The World In A Teacup
Harmony - Celebrate Age|February 2018

This Kochi-based, globetrotting tea vendor has a powerful message for one and all—‘It’s possible’, writes K P Pushparaj

K P Pushparaj
The World In A Teacup

K R VIJAYAN AND WIFE MOHANA can barely contain their excitement ahead of their 44th wedding anniversary. The couple has gifted themselves a trip to China and, although still four months away, they can’t stop dreaming of their exotic, week-long tour. It’s an anniversary plan not unlike many others, yet this one is extra special because this globetrotting couple runs a tea stall for a living. If that’s hard to believe, there’s more. Vijayan, 68, and Mohana, 63, have visited over 50 foreign destinations in Asia, Europe and the US. And having travelled to three continents, they have their sights firmly set on Antarctica.

“I started out as a mobile tea vendor on a bicycle in and around North Cochin. Later, I started a thattukada [street-side eating joint] before I opened this tea shop in 1995. I serve 300 to 400 cups of tea a day, at ` 5 per cup, and a few simple snacks,” says Vijayan, owner of Sree Balaji Coffee House in Kathrikadavu, Cochin.

The bearded tea vendor—or intrepid globetrotter—depending on how you look at him, had travel written in his destiny. He credits his father, a tea vendor in Chertala in Alappuzha district, for his wanderlust. “I started visiting different places when I was eight or nine years old. My father would hire a bicycle and take me to new places in and around Alappuzha just to show me around. That experience made a lasting impact on me,” he recalls.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HARMONY - CELEBRATE AGEView All
Wrapped In Love
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Wrapped In Love

My Dadi Meenakshi Banerji was a short and tubby woman with great gumption who raised 10 citizens of the world.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Sharing Her ‘Mettle'
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Sharing Her ‘Mettle'

To me, this bell metal vaarpu, which weighs about 80 kg and is at least 120 years old, is an enduring reminder of my paternal grandmother Aleyamma Abraham.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Medical Overload
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Medical Overload

Your doctor may walk the talk while writing out your prescriptions but here’s the thing: make sure he hasn’t prescribed one too many. 

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
An Act Of Faith
Harmony - Celebrate Age

An Act Of Faith

One act of kindness can save someone’s life.’

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2017
Armed For Business
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Armed For Business

The sheer glory and glamour of the Olive Greens motivated me, a third-generation soldier, to join the Army. Thus I enlisted, brimming with enthusiasm, in 1984.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
Capture the fracture
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Capture the fracture

Fracture owing to osteoporosis can have a serious impact on a person’s health and quality of life. Dr Abhijit Y Pawar, consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, speaks about the significance of timely intervention in preventing fractures

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2016
Friends With Benefits!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Friends With Benefits!

Incontinence need not interfere with life.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2017
Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!

It was a nippy Sunday morning but nothing that would keep the rugged Delhiite away from the annual Senior Citizens’ Run supported by Harmony at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Not even the mood-dampening smog that had descended on the capital a week earlier could do that! So said 74 year-old Sarla Rani and her band of regulars at the run who arrived at Nehru Stadium on the morning of 19 November even before the sun did. Soon they were joined by busloads of silvers from all over Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2017
Magic By The Sea
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Magic By The Sea

From Lord Jagannath to oceanside beauty and green initiatives, Braja Sorensen uncovers the many layers of Puri.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2017
Indian Rhapsody
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Indian Rhapsody

In a span of two decades, Roshen Dalal has attained renown for her painstakingly researched books on history and religions in India. The Puffin History of India and The Puffin History of the World, each in two volumes, have not just received critical acclaim but are bestsellers as well. Her other books include The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths; Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide; The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts and The Compact Timeline History of the World. 

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2017