Tea has transcended the definition of a beverage to become an experience in itself. While shaam ki chai (evening tea) is mandatory and also something looked forward to, any occasion can serve as one worthy of drinking tea. Even waiting for someone – both metaphorically and literally – becomes poetic with a cup of tea.It 5’0 clock in the evening and I stand beside the stove, staring into the pan to read the poetry of the tea. The beauty of the bubbling milk slowly turning brown with each spoon of tea leaves. As the flames rise high, the tea too rises up aggressively, yearning to escape the confines of the pan and to cover the stove and kitchen slab in its chaotic brown mix.With the tea strained and served in a cup, the leaves lie abandoned over the sink. And then there is the forbidden tea skin which must not dare touch one’s lips. Condemned to remain hanging on the edge of the cup, it must witness its neglect as the tea beneath is sipped in pleasure.Conversations over a cup of tea bring people closer, as stories of life turn into lessons of philosophy. Even loneliness is friends with the tea, for you can never be alone when the table in front has a cup of tea.And when it’s time to leave, a little tea sitting quietly at the bottom of the cup drunk on stories narrated with passion bids farewell to its evening date. A brown ring stains the table or the white sheet as a remnant of a moment well spent. Oh, how strange it is to have empathy for a cup of tea that turns into poetry.Anousha Mishra is pursuing a masters in zoology from Delhi University.We’ve grown up hearing that “it’s the small things” that matter. That’s true, of course, but it’s also not – there are Big Things that we know matter, and that we shouldn’t take our eyes, minds or hearts off of. As journalists, we spend most of our time looking at those Big Things, trying to understand them, break them down, and bring them to you.And now we’re looking to you to also think about the small things – the joy that comes from a strangers’ kindness, incidents that leave you feeling warm, an unexpected conversation that made you happy, finding spaces of solidarity. Write to us about your small things at thewiresmallthings@gmail.com in 800 words or less, and we will publish selected submissions. We look forward to reading about your experiences, because even small things can bring big joys.Read the series here.