MUMBAI: For actor Worship Khanna, a cup of tea is a mandatory, non-negotiable start to his day. The actor, who has been a part of shows like Kumkum Bhagya, Meri Doli Mere Angana, Ishq Subhan Allah, and web series like Hello Jee, Cold Lassi and Chicken Masala, and the upcoming show Pati Brahmachari, says that having his first cup of tea in bed is a necessity for him.
“I am a hard-core chai lover. I have a very bad habit — I need my morning tea in bed. I know this is not a good habit, and I’ve been trying to change it, but honestly, I haven’t been able to till now. Every morning, I need my tea on my bed. And until I drink it, I don’t like to talk to anyone. If I do end up talking to someone before having tea, it usually turns into a fight because I become very irritated. If I don’t get my tea, my day just won’t start,” he says.
Talking about what a perfect cup of tea means to him, he says, “Right now, I live alone in Mumbai. I need my bed-tea every day. Luckily, these days I have a full-time maid who can make it for me. But even during my struggling days, I had hired a maid only for this one purpose — just to give me tea in the morning. Later, a different maid would come to do the rest of the housework.”
He adds, “For me, a perfect cup of tea is associated with sitting with my best friend, somewhere peaceful like the mountains or a cozy work spot — but never in a rush. I don’t like the rushed, on-the-go tea. I don’t want tea just for the sake of it. I want to have my tea peacefully, in a beautiful mug. One of my biggest problems is that I get bored of mugs very quickly. I keep changing mugs. I have a habit of drinking tea in a new mug every other day.”
His association with tea has been brewing since his childhood days. “When I was really small, I used to go to a tuition teacher. I didn’t even know what tea was at that time. But my teacher used to give me tea in a small bowl. I didn’t know it was tea, but I liked it. So at home, I used to ask for that same thing — though I couldn’t explain what it was. My mom didn’t even know that I had started drinking tea so young. I have been a tea lover since childhood,” he says.
He adds, “My best friend and I lived together as flatmates for around six years. I always used to ask him to make tea for me. His name is Siddharth Shankar Shukla — now he’s a director. He would make tea so seriously, like Birbal ki khichdi sometimes, and it would take him 30–40 minutes! But it was always worth it. Even today, I haven’t forgotten the taste of that tea.”
The actor loves to experiment with different flavours as well. “I keep trying different types of tea leaves from the market, always hoping that one day I’ll learn how to make perfect tea at home. But I think the problem isn’t the tea leaves, it’s about the emotion and method behind making tea. That’s why I still haven’t learned. Tea is very important to me. I even drink tea on sets. And I love proper milk tea, not black tea. I do drink black tea and black coffee once in a while, but even then, I must have at least two proper cups of milk tea every day with sugar,” he says.
Add new comment