One of the most blatantly significant figures within the film Garam Hawa is the chai wallah surrounded by the young and the revolutionary. The chai wallah not only opens up his khokha as a place for the motley of Sikhs, Hindu, Muslims all supporting smart jackets, pants, glasses, bowties and neat sweaters but also nourishes them providing them with free chai, samosay and tidbits of his own revolutionary life.
Even though the chai wallah is nothing but good to Sikander and his group of I find the figure of the chai wallah as slightly sinister. I keep expecting him to show up at the end of the movie and demand something in return for all his show of goodwill. Even though that doesn't happen, I feel as if Sikander and his group of friends actually owe the chai wallah a debt that they will have to pay for once the strikes end. While we made the point in class about the chai wallah behaving as how the government ought to behave, the situation is hardly ideal that the young sit idle with free chai and samosay as they are fed with ideas on revolution by the chai wallah. His stepping in to pay for the printing of their strike posters is crucial for the protest to happen and his mentioning of his bones breaking for the Satyagraha movement is wholly significant to his thirst for revolution and his role as an instigator. Sikander and his friends drinking tea in jeans and shirts is fully hinting to a colonial mindset-- is the chai wallah somehow linked to the colonial bonds that bind the minds of the young? Though the movie as a whole explores many significant topics fully, the character of the chai wallah remains somewhat ambigious and lurks in the background demanding a fuller representation.
Even though the chai wallah is nothing but good to Sikander and his group of I find the figure of the chai wallah as slightly sinister. I keep expecting him to show up at the end of the movie and demand something in return for all his show of goodwill. Even though that doesn't happen, I feel as if Sikander and his group of friends actually owe the chai wallah a debt that they will have to pay for once the strikes end. While we made the point in class about the chai wallah behaving as how the government ought to behave, the situation is hardly ideal that the young sit idle with free chai and samosay as they are fed with ideas on revolution by the chai wallah. His stepping in to pay for the printing of their strike posters is crucial for the protest to happen and his mentioning of his bones breaking for the Satyagraha movement is wholly significant to his thirst for revolution and his role as an instigator. Sikander and his friends drinking tea in jeans and shirts is fully hinting to a colonial mindset-- is the chai wallah somehow linked to the colonial bonds that bind the minds of the young? Though the movie as a whole explores many significant topics fully, the character of the chai wallah remains somewhat ambigious and lurks in the background demanding a fuller representation.
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