28/06/2025
📖 Review: The Day Pakistan Ran Out of Chai
So, I just finished reading this brilliant little piece of fiction called The Day Pakistan Ran Out of Chai... and honestly, I feel attacked😆 Offended... Seen....Loved.....All at once
As someone who’s basically 90% tea and 10% existential dread, this book hit me where it hurts (and where it brews). It imagines a Pakistan where chai disappears overnight due to an IMF import ban.... and what follows is total chaos. Offices collapse, people fight in traffic, HR goes mad, and chai becomes a black market luxury
The main character, Bilal, goes through withdrawal like he’s in a dystopian Novel... And I swear to God, I am Bilal. I felt everything he felt. That thumping headache? Been there. That blank stare into an empty mug? Every Monday😵💫 That shady late night tea deal from a woman named Asma Apa? Okay not yet, but who knows, yeh mulk hai Pakistan🤣
There were some lines that genuinely made me pause .... like the "Chai Doctrine" XD and “It felt like society’s social lubrication had evaporated.” lol... That is exactly how it feels when chai is missing from the day. Everyone’s angry, everyone's twitchy, and you're just one bad sip away from starting a fight with a guy on a motorcycle (who's missed morning tea)
But it’s not just a funny take on chai... it actually gets deeper. The story slowly turns into a kind of revolution. People start growing their own tea. Chai becomes a form of protest, self reliance, and national identity. From memes to movement ....“Chai Hamaari Hai” becomes a legit slogan. And honestly? I’d march under that banner✊️
Even though it’s satire, it somehow feels real. Pakistanis love chai more than we love anything else ...including our politicians. You take our petrol, electricity etc....we’ll manage. But no chai? That’s the line...That's Red Line
I absolutely loved the tone, the humour, and the weirdly emotional ending
It was the kind of book that makes you laugh and then suddenly makes you stare at your cup ☕️ like it's sacred (Which it is)
So yeah, I highly recommend it. Especially if you, like me, believe that chai isn't just a drink.....it's survival
It’s therapy
It’s identity
Chai is Revolution
Chai is poetry
Meri چائے ke siva dunya me rakha kya hai?
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