CT Exclusive: How Chai & Lunch Dabbas Taught Me More About My Colleagues Than Words Ever Did

There’s something oddly personal about food. Not in the way we usually talk about it, like favourite cuisines, best restaurants, or the latest viral dishes on Instagram. But in the quieter way it shows up in conversations. And suddenly, you’re not just talking about food anymore, you’re talking about memories. Over the years, I’ve realised that when people talk about what they love to eat, they end up revealing a lot more about themselves than they probably intend to. Food somehow opens doors to memories about childhood, family, comfort, and even the people who shaped us.

Food Is Almost Always Tied To A Memory

Think about the foods you remember most vividly. They’re probably not the most elaborate meals you’ve ever had. More often than not, they’re simple things. A bowl of Maggi made at midnight with your siblings while trying not to wake your parents, Cold French fries packed in a school lunchbox that somehow tasted perfect during recess. Green chutney sandwiches wrapped in foil made your entire day better. Or a cup of chai shared during a quiet moment when everything else felt chaotic.

Food serves as the backdrop for some of our most important memories. It is present in everyday activities such as late-night conversations, road trips, movie evenings, and school mornings. As a result, when someone talks about their culinary experiences, they are essentially sharing bits of their lives.

Food Has A Way Of Making People Open Up

One thing I’ve noticed over time is that conversations about food tend to go deeper than expected. Someone remembers their school lunchbox and the way their mother packed parathas or leftover sabzi. Someone else recalls the thrill of getting Maggi in their tiffin. And suddenly, everyone around the table has a story to tell.

It’s incredible how easily people talk about food. Maybe because eating is such a universal experience. Everybody has a comfort food, a dish that reminds them of home, or a meal they miss from their early years. Those stories have an instant sense of relatability.

For some people, it’s sneaking into the kitchen late at night for noodles with cousins during long movie marathons. For others, it’s the simple joy of a sandwich made exactly the way their mother used to make it. Sometimes it’s chai, the beverage that somehow manages to unite people during quiet evenings or stressful days. When these moments occur, they might seem normal. Years later, though, they end up being the most beloved tales we share. Food is about more than just eating; it’s about the people we spent those moments with.

Also Read: CT Review: I’ve Always Avoided Whisky, Until A Guided Tasting At Indri Visitor Centre Changed My Mind

Realising This Through Work

Over the last three years working with an incredible team of women – Rachna, Sanjana, Tashika, Deeplata, Anupriya, Priyanshi, Priyanka, Mahi, Ashmeet, and Tanvi – I’ve had countless conversations about food. Sometimes they happen during brainstorming calls. Sometimes during random breaks between work discussions. And each time, someone would mention a childhood lunchbox, a favourite snack, or a late-night food memory, what started as casual chatter slowly turned into something else.

Rachna would share stories about sneaking into the kitchen with her cousins to make noodles during late-night movie marathons. Sanjana would talk about the green chutney sandwiches her mom packed for school. One time, Deeplata talked about how a late-night waffle run with her brother turned into a treasured memory.

Rare Maggi days in her lunchbox were like winning the lottery, Tashika recalled. Anupriya talked about how she still finds comfort in the simple bread with butter and ketchup that she loved as a child. Then there were conversations about chai, late-night snacks, and the little culinary traditions that made ordinary days more enjoyable.

None of these discussions were planned, they just happened naturally. But through them, I realised something important. The more you learn about what someone loves to eat, the more you begin to understand them.

Food As A Common Ground

Food has a way of creating common ground between people who might otherwise have very little in common. You might come from different cities, different families, or completely different backgrounds. But the moment someone says, “My mom used to pack this in my lunchbox,” or “We used to make Maggi at 3 AM,” everyone instantly relates.

The more I consider it, the more I see how many of our relationships have been subtly influenced by food. Siblings create memories around shared meals and adventures, families come together over dinner tables, and friends get together over late-night snacks. Even coworkers who are separated by cities and computer screens can occasionally bond over stories about sandwiches, Maggi, chai, or tiffins from their childhood.

The Unexpected Power Of Food

When I think back on the past three years, some of the most important conversations I’ve had have been about food rather than work. Each story revealed a small but personal detail about the person narrating it. And over time, those tales fostered relationships, even between strangers.

Cover Image Courtesy: Mallika Khurana and Canva/joannawnuk