A garden treat

    12-Jul-2021
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Kamal Baruah
Contd from previous issue
The lonely hut was covered with tea vegetation which makes the feeling of seeing a wide range of green carpet. Its trunks are thick and gnarled due to regular pruning. Our cousin was Manager and was out for morning hours at office. When we arrived there, a bagania (live in tea garden) boy had shied away from us after pulled the gate stopper up. He was probably well-informed of our visit. The blissful beauty of the cottage fetched us a lifetime experience.
On arrival at the Tea Estate, we’re taken to a small patio. There was absolute silence that one can hear even a pin drop. They’re trained for that perfect service to his master.
After a while, the tea room served us a welcome cuppa. He began to fidget and whisper ‘sugar’. The cubes were dropped into hot cup of tea and he peered through the net curtain to see if anything required more. It was during 2001, where cellphone hadn’t arrived but our cousin’s sincerity of timing was unquestionable and he appeared, clad in white at sharp noon.
Soon we tiptoed upstairs; we’re mesmerized by the wood work of Assam-type architecture. Even the floor of the washroom was wooden. The wind stirred the Teak leaves lying on the path. We let the gentle breeze cool our face. We’re misted up with condensation. We had a drink on the balcony that was surrounded by its own tea plantation. We walked in the garden in the cool of the day.
With the arrivals of monsoons, the primary work of harvesting and plucking reached its peak. We observed the kind of skill from their nimble fingers; ironically tea companies don’t consider it as a skilled work. They’ve to pluck long buds in case of CTC (crush, tear, curl) tea and new green bud for orthodox tea. Experienced one knows the difference of plucking in different challan. They also pluck some old leaves to grow new leaves.  The second major season of cultivation i.e. pruning begins at the end of the year which is done by both male and female.
Tea plantation is one of the lowest paid works in which women are highly marginalized where the industry is purely dependent on female worker. (To be contd)