- Chai is so prevalent in India and Sri Lanka that it could be called the National drink. It is very common to see the "tea wadis" serving their chai to the walk-by street traffic. In North America, we have the coffee carts, in the sub continent and Sri Lanka you have the "wadis." - Paint the following picture in your mind: the tea wadis cart has that "well used" look (bashed, dented), quite often with a charcoal fire going keeping the water boiling so steam and smoke are rising, an old evaporated