India – Page 24 – Discovering Tea

In Assam, tea fields adjoin the paddy fields

14 June 2011

For years, I dreamt of just one thing: to go to Assam and see the famous tea plantations. And here I am! The political situation has greatly improved, and it is now possible to travel around this state in the north-east of India, which is generously watered by torrential rains and by the Brahmaputra floods. Here, the tea fields adjoin the paddy fields. However, a slight difference in level separates them so that the water does not stagnate around the roots of the tea plants, but drains away into the paddy fields.

Tea harvesting by the Adivasis in India

7 June 2011

In the Dooars region of India, tea is often harvested by the people known as the Adivasis. Often despised by other Indians because they are right at the bottom of the social ladder, they benefit from positive discrimination, along with the lower castes. They don’t get much attention, which is another reason to talk about them here.

The Adivasis are one of India’s biggest tribal populations. They descend from the aborigines and live in the north-east of the country.

I took this photo at Meenglas, near Mal Bazaar, a few kilometres from the border with Bhutan. The Dooars region doesn’t produce very good quality tea, but that’s not important here. It was the smiling faces of these workers that I wanted to tell you about, not the rather coarse leaves filling their bags.

Shivaite priest near the Darjeeling temple

31 May 2011

I left for Kolkata three days ago, and today I am in Jorhat, in Assam, a region still considered dangerous until very recently. The situation here has greatly improved and, at the moment, it finally seems possible to visit this state in the north east of India, near Myanmar.

In India, whether you are a follower of Vishnou or Shiva, it is common to ask for the blessing of a priest before you undertake such a journey. This is the face of a young Shivaite priest who practices every day near the Darjeeling temple. Just don’t ask him to smile: he makes up for his tender age with an unwavering impassivity.

The red panda or firefox, a creature of the Himalayas

17 May 2011

Yes, the firefox! For those who use the well-known web browser of the same name, you’ll have seen this long-tailed mammal every day, curled around the icon on your computer screen.

For the rest of you, this is what the panda looks like. It is much smaller than its Chinese cousin and, fortunately, a bit less endangered. It can be found in Darjeeling and throughout the Himalayas.

I didn’t just stumble across it while walking in the forest though. I’m not particularly keen on zoos, but I knew that one lived at the Darjeeling zoo, along with some mates, and I wanted to see it. It has beautiful fur you want to stroke, like its neighbour in the next cage, the snow leopard. I certainly wouldn’t stick my hand between the bars surrounding its other neighbour, a fearsome looking Siberian tiger whose mouth is so big I could fit my whole head inside, right up to my shoulders.

If you are in the area, do pay a visit to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute , which honours those who have climbed Everest, starting with Tenzing Norgay, of course, who was from Darjeeling.

Tea plantation in the mists of Darjeeling

22 April 2011

Before leaving for China in search of different teas, I have spent most of the past few weeks tasting lots of samples of Darjeelings, receiving up to fifty in one day.

Phuguri, Risheehat, Orange Valley, Gielle, Puttabong, Singbulli, Teesta Valley, North Tukvar, Longview, Thurbo: this year our selection reflects the work of many gardens and represents the best of their production.
This is what the mountains look like where these teas grow, so that while you are enjoying them, you can transport yourself to the mountainside and feel the mists of the Himalayan foothills.

In Kolkata, this kid survives by collecting rubbish

15 April 2011

A kid comes up to me as I walk through Kolkata. He asks me to take his photo. He lives on the street, surviving by collecting rubbish which he sells on for next to nothing. I agree to take his picture and suggest he smiles, and above all removes the plastic covering his face. He doesn’t. He stares intently into the lens. And sniffs the glue in his bag at the same time, incapable of stopping.

A friendly atmosphere at the public tap

12 April 2011

Water is quite scarce in Kolkata and people congregate at the public tap to wash their laundry or themselves. There is a friendly atmosphere among the neighbours.

You can see that people still protect their modesty, even though they wash in the street. The man in the foreground getting changed beneath his towel reminds me of the contortions we go through back in this country, after a swim in the sea, as we try to put our underwear back on with one hand.

Here, it is like being at the beach. But without the sea.

In Kolkata, you throw your teacup after use

8 April 2011

Back to Kolkata. In this city, as in many Indian cities, people drink tea everywhere, especially in the street. There are many tea shops, where you drink the chai standing, or perched on the end of the single wooden bench on the pavement outside. In the tea shops, tea is generally served in freshly fired clay cups, which are very porous. When you have finished drinking, you throw your cup to the ground, and it breaks. As the day goes on, a little heap of broken cups gradually forms.

We have just received a new first flush Darjeeling !

29 March 2011

We have just received a new first flush Darjeeling, Longview DJ1, the first lot of the year from the Longview Tea Estate. Because of its location, this garden fortunately avoided the road blocks recently put in place, which I told you about last time, and managed to get its tea to Kolkata.

In the mouth, this tea develops planty, almondy notes. It has a fresh start, followed by delicate aromas of camphor.

These smiling faces belong to pluckers who work at Longview, enjoying a well-earned break.

Darjeeling : blocked situation

25 March 2011

The news from Darjeeling is not improving. The Gorkhaland separatists have stepped up their campaign and have basically blocked the movement of the trucks transporting tea. Every day we receive samples, and we can buy the teas, but if they can’t be taken to Kolkata airport, what’s the point? This could last a few days, or several weeks. So the struggle with the government goes on, but where will it lead?

“Where will it lead?” That’s exactly the question I ask myself as I walk the little paths of Darjeeling, like here in Badamtam. I walk without really knowing where I’m going, just following my nose. It’s wonderful! And if I get lost, what does it matter? After all, it’s only me.