TSC is like home to me. I come here in the morning after a long stroll from my hall with my friends to have the Maltova tea, which is my favourite. But tea, from here, once a day is not enough for me. I come here between classes, in the evening and once at night before I return to my room. It is the ultimate hang out spot for my friends and I and the mamas and the little kids there make the stay even more worthwhile since you can have some very interesting conversations with them.”

It is no doubt that, for the students of Dhaka University, this place is a haven. There are also food stalls all around the area that they could pick their favourite delicacies from to munch on while sipping on the warm cups of tea.

But despite the fact that the Dhaka University area is a little far away from other private universities in Dhaka like North South University or IUB (Independent University, Bangladesh), the distance does not stop the students from coming here and indulging into the vibrant atmosphere.

“Even though my day starts in Dhanmondi and I go all the way from there to Bashundhara for university and travel almost all around Dhaka throughout the whole day, I have to come to TSC at least once and get a cup of tea with my friends. It has become a routine for us that no matter which part of the big city we are in, we have a fixed time for when we call each other up and meet here for some 'chaa ar adda' (tea and conversations),” says, Tousif Farhad, a student of IUB.

It is no wonder that Dhaka University is the hub of student activites, no matter which university or part of the country they are from. There are places for one to sight see, places to critique art, places to eat and place to just sit back and relax. And what better way to do any of that, during this season, than with a beautiful cup of tea in hand?