Regular customers of K Chandran’s tea shop in Thiruvananthapuram have formed close-knit communities

Loyal patrons of Chinthya - Oru Chayakkada at Sasthamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram have created WhatsApp groups and friends’ collectives

Every neighbourhood in Kerala has that ubiquitous chayakkada (tea shop). Over here people bond over several cups of tea [and coffee], discussing everything from politics to family.

At Chinthya - Oru Chayakkada run by K Chandran near Raja Kesavadas NSS Higher Secondary School, Sasthamangalam, customers are connected through the day, not just over tea. Chandran’s huge clientele over the last three decades has led to the formation of several WhatsApp groups and friends’ collectives comprising his faithful customers. Morning Friends, Oru Chaya Koottayma (OCK) and Chandrankadayile Chayakoottayma are some of the groups.

“Some of us have known each other from childhood and thanks to Chandran’s shop our friendship is intact,” says Abdul Shukkoor, former Deputy Transport Commissioner and a member of Morning Friends, with over 30 members.

The shop is open from 5am till 8pm on weekdays (on Sundays it closes by 10am). The first to arrive are batches of morning walkers. “Evenings are crowded. People come from even other parts of the city to have his tea,” say G Gopakumar and Ramachandran Nair, members of Morning Friends.

Besides catching up with each other at the outlet daily, the groups hold get-togethers and outings. Each of them held Onam celebrations separately. Morning Friends felicitated 58-year-old Chandran during the celebrations held at his shop. One of them calls the location ‘Chandrankadamukku’ (‘mukku’ means a junction).

Formed last year, OCK has limited its membership to 19, says OCK secretary Kumar A, a government employee. There is a monthly subscription fee for members and it will soon be registered as a society. They meet on the third Friday of every month. “From 5.30am onwards our members are at Chandran’s place after a morning walk. Besides hanging out together, we have organised charity drives,” adds another OCK member, Radhakrishnan M, an Income Tax and GST practitioner. 

Chandran says that he is overwhelmed by how his space has brought together people from different walks of life: politicians, government servants, lawyers, software professionals, students, daily wage labourers... “These collectives keep me optimistic and energetic,” he says.