What is chaiwalla?

Answer 1

My Grandad would use this term a lot to describe the Indians who would look after them in the british military camps during the Second World War (in India and Burma) - not a politically correct term I'm sure..... but he would say the Charwalla's (or tea boys - char or chai being the Indian word for tea walla I guess is boy?) would do laundry, clean boots, prepare the bunks and tents, do barber duties, fetch and carry etc.