A lot has been said about Varanasi’s lanes being home to some of the finest chai, mithai and paan one can savour. Locals affirm that some of these older stalls and shops are, akin to the ghats, very much a part of the city’s identity.

Over the nine years I have lived in Varanasi, I have visited and revisited some of these stalls and shops. Initially I was blown away by the high quality. Over a period of time, I realised that at these spaces perfection is the norm. As I observed, and engaged with, the people who ran these spaces I realised they live in the moment, fully immersed in their work.

Initially, I returned for the food. Over time, I realised I was returning for the people behind it.

Birbal Yadav Tea Stall

I begin with Birbal Yadav Tea Stall, located opposite the Sarnath Museum. The milk for the tea comes from their buffaloes, so they control the source and the quality. The shop is teeming with customers by five in the morning and the younger Yadavs who run the stall, Pankaj and Suraj, arrive early enough to clean and set-up the space. Many customers here are regulars and are on a first-name basis with the owners. Besides the tea, Birbal Yadav Tea Stall is known for rabdi-bun, a bun toasted and topped with freshly made rabdi. They also sell curd and lassi.

Anand Tea Stall

Anand Tea Stall at Maidagin Crossroads, one of the busiest and noisiest traffic junctions in town, is run by three brothers. Over the years I have chatted with Pankaj over the chai, which is remarkably consistent, on my way home from music concerts at midnight. They use charcoal fired stove and electrical fan to control the flame here. Team the chai with buns, toasted to just the right level of crispness with butter. They underscore what David Pye remarks in The Nature and Art of Workmanship, “Quality does not lie in the material; rather it is brought out through workmanship”. In summer they sell fresh mango-juice, while chai then is reserved for early mornings and late evenings. 

Madhuvan Milk Sweets

Madhuvan Milk Sweets in Nichibagh does not boast a large spread. But, the sweets here are freshly made in small batches, and dependable. Mitha-parwal, santra-burfi, petha-paan, and kheer-mohan are my favourites. Then, of course, there is malaiyo, a milk based sweet with a fluffy texture (available on winter mornings), which disappears in the mouth often leaving the first time eater bemused. The brothers work in silence, with mediative calm. Their responses are as special as their mithai. When asked “Which sweet is special in your shop”, their usual response is, “Each and every one of them”. Similarly, customers who bargain are asked, with folded hands, to go elsewhere. I have also come across customers whose grandfathers were regular visitors to Madhuban.

Jagdish Tambul Bhandar

When it comes to paan, I must start with my favourite, Jagdish Tambul Bhandar next to the Ravidas Gate. The father-son duo here work in a pleasing synchrony. I once pointed out to the father, Jagdish Chaurasia, that he was sitting in a different position from the one I usually saw him in. He explained that he never ate or drank at the place that he made paan at. It was his way of showing respect to the He respected the addi (seat), his workplace. The paan here has neither tobacco nor sweeteners; the quality of ingredients and manner of preparation make it special. They make the katha — the earthy, astringent paste that gives paan much of its character — at home. This ensures high quality katha, and therefore paan.