As soon as Brij spotted the stranger, he welcomed him. He asked him if he was a visitor to the valley of flowers or a pilgrim to Badrinath. He took him to his shop and made a fire for the visitor to warm himself. Then, he prepared tea. There was a bench in the tea-shop. Brij welcomed his visitor to sit on the bench. Though it looked rickety, it would take his weight. His tea was strong, sweet and flavoured with cardamom. Brij offered this tea to the stranger.
The warmth chased away the pinched blue look from his face. He talked to the stranger very sweetly, enquiring about his journey and suggesting ways and means of getting proper transport. He made his tea shop a convenient and congenial place for the traveller to stop a while. He provided a cozy fire in the biting cold and hot tea to warm him up so that he was pleased to be there.
