In a foreign land, she has built bridges with locals by serving them traditional tea and narrating engrossing stories about our ancient civilization and the way Indians engage in light hearted banter over steaming cuppa. Meet Uppma Virdi, a young enterprising Indian woman who now has virtually the entire Australia sipping tea – prepared the traditional way with Ayurvedic essence – from her hands as she has succeeded in creating a cultural shift thanks to her ability to weave her conversations with her marketing acumen.
Funnily, she sports a name which is name of a popular South Indian dish. “Yes (laughs) I went to Chennai recently and everyone was curious about the origin of my name. Everyone send me messages on YouTube. Actually the word uppma is a Gurmukhi name. It is used in Gurbani and it means your pray to God. If you visit gurudwaras in Punjab, you would find uppma uppma inscribed all over,” says Uppma, who was born in conservative Chandigarh and brought up in modern looking Melbourne.
Curiously, Uppma, a lawyer in her earlier avatar, is fondly referred to as ‘Chai Walli’ (female teamaker) by the locals in Down Under, who are familiar with its meaning.
Interestingly, Chaiwalli is also name of her brand which she coined as she empathises with thousands of chaiwallas who work tirelessly in the heat and grime of India. However, she has gone a step further by conducting workshops on blending, brewing and pouring tea across Australia. Here she talks and explains how by blending spices like cardamom, cinnamon, aniseed and ajwain in tea, she serves them beverage which is beneficial for curing various ailments.
“Chaiwalas have created this community around them. In Chandigarh, my home town, we have a chaiwala called Mamu. You go and have chai at Mamu anytime. It is a lifestyle we have as Indians. I also run a blog and introduce chaiwallas in India who narrate their stories. Everybody has a story to share. There is lot of power in a humble cup of chai. I am sharing so much about our rich Indian culture and aligning all this with Australian culture,” says Uppma, who tells stories to Australians of her recent visits to India like the Golden temple where she had volunteered to make tea.
“Did you know that they make thousands of cups of chai every single day? I could not even move the pot as it was humongous,” she says in a matter-of-factly way.
Uppma has also borrowed the Indian tradition of people in neighbourhood mingling over cups of tea and discussing everything under the sun. Similarly Uppma conducts her pop-ups where people mingle and converse with me over umpteen cups of brew.
Interestingly, the hand crafted tea are certified into various categories like completely natural, sugar free, preservative free and vegan.
However, there is slight variation as far as the utensil is concerned. “We don’t serve tea in mud cups like they do in India because kulhars are fragile and can break during shipment.”
What is vegan-free tea? “In Australia some tea is made with honey which is not considered vegan who think it is a product from an animal. It is important that we differentiate it honey tea.”
Role model
As a child, Uppma would make frequent visits to India where she would get time to be in the company of her grandfather, a doctor specialising in Ayurvedic tea. A specialist in herbs and aromatic spices, he would make remedial chai blends for his friends and family.
Explaining the transformation from a lawyer to a tea maker, Uppma, says: “I was passionate about sharing the Indian culture in Australia. My dadaji Pritam Singh Virdi was an Ayurvedic and homoeopathic doctor. I have nostalgic memories of him; the way he would make a beautiful looking chai which was the authentic Ayurvedic version and share secrets about its benefits. Whether you had cold or throat infection, he would use it as a cure for all these ailments.”
Gameplan
A few years ago when Uppma was doing well as a lawyer, she had a change of plan. After all, observing her grandfather from close range had made her passionate about authentic Indian chai. “One day while I was making tea it struck me that I was a lawyer here but needed to do more to make Australians acquaint about our culture. So I recreated my grandfather’s version. I went to e-commerce and started importing tea from poor farmers in India. Last year, I gave up my legal work to concentrate on this work full time,” says Uppma, whose operates from her warehouse in Melbourne.
Admitting that she was not an Ayurvedic doctor, Uppma says she constantly updates her knowledge by studying books on Ayurveda. “Uniqueness about this handcrafted tea is that is sourced from Ayurvedic ingredients. My unique blend is good for digestion and relaxation. It was necessary to introduce this tea as earlier there was no masala tea available in Australia. It was frustrating for Indians or those who love the Indian version not to get their favourite tea in Australia. So I made it my mission to make chai available.”
Modus operandi
Uppma is facing a hurdle in her dream of working directly with farmers in India. “I I import tea leaves from Assam and Nilgiri to make them authentic tea. However I am finding it difficult to import spices and herbs from India. So I have to depend on a wholesaler in Australia. However, I would like to be given the go-ahead to get these ingredients directly from our farmers,” says Uppma, who was recently in Delhi where she conducted a workshop in the residence of Chris Elstoft, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia.
As someone who prides herself as a chaiwalli, has she served tea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is equally proud of his lineage. “He has set a good example of what a humble man can achieve in his life. Unfortunately I have not met him but would like to share tea with him. In fact, serve him.”
Breaking boundaries
Tea acts as a bridge between people of divergent communities as they enjoy the brew and talk to one another. “For me tea definitely bridges the gap. It sparks conversation and creates communities. In India tea creates communities.”
To ensure authenticity, Uppma gulps everyday. “I am a chaiwali so I have to live a chai life,” she says in a light hearted way.
Though rooted in her culture and sharing her wealth of knowledge, Uppma has a global perspective. “For me it is important to have diversity. At my warehouse in Melbourne I have people of different nationalities working.”
