Over a cup of tea

For more than 30 years, Roshan Basnet, a fireman turned tea seller, has brewed countless cups of tea in his inconspicuous chiya pasal.

As dusk slowly settles on a public park just in front of the Lalitpur Metropolitan City office, the park starts to brim with communal life: mothers bringing their small children to play, people bringing their pet dogs for walks, couples cosying up with each other, and people sipping tea and sharing conversations. Just beside the park, there is a small temple of Hindu deity Mahadeva and a falcha (a Nepalbhasa term for traditional Newa rest stops), where the conversation topics range from juicy gossip to exciting life updates to slightly absurd political conspiracy theories.