Chai Pilgrimage: A Soul-Nourishing Tea Adventure Through Northern India

by Patrick Shaw, Jenny Kostecki-Shaw (Illustrator)

Book preview at chaipilgrimage.com. If India has always beckoned, but something held you back - or if you have traveled to India and feel a longing in your heart to return - make the Chai Pilgrimage through the pages of this book. Patrick Shaw and Jenny Kostecki-Shaw spent four months in northern India, steeping themselves in chai culture. They kept journals, made paintings and took pictures. Using chai as their compass, they also made friends, worshiped at remote temples, and drank a lot of chai. Firsthand, they learned from the extraordinary hospitality of the Indian people that "Guest is God," being treated as family members in many homes. Inspired by the pungent spice palette, they returned to their northern New Mexico home and created this ecstatic book of art. Every page is a song of praise to the Indian people and the Hindu gods, to the healing chai spices, to the small farmers who grow tea, to every chai wallah in every stand along their journey. Patrick and Jenny captured and translated not just the Hindi language and the sweetness of the people but the spirit of love itself. Every word, painting and recipe is suffused with the pure flavor of devotion. Sit down with a cup of chai and enjoy this pilgrimage to the chai motherland of India!

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2014

Reviews

[Kelly Buntin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sip a scrumptious armchair visit to northern India with Patrick and Jenny . Definitely Blue Ribbon in all aspects. The untold hours , days, weeks, years spent on this work of art betwixt this whimsical colorful cover come through loud and clear. Highly researched and filled with knowledge shared with the reader in a light hearted easy to absorb manner. Jenny's artwork and photographs add layers of visual depth. Recipes help coax the reader from the comfy armchair on a pilgrimage to the stove to simmer up some chai and bake a batch of biscuits. This is a book that needs to be bought in multiples. One for yourself and others for gifts. Thank you Jenny and Patrick for sharing this chai journey, knowledge and art with us. Tulsi, thank you for sharing your parents with us.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this is too cool for words. I love chai and i love a good read. Kickstarter can be a pain to deal with, but once in awhile it brings something great like this to your attention. Love tea? Love to support indy book and creators? You can't lose here.