Farmers bond over cups of hot tea

As a cold wave sweeps across the Delhi-NCR and intermittent showers lash the makeshift tents of farmers protesting at the Haryana-Rajasthan border, a teeming crowd of men hovers around a particular camp at the site—the Mewat camp

As a cold wave sweeps across the Delhi-NCR and intermittent showers lash the makeshift tents of farmers protesting at the Haryana-Rajasthan border, a teeming crowd of men hovers around a particular camp at the site—the Mewat camp. On getting closer, one is able to spot the crowd-puller— a cuppa of hot tea, which has gained immense popularity among the protesting farmers.

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The tea langar is being run by a team of people from the Meo community of Rajasthan and Haryana for the past one month. Spread across the once contiguous belt of eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the Meos or Mewati (as the community identifies itself) often rally around common causes. This time, the Mewatis from the two states have united to extend support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

Mohammad Shakir, a resident of Nuh in Haryana, said that farmers from the region were against the three farm laws and have joined the agitation to strengthen it. “Beyond the borders of states, we see ourselves as a common unit, as Mewatis. We are farmers too and stand against these laws and in support of our fellow brothers,” said Shakir, while serving hot tea to a serpentine queue of protesting farmers.

The tea langar runs from five in the morning till 11 at night, with people taking turns at making and serving tea. A team of 25-30 people, consisting of Mewatis from both Rajasthan and Haryana handle the operations of the langar. The supplies needed for making tea and other snacks are contributed by people from different villages.

“People from different houses in the village contribute milk, sugar and biscuits depending on their capacity. We send out a word in the village or make announcements from the mosque so that people are able to contribute,” said Shakir.

Most of the men handling the cooking at the camp only learned to make tea recently. Maulana Umar, a 27-year-old from Punhana, said that he and others were not well-versed with cooking until now. “I did not know how to make tea initially. I learned it here and made tea for the first time,” said Umar, who teaches at a Madarsa. “While others are busy in the fields, we were relatively free since the madarsa is closed due to the pandemic. Our elders asked us to serve people here and we came here for khidmat (help),” said Umar.

It took the men the first few days to get the taste right but both the tea and the snacks served here gained quick popularity. “They don’t put much water in the tea. It’s very different and we call it the special Mewat chai. Everyone loves the tea here,” said Rakesh Phagodiya, a farmer from Rajasthan. He said that the government had unintentionally united people by bringing the three laws. “Everyone has come together to defeat the three laws here. There are no differences among us,” said Phagodiya.

Mohd Shakir, a Mewati from Alwar in Rajasthan, said that people walked for kilometres to have tea at the Mewat stall. “Farmers are spread across kilometres but they still prefer to come here for tea. Their appreciation motivates us,” said Shakir, adding that police officials stationed at the border also enjoyed the tea prepared by the Mewat camp.