Chai Dhaba to Cafe: A Study of Cultural Commodification and Socio-spatial Politics in Pakistani Upscaled Dhabas

The chai dhaba has long existed in the history of the sub-continent, as an open air road-side set-up for tea and parathas. However, over the past decade, cities in Pakistan have seen an upsurge in the upscaled chai dhaba or chai cafe culture. Most of these new inventions name themselves in a similar fashion to conventional chai dhabas but may attach “Studio”, “Cafe”to their label. Through this study, I will show how these new spaces romanticize rural aesthetics and minority communities vis-a-vis packaging them in a wide offering of tea, food and recreation. I analyze their claim to draw upon tradition and thus aim to see the spatial dynamics of modern dhabas, the extent to which they work to appropriate working-class culture and the overall basis on which they market their appeal. Consequently, I will dissect the socio-cultural framing of this space to analyze what audiences these dhabas target, in order to understand whether they allow room for social inclusion, specifically through the lens of class and gender