Excited to share the first entry into my Portrait project ‘Chai Sessions : Our Parents’

About the Project /

Chai time is an important ritual in our culture and many others. For some parents it is an addiction, a time for family discussions, a quiet moment to themselves, others just a “time pass”. Chai is a bond that we all share but this ritual can be different from home to home. With these sessions I hope to capture our parents in their element at home enjoying their chai and daily ritual, where they are comfortable and themselves.

Each portrait will be accompanied by a short bio and story of our parents Chai time ritual and history.  My hope is as this project moves forward I will be able to exhibit my work in a Gallery show in 2017.  Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the work.

Jaswant Kaur Sohi

Born : September 13, 1932

Village in India : Pharwali, District Ludhiana

First came to Canada in 1984

I drink Chai because : “For energy, for relaxation and to socialize with family and friends.”

Chai Time Story :

“When I first came to Canada, while visiting a cousin, around Chai time, I was offered either Chai or ice-cream.  I decided to change it up and have some ice-cream.  When served, the ice-cream didn’t look right – something seemed off.  It was supposed to be white and creamy looking – instead it looked and tasted like it was burnt.  I couldn’t eat it and left it untouched.  When asked why I didn’t even touch it, I told my cousin, I think it’s burnt.  Everyone around me laughed…. that day I learned that ice-cream comes in different flavours and that was my first experience with chocolate ice-cream – which to this day, I still don’t enjoy and would rather stick to my Chai.