Meena Can’t Wait

Meena has come to visit her grandmother, and they are going to make tea. “Nanu” is the Bengali term Meena uses to address her grandmother. First, the pair gather ingredients from the garden; Nanu explains that the tea leaves come all the way from Bangladesh, but they pick other ingredients, like ginger, to make the tea extra flavorful.

Once inside, they work together: Meena crushes cloves and cinnamon; Nanu grates the ginger, and they add all the ingredients to the water to steep. Meena thinks there are too many steps to making tea, but Nanu assures her: all the steps will ensure the tea will be tasty.

Meena is becoming impatient and hungry; she smells the tea brewing while Nanu regales her with stories of her youth. Nanu is especially patient with Meena and redirects her to other activities. Nanu shares old photos of her making doodh cha when she was young, Doodh Cha translates to milk tea. Once the water and spices have simmered, tea, sugar and milk are added to the pot and brought to a simmer.

Meena asks Nanu to paint with her so as to distract herself from her hunger. When the tea is finally ready, Meena takes her first sip and declares it to be ‘Delicious’! They have a spread of snacks to enjoy with their tea, and Meena invites Nanu over to her house next time. They agree that they have to make the tea together because it tastes better than way.

Meena Can’t Wait is a simple and lovely introduction to the South Asian classic cup of tea. Every region of South Asia has different variations of milk tea in which, essentially, spices and tea leaves are simmered in water and milk to make a rich, hot and comforting drink. Despite the many arguments focusing on the specific amounts of each spice and in which order to add them, the end result is always worth it. I can say that the time spent making and drinking chai are some of the best moments I have spent with my family. The tradition of having a cup of chai means time to come together, talk about your day, and enjoy each other’s company. Nanu taught Meena the tradition of doodh cha while spending quality time with her.

Farida Zaman uses watercolor and collage to create the colourful and engaging, illustrations that draw the readers’ eyes to Meena and Nanu’s actions. The story was inspired by Farida’s own visits to her grandmother’s house when she was young.