The Chaiwallah Jaipur: A humble tea seller helps his new neighbors find belonging (Book #2)

In a bustling Jaipur bazaar, new neighbors find unexpected belonging in the quiet wisdom of a humble tea seller.

Chamki has spent decades recording neighborhood secrets in notebooks. But when she learns of her daughter’s pregnancy from another shopkeeper, she is rattled and forced to confront what truly matters in life.

After her parents die, thirteen-year-old Leela and her younger brother move in with an uncle in Jaipur, where she’s forced to quit school. When she overhears his plan to separate them, she will do anything to keep her brother close.

Arvind carries the weight of a childhood trauma. Taking advice from an astrologer, he quits his career and leaves his parents’ home in Delhi. But after several misfortunes, his old, predictable life becomes harder to resist.

When a new tea seller arrives in the bazaar, his fragrant chai, warmth and gentle wisdom draw them in. One cup at a time, he helps them find the courage to open their lives to others.

Tim van Es is a Dutch-Australian novelist who writes about the places he lives and the stories they inspire. Over the last two decades, he has worked and lived across India, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Korea and Thailand. He began his debut novel, The Chaiwallah, in Mumbai, where his twin sons were born.

His third novel, The Chaiwallah Tamil Nadu, is set to be released late 2027.