Sonja Egeland Kelly

NASA just released this interesting photo of the India-Pakistan border as seen from space (to understand more about what you’re looking at in terms of which cities each of the really bright spots represent head on over here).

The border is lit by huge spotlights, and the historical animosity between the two neighbors is equally glaring. Since the decolonization of the area, and the establishment of the border to make a distinction between two different religious majorities in the region, the border has been under almost constant dispute.

But the conflict extends beyond official documents that track borders and territories along latitudes and longitudes. Just the other day, I was sitting in the common area at my university, and a group of students (presumably undergraduates) sat down near me. A heated debate ensued: which chai was better, that from India or that from Pakistan.

The students flung insults at one another about having bland taste or needing too much spice, of a lack of attention to detail or a lack of patience in letting food and drink develop a “sophisticated” taste. They discussed heritage: how their fathers and their grandfathers had made chai, and the memories associated with the drink.

Indeed, it is this conversation that is more emblematic of the entrenched, internalized borders between the country. Seemingly arbitrary traditions like tea become symbols of difference and locations of meaning. It’s something to chew on this gloomy late-summer DC day.

(Side note: I have a friend, Audra Yoder, who is studying the history of tea in Russia and how tea as a site of meaning making has evolved with Russian history. If you really are interested in scholarship on tea, she’s someone to know! Feel free to email me if you need an introduction.)

Photo Cred: NASA