Image courtesy: Instagram/@joespeakshindi
An Australian man has brought back a memory of Rajasthan to his kitchen after making a cup of desi chai with camel milk, 18 years after he first tried the drink in Bikaner. Recalling his first encounter with the drink, he added, “I had camel’s milk tea in Bikaner 18 years ago, and today I bought camel’s milk. Because it brought back memories of his visit to Rajasthan, the familiar ritual of making tea had taken on a different meaning for Freeman.
Camels were introduced to Australia during the 19th century to help with transport and exploration in the country’s arid interior.
Joseph Freeman, who shares videos about India and speaks in Hindi on Instagram under the handle @joespeakshindi, said he was surprised to find camel milk at a shop near his home in Australia. “Milk at my home is the Australian one but my tea is made from camel’s milk,” he said. “About 150 years ago, camels were brought to work from Afghanistan, India and other countries,” he said. “Setting sun and chai are reminding me of Rajasthan,” he said.
When I saw camel’s milk in the shop near my house, I was surprised. Freeman also raised a question about Australia’s camel population and the availability of camel milk While preparing the tea. “But if there are so many camels in Australia, why can’t we get their milk? Why are there so many camels in Australia?” he asked in the video. He then explained how camels were brought to Australia for work. Handlers from South Asia and Afghanistan, among other regions, also travelled to Australia with the animals. Descendants of those imported camels later formed Australia’s feral camel population. Freeman then asked his viewers a question of his own: “Are more camels in India or Australia these days? Australia is home to a large feral camel population, while camels in India are mainly associated with arid regions, particularly Rajasthan. The two countries’ camel populations are counted in different ways, however, and estimates vary by year and source. By the time the tea was ready, Freeman was thinking less about the numbers and more about the place the drink reminded him of. The video also prompted viewers to discuss whether they had tried camel milk and how it compared with milk from other animals. One user asked, “Never had camel milk, how does it taste? Freeman replied, “I thought it’s like a mild version of goat milk. It’s not creamy but has a rich taste and the colour is very bright white.”
In the Instagram video, Freeman showed how he prepared the tea and reflected on his earlier experience in Rajasthan.
Another commenter said they were from Bikaner but had never tried camel milk themselves. Freeman responded that he had tasted it at the National Research Centre, adding, “Camel milk kulfi also! The National Research Centre on Camel is based in Bikaner, Rajasthan, and conducts research on camels and camel products, including milk. Not everyone shared Freeman’s enthusiasm for the drink. One commenter wrote, “Camel milk is rubbish…. so awful, totally ruin Rajasthani chai…. but glad you like it. Freeman responded with a playful reference to a Hindi expression about differing perspectives: “I see that your unt and my unt are sitting in different karwat. The line was a light-hearted way of acknowledging that people can have very different opinions about the same thing. Freeman’s video was not just about trying an unusual ingredient. It connected an everyday cup of tea in Australia with a memory from a visit to India nearly two decades ago. His Instagram account, @joespeakshindi, features videos of him speaking Hindi and sharing India-related experiences while living in Australia. In this video, camel milk gave him a reason to revisit a drink he first tasted in Bikaner and invite viewers to share their own experiences with milk from different animals. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.