But on 24 March, India went into a three-month nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19. Like so many other countries, workplaces closed down, and employees got familiar with working from home while the beloved tea shops and stalls pulled down their shutters.

Now, the lockdown is easing up state by state, but tapris chai and food sellers remain few and far between. Those who have started operating again have seen their customer numbers plummet, with office workers still being encouraged to work remotely. Even those who are reporting to work aren’t taking the risk of socialising at tea stalls, having been encouraged to maintain social distancing.

Indians take their tea, known as chai, seriously. India is the second largest producer of tea in the world (behind China) and, according to the Tea Board of India, 80% of the tea is consumed domestically. Close to 88% of households drink tea. It’s an anytime-drink in India, and more common than coffee.

 ‘It becomes a ritual’

Arjun Kishore is a senior manager at a healthcare company in the city of Gurugram, about 30km from Delhi, and pre-coronavirus would take five chai and sutta (cigarettes) breaks each day. There was a row of street-food hawkers outside his building, where crowds would congregate at any time of the day.