chai pilgrimage.
June 27, 2008
Hi my friends! I am really excited to share that we launched chaipilgrimage.com! YEAH! For those of you who don’t know, a couple years ago, Patrick and I got this fun idea to collaborate on a book combining three things we love so much: India, Nepal and chai. I know it sounds kinda funny, but wait til you see the book! One of the most exciting parts for me (besides traveling and visiting so many friends) was the ‘hands-on’ part of the researching. Instead of Google, we used our senses and recorded everything in pictures, drawings, audio, and writing. Talk about filling the creative tank!
So, with chai as our compass, we backpacked around Nepal and Northern India for 4 months. We wandered from one chai stall to another and into homes of friends we made. Their tradition, “Atithi Devo Bhava” means “guest is God,” and what do you think is the first thing they would offer God? That’s right, chai. Yes, we drank a lot of it. We also celebrated Shivaratri (the night of Shiva) in the ancient city of Shiva (Benares), visited small, remote tea villages in Darjeeling and Sikiim, played Holi at our guru’s ashram, and much more.
Chai Pilgrimage: A Tea Adventure through Nepal, India & Beyond, the book, is due out Fall of 2009. Each spread is a 5-10 minute journey for the reader, visually rich in textures and layered with stories of the people we met and experiences we shared. We are self-publishing, and we are printing in India! Until then, at chaipilgrimage.com, we’ll be sharing things from the book (as well as our continued journey), photo galleries, audio and video, and our process of self-publishing. I’d love for you to visit and participate. We’d appreciate hearing what you respond to, what you’d like to know or hear more of, and especially YOUR stories. See you there! xo, jenny
9 Responses to “chai pilgrimage.”
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HELLO!
June 29th, 2008 at 3:05 am
woman, you have opened my eyes to my own country and showed me once again what i take so much for granted.
thank you.
June 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
oh Priya…i was really hoping you’d like what we’re doing! stay tuned…there is SO much inspiration coming–we met some simply lovely and interesting people along the way. it’s always fun to see people outside our own country discover parts of our culture…it’s like their fresh perspective allows us to see it in a new way. we’re really interested in Indians’ comments and their own stories–will you share the site with your friends?
June 30th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Jenny, I am so excited about your new chai blog and book-to-be! I LOVE chai but I am a dork and am still using the tea bags or loose tea mixes. I can’t wait to try making it from scratch…I’m sure I will never want to go back!
Off to NY on Weds. for the illustration conference and time with Megan:)
June 30th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Caption for photo:
“Zebus binge on chai, apply tattoos in bovine frenzy.!”
July 1st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
betsy! you’ll be a chai wallah in no time! have fun in NY!!
hey randy, nice headline! i thought i needed a secret decoder pen at first. dang, i like it. can i use that in the book? hee.
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Thanks for the comment Jenny! I ordered “My Travelin’ Eye,” and I can’t wait to get it! The chai book sounds really cool, you show that you can do so many things in a lifetime, it’s very inspiring.
July 6th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Oh Jenny i can’t wait that long! I’ll try to be patient. ;) Can’t wait to see the book! love, mare
July 6th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I was licking around your “fun” page. It is good to see Kevin Parr and John Ferry represented and that old poster (Raphael Soyer?). Thanks for stopping by the blog and thanks for the kind words.
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
We have been making Speculative Talk about India for some time now, and a travel-through-North-India-and-Nepal-via-something-wonderful-like-chai just fills me with unspeakable excitement. I can’t wait for the book!