When Gandhi and Lord Mountbatten met over a cup of tea

First published for Indian Independence Day in August 2015.

Featured here is a photograph of the Mahatma, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, with Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy of India. The year is 1947, the year of Indian independence following nearly 200 years of British rule.

To honor Indian Independence Day, we thought it only fitting to showcase an image that best embodies what a good cup of tea can enable, no matter who you may be and how much baggage you carry.

So, here’s to the cup that befriends.

Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on August 15, 2015. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026.