Catching up over a cup of tea at this first of its kind Solar Tea Stall is all the rage in the city

Chai! A cup of the thick sweet aromatic drink in the morning sets the rhythm of the day in almost all households but for the Tea-lovers Chai is one drink that they can have any time, 24/7. The young find the strong tea served by the local on the streets of Indore, prepared with some exclusive flavours under an ambience of shacks and thatch truly irresistible.However, the newly opened first of its kind Solar Tea Stall in the city has taken the amalgamation of flavours and ideas a notch higher. Yes, tea being prepared by solar panel set-up is all the rage in the city these days.
The solar tea stall which has been opened 8 km away from the city on Bombay Highway by Lokesh Prajapat, a small chai vendor is thriving in the calm locales of Sanawadiya village, a little inside the by-pass road, offering the visitors not only a but a view as well for them to enjoy nipping the tea. The solar panel tea stall also has a shack-like poha, samosa and snacks shop to offer the visitors an assortment of Indori munchies. The stall in no time has gained good popularity in the city and people who have visited the stall for a have come back satiated and happy. Harsh Sharma, a Computer Science engineering student of Medicaps University who has frequented the stall twice shares, “The place has become my favourite spot to have tea in the late afternoons and what makes it my favourite is not just the amazing cinnamon and masala tea that the humble stall serves for ’10 but also because the owner Lokesh Prajapat is a gracious host and patiently chats with the visitors, gleefully talking about the idea behind his unusual tea stall and the impressive locale. The tea stall has a view of lush green fields that also meet Ralamandal hillock and Devguradia hillock which also has the famous Mahadev Mandir.”

Sharing his idea behind coming up with a solar tea stall Prajapat shares, “I had once visited Janak didi’s (Janak Palta McGilligan) residence who runs a centre for sustainable development and is working for sustainable community development. I noticed that everything from food, water, electricity is being prepared/run by solar panels. I was so thrilled with the idea of cooking food and heating water by solar panel that I thought of replicating the idea to prepare tea naturally with the help of solar heat,” adding, “The set-up is very economical and has costed me 10K rupees, anyone can install it. I would request people to come up with more such energy saving food making ideas for sustainable lifestyle.”

The stall has become a centre of attraction for the passers-by who make it a point to stop-by at the stall and have tea. For Jigyasa Dave, an engineering student of Acropolis College, Chai is PositiviTEA. She shares, “I recently chanced upon visiting the stall while I was coming back from my college with friends. I am a tea lover and can have tea anytime and all the time and thus I couldn’t resist myself to taste the tea at this stall. It was more special since I had never had tea which was prepared on a solar panel setup. It was a fun experience for me to visit this stall with my friends. I chatted with the owner of the stall about the working of the tea stall and in the course of time swigged three cups of tea.” Similarly for Neha Wadhwani, a BBA student of Prestige Institute of Management and Research having prepared naturally was a never-done-before experience. She shares, “It's a delight to see someone who is not even that well-educated utilizing the natural resources for doing something good and inspirational. The taste of tea that I had was almost the same as we have anywhere else and with such great view spot, it was worth every penny. The time for brewing of tea on the solar panel was just as normal too. I will be taking my friends soon to the stall post the college.” Vijay Singh Bais, a professional photographer adds, "The road of Sanawadia village also leads to a resort which is a famous destination for weddings. Recently, while I was going to the resort for my project I saw the solar tea stall, which intrigued me to stop my car and have the tea there. I was totally impressed by the concept and feel many more people should replicate this idea in the city."

Picture Credits: Arpit Joshi