PM Narendra Modi’s UK visit: It’s time for chai pe charcha with the Brits

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden official visit to Britain — where ‘high chai’ is slated to be one of the features that will redefine an old relationship — an observation of the Chinese media during the just concluded visit of President Xi Jinping may prove instructive.

It described the British as “potato people” who have beer before every meal and “can’t drink tea properly”. The PM can hardly disagree with the omnipresence of the ‘aloo’ after the Bihar election results paved the way for the return of a man whose name not only rhymes with it but who also claims a similar ubiquity.

However, he would do well to also initiate a comprehensive chai pe charcha with his British counterpart David Cameron. More so as a recent Dutch study has revealed that drinking up to five cups of tea a day is beneficial for health — which is why children are now served milky versions in many schools in the Netherlands.

Of course, India would probably differ with China regarding the resolution of this issue — as it does on several other key matters of mutual interest — but tea diplomacy should be a natural fit for our PM.

Queen Elizabeth II is a confirmed aficionado and, hopefully, chai shall also flow freely at Chequers when the two PMs confabulate — despite the British leader’s supposed predilection for black coffee.