It was daybreak and the sky was getting lighter. I heard the plaintive cries of the peacocks wailing for their mates in the valley. Then the other birds began to chirp and soon there was a chorus as I dragged myself out of bed to go out to the nearest vantage point to catch a glimpse of the Kenchenjunga, the third-highest peak in the world. I have been told that, on a clear day, the Everest is also visible from the “Tiger’s hill” above Darjeeling. However, the Kenchenjunga was in no mood to display itself that morning.
The Glenburn tea estate, where we had been invited to spend a long weekend rests at 4000 feet. It looks up at the Darjeeling ridge at 7000 feet on one side and the Teesta Valley at 2000 feet towards the East; and the mountains of Sikkim beyond. We were invited by the owner Mr. Sudhir who was a classfellow of Vikram, the younger brother of my friend Gautam Sohni. Gautam, his wife Usha and I share a wanderlust, and a love for the mountains, so they are kind enough to include me whenever they set off.
Kanchenjunga as seen from Tiger Hill
Walking through tea gardens
The Glenburn estate is spread over 1900 acres of tea plantations, Sal and Teak forest. Land-use is strictly controlled and the forest cannot be cut. There are large patches of a lovely deciduous forest all over the hills in which some wild animals survive. The main house consists of a wide verandah with four suites, a living room, and a dining room with a “high table.” We were allocated two rooms in the four-room Lilly Pond cottage a little below the main bungalow. Sudhir’s daughter-in-law has renovated the house and converted it into an exclusive resort, thereby starting off a wave of “tea tourism” in Darjeeling.
A colourful monastery in Darjeeling
“There are no room keys as you do not need to lock the door, it’s very safe here,” declared Ms. Bolton, the lady who welcomed us upon arrival.
My room was a large comfortable one with a huge bay window overlooking the forest. The décor was imperial British and the whole resort was an opulent tea estate of a hundred years ago.
“The happy hour is at seven and high table at eight”, Ms. Bolton declared.
The candle-lit high table was set for eighteen people, laid out formally with name plaques for everyone. The management had taken the trouble of seating people in a way that would allow for convivial dinner conversation. Guests ranged from people running NGOs to those who were senior executives in multinationals in India and abroad. A delicious six-course meal was served with great style. By ten we were back on our verandahs gazing at the distant lights of Darjeeling and the other tea estates spread over the mountains.
Girls returning from the wedding full of high spirits
[quote]The British had mastered the art of making guests uncomfortable with great pomp[/quote]
Darjeeling is the summer retreat for Bengal. The British had first arrived and colonized Bengal in 1756 – a hundred years before Punjab. Darjeeling was therefore the first hill station to be developed by the budding “Raj.” It has old colonial style hotels like Windermere, Sinclair the Algin. All of them are in the heavy British colonial style – much like the Cecil Hotel of Murree used to be. They have gloomy interiors, heavy sofas, deep burgundy upholstery and many chandeliers. The British had mastered the art of making guests uncomfortable with great pomp. A number of schools were made for the children of the Raj where they could be educated without experiencing the “oppressive heat and filth of Hindoostan.” A toy train was made to transport the sahibs and their families to the hill station. It is still a quaint tourist attraction complete with coal engines belching smoke. The track runs along a road direly in need of repair.
The Darjeeling toy train built to carry British children of the Raj
[quote]The mother slapped her boy affectionately on the head and posed with him for me[/quote]
Darjeeling city now is much like Murree. It is overpopulated and has narrow streets which are unable to handle the deluge of motor cars. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants and small and medium hotels. The only difference is that in place of mosques there are Budhist monasteries with their prayer wheels, gongs and conches. There are a number of monks roaming around the streets in their distinctive robes. I tried to photograph a group of monk boys in their robes who had got their heads freshly shaved. They were shy and wouldn’t let me, until a mother emerged from the side street, slapped her boy affectionately on the head and posed with him for me!
The next day we had decided to walk down to the Teesta where the Glenburn estate had a hut and promised us a sumptuous lunch. As we started walking along an unpaved jeep track we saw a lot of people gaily dressed also walking down to the village. They were all going to a marriage. The marriage was to last the whole day with food, drinks and music for the guests.
Women enjoy drinks at the wedding bar
“Why don’t you take us along?” I asked half in jest.
“Sure come along, the party is on your way,” they all replied cheerfully.
The younger women were dressed in hip hugging brightly coloured trousers while the older ones wore saris. The men wore western clothes, but a few also wore the ornate Nepali kurta. Women, to me, seemed totally liberated, manning shops and restaurants without any male colleagues. The tea pickers were also all women, quite happy to communicate with utter strangers and each other and did not object to my photographing them.
The walk was very enjoyable. The path led through tea gardens, where the tea plants stood in orderly rows following the contours of the hillside. From here we went into a thick forest of Sal and Teak trees whose wide leaves lay in heaps over the ground making it slippery and unpredictable. As we rounded a bend we found two men sprawled on the ground with huge cartons they had carried across from Sikim: supplies of alcohol for the marriage party.
A view from a window at the Glenburn Estate
“Alcohol is much cheaper in Sikim”, explained my guide.
At lunch we were joined by two women doctors and their assistants from Darjeeling out to have a picnic by the Teesta. As we sat and ate our lunch a party of young girls in a mini truck arrived dancing wildly to blaring music, in obvious high spirits! They had come from the marriage party and had had their fill of food and wine.
So on the way back we decided to join the marriage party. Three tents had been set up in the village square and pine needles strewn on the ground, providing a soft place to sit as well as a fresh odour. The central tent had been labelled ‘the bar’. In the left tent sat the bride and groom on a pedestal, and the right one had the elders. The bar tent was quite lively with sari-clad, toothless old ladies knocking back stiff drinks. Everyone was happy and so were the bride and groom.
[quote]Sari-clad, toothless old ladies knocked back stiff drinks[/quote]
Darjeeling tea is known for its aroma and delicate flavor. Connoisseurs drink a mild brew without any milk and a pinch of sugar. Each estate has its own specialties. Our estate’s first flush was considered the best. The lower slopes and Asam produces the strong brew which is called “massala chai.” The tea bush is actually a stunted tree. As the tree grows to about four feet, its buds, leaves and shoots are plucked weekly to make tea. The tender shoots and leaves make the most delicate tea. The tree therefore remains at a height of four feet rather like a “Bonsai” plant. The tea leaves are picked by women early in the morning and brought to the factory at six am – and then again in the afternoon. Cleanliness and purity is essential. The tea is withered and then cured for preservation before packing. The Glenburn factory is about a hundred years old – but well preserved – complete with ancient typewriters still in use!
It is said that the Yellow Emperor who is supposed to have developed tea, silk and paper in China around 1000 BC was particularly fond of delicate teas. He had ordered that tea for his table be plucked by young virgins who were not allowed to eat strong smelling food stuff! Alas the tea pluckers I met were were older ladies with few teeth left. The younger ones had probably gone off into more lucrative professions. Yet the tea tradition flourishes and will soon become a popular tourist attraction, especially for Darjeeling.
