Mysuru City’s Tea/Coffee Lovers Brew New Survival Strategies
Shyam Sundar Vattam
Mysuru
The city that once ran on an endless supply of steaming chai and filter coffee is now learning a hard truth — no LPG, no luxury!
With the ongoing commercial LPG cylinder crisis tightening its grip, Mysuru’s die-hard tea and coffee lovers are being forced into an unfamiliar routine: drinking beverages not by habit, but by availability.
Until recently, every street corner proudly hosted a tiny tea stall — open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., faithfully fuelling early risers, office-goers, gossip clubs, and evening philosophers. But today, many of these beloved “chai addas” have either downed shutters or dramatically reduced their working hours.
“Earlier, customers would complain if tea was late by five minutes. Now they ask, ‘Anna, is gas there today?’” laughed Ramesh, a mobile tea vendor, while guarding his half-filled cylinder like treasure. “Once the cylinder is empty, shop closed. No arguments!”
In a desperate attempt to keep business brewing, some vendors had earlier resorted to using domestic LPG cylinders — cleverly camouflaged under cloth. But the vigilant authorities have now cracked down on such jugaad methods too.
“We used to hide the cylinder like it was gold,” joked another vendor, Shankar. “Now even that ‘secret recipe’ is gone!”
Switching to alternatives hasn’t helped much. Electric stoves demand special utensils and reliable power — luxuries that roadside stalls rarely enjoy. Firewood stoves? “Too much smoke, customers run away before the tea is ready,” said a vendor with a shrug.
The result: tea stalls now operate like limited-time offers — open only until the gas lasts.
This has left beverage addicts in a mild state of panic.
“I used to drink tea five times a day. Now I feel like I’m scheduling appointments with chai!” said Mahesh, a self-confessed tea enthusiast. “Sometimes I reach the stall and they say ‘gas over’. It feels like heartbreak!”
At home, things aren’t much easier. “We can’t keep asking for tea every hour,” admitted another coffee lover. “The same gas is needed for cooking. If I demand coffee again, I might be served a lecture instead!”
Faced with this crisis, many have started cutting down their intake, while others are making surprise visits to friends’ homes — not for conversation, but for a hopeful cup of tea. “I’ve become very social these days,” joked one regular. “Wherever there is gas, there I go!”
As the city waits for normalcy to return, one thing is clear: Mysuru’s romance with tea and coffee is still strong — only now, it comes with timing, patience, and a pinch of humour.
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