Akhtaruzzaman Ektu Cha Khete Chan: A man’s search for existential meaning and tea

Dudh Cha, Rong Cha or any of the hundreds of different variants that are available these days — tea isn't just a drink in a Bangali's daily life, but a ritual of comfort, a drink to sit with and ponder, or to cosy up with a good read — a quiet companion that gently roots us at the moment

In Wasee Ahmed's book Akhtaruzzaman Ektu Cha Khete Chan, the drink plays a pivotal role as a cultural and philosophical symbol. What begins as a comedic slice-of-life read becomes a profound and surreal commentary on life, desire, death, and what remains when everything else is taken away.

Set during the first lockdown of COVID-19 in 2020, the story revolves around Akhtaruzzaman Shaheb, the head of a middle-class family in Dhaka. Now retired, he has fulfilled every societal role that was expected of him — that of a husband, provider and father of three children who now have their own families. But as he is settling into retired life and the global lockdown, his only joy is a very specific sugary concoction — half a cup of condensed milk, six spoonfuls of sugar and six drops of raw tea. 

Being a diabetic patient, as his family desperately tries to stop him, he sneaks out for night walks in search of tea shops around the curfewed streets of the city and meets a stranger, who takes him out on a journey of three nights that changes his life. 

The author, Wasee Ahmed, stated that 'Desire' is the main theme of the book. "To the man who pursues a desire, nothing else matters. This is what drives Akhtaruzzaman, his nightly adventures, a desperate attempt to reclaim his life, a life that slipped through his fingers while he was fulfilling the duties of a provider," he said. 

Akhtaruzzaman encounters a mysterious man in one of his nighttime adventures, who takes him on a series of night rides across Dhaka, each time asking existential questions, riddles, and stories on the history of tea, and ending the night with a question with no answer and a different blend of tea, that subtly unearths Akhtaruzzaman's regrets. 

"All these night excursions lead to the final fateful night, as the stranger offers him to choose from an option of three different cups of tea — one containing death, one eternal life and the last one offering 'uncertainty'," said Ahmed. 

As Akhtaruzzaman chooses one, the readers will find themselves with a final twist that ends with a symbolic conclusion, turning this slice-of-life read into a journey of philosophy of life. 

As a doctor who was on the frontlines during the lockdown, Ahmed took inspiration from his real-life journeys from home to the hospital and incorporated it into the protagonist's night walks, as well as his experience of living in isolation to save his family from the virus. This seeped into every page of the book — the silent paranoia at Akhtaruzzaman's house, the surreal stillness of a busy city that paused and stayed silent for months at a stretch.

Is it a mystical or philosophical read or horror? This book raises more questions than it answers, and I was lucky enough to have a conversation with the author Wasee Ahmed to know more. 

When asked about the identity of the stranger and my interpretation, he smiled and simply said, "The theme of the book 'Desire' is just like any other addiction — some of us desire money, some fame, some happiness — in the pursuit of our desire we lose track of everything in life; nothing else matters and we make sacrifices that to many, would not make sense." 

He left the ending open to the interpretation of his readers. "I am happy that readers these days are not traditional and are more receptive to books with ambiguous endings. This gives contemporary authors such as me a lot of freedom to experiment with ideas," he added.

In the end, this is more than a simple story of a tea-holic. It's about the dreams we give up due to societal norms, the luxuries we deny ourselves, the self-care we defer to be done 'later in life' — thinking we have time.