A Jaisalmer Morning, Rajasthan, India

Jaisalmer Fort from a Predawn rooftop, Jaisalmer India

Jaisalmer Predawn
Lights bounce off Jaisalmer Fort as we huddle on a cold rooftop waiting for the sun to come up.

It was only the promise of masala chai, or “mixed-spice tea”, that got me out of bed before the sun, and onto a Jaisalmer rooftop with my tripod and cameras on a cold November morning.

I love chai.

Nothing says “India” to me like chai: that hot sweetened tea, made rich from the boiled buffalo milk (or full-cream cow milk) and spicy with the maker’s secret blend of ginger and cardamom, with cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, nutmeg and/or cloves.

Visitors to India are warned to avoid all kinds of food, but chai – depending on the cups it is served in – is pretty low risk. If the stand is busy, you can be pretty sure the milk is fresh; in any event, it is heated to boiling before being added to the tea mix. Although it is often served in small glasses, the vendors usually have paper or plastic disposable cups for nervous foreigners. Many years ago in Varanasi, I was introduced to buffalo chai in little terracotta cups: when your drink is finished, you throw the cup into a waiting receptacle, and if the cup breaks, you will have good luck.

Masala chai is also a great equaliser. It has been my time sitting in the rickety plastic chairs in front of curb-side chai stands in many parts of Indian that has allowed me to chat to people (albeit, often without a common language), and to give me the courage to ask consent for portraits.

So, when photographer Karl Grobl and local guide local guide DV Singh told me (and my nine travel companions) that there would an opportunity for a hot cup of chai at street level after our early-morning hour on a cold Jaisalmer rooftop, I grabbed my warmest clothes and set off.

Pale sun through the mist over Jaisalmer Rooftops, Rajasthan

Over the Rooftops
The flat roofs of Jaisalmer are used for all manner of storage.

Jaisalmer Fort from an early morning rooftop, Jaisalmer India

Jaisalmer Dawn
Although the sun climbs quickly, the dusty haze keeps the late-autumn sky subdued.

Sunrise through the Latticework

House Crow (Corvus Splendens)
As the light comes up, a common Indian crow joins us on the rooftop.

The Chai Wallah
Down at street level, steam rises from a pot of freshly made chai as it is strained.

Chai Wallah
The chai wallah (the maker of the chai, or spiced tea) is a fixture at this location: he chats to the locals who stop by for hot drinks and breakfast.