Chai.Cha.Te.Tea

For starters, Aloka and Sujata are born into a family-run tea factory in Darjeeling, as explained on pages 17-18, which talks about Aloka's past in terms of the tea business:

"Her personal connection to tea ran much deeper than his, going all the way back to the 1800s...when her ancestors first tasted the tea, they found it so satisfying that they resolved to buy this choice location and settle down... the estate had prospered under the Guptas..."

Despite her "personal connection," Aloka doesn't care much for tea at all: "As the oldest child in the family, it would all be hers one day, even though her interest in the farming and marketing aspects of tea was nonexistent." (14) ON the other hand, as seen later in the book, Sujata is completely dedicated to tea, as she is introduced in the book being in the middle of her privately-owned tea business in Victoria BC. Likewise, the middle of the triangle, Pranab, is successful for his ability to taste the quality and tend to the growing and production of tea-- in addition, Pranab has a tendency to idealize all his passion and turn them into something grandiose-- his love for tea and the process, it could be said, is what ultimately led him to start a rebellion against his boss.

Indeed, tea is also a huge bonding point between Sujata and Pranab-- they share more intellectual and personal interests with each other such as tea and workers' welfare, and more deeply passionate interest's such as Pranab's dancing:

"And, without waiting for a reply, began to discuss two crop pests, red spiders and green flies, as well as soil erosion problems. Finally he asked her if she had noticed anything in particular during her walk through the field. She felt flattered at being asked and mentioned that not all the tea workes had gloves on...Before she knew it, an hour had passed and he'd given her a detailed account of the worker's living conditions, as well as his own suggestions for improving their lot." (40)

"I think about you during my dance practice. I want to perform for you sometime." Pranab, page 43

Even Nina notices the connection:
"Nina noticed, too, that both Sujata and Pranab drank endless cups of tea. Their obvious intimacy was centered around tea." (53)

And when Sujata is forced to leave Pranab and her house to go to Victoria, it is in the end tea that sustains her and makes her a successful and independent business woman without the memory of Pranab dragging her down.

To quote Bharti Kirchner from an interview I found in the International Examiner, "To me tea is a symbol, as it is in the book - of slowing down, of paying attention to the moment, of relating to a friend."

Naturally, the affair of Pranab and Sujata is, like tea, very in the moment-- it is done without considering the consequences of being discovered and subsequently punished.

Sujata's tea business, then, shows her living in the moment in a different way-- having let go (for the most part) of her tragic past in Darjeeling, her pursuits in tea allow her to keep up with the times form new relations with the business world of Victoria, finding a way to belong despite feeling isolated in a land foreign from Darjeeling.