DAY IN A TEA GARDEN - A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

 

It was around half-past nine at night. Our hostess was preparing dinner and we three friends were chatting on various subjects varying from politics, sports, current affairs, and memories of our school and to what not.

Suddenly, the sound of crackers followed by shouting of people from quite a distance drew our attention. My friend, the host, jumped up from his sofa and immediately changed from a half pant to a tracksuit and came out with his car key, ready for a drive. He just asked us whether we were willing to go with him or stay back. Our reply was obviously in the affirmative and we two also followed him to his gypsy.

It was pitch dark outside except the lawn of his bungalow and soon we started off towards an unknown destination. We did not know what happened, where we were going and the purpose of going. But the face of my friend, the host, showed scariness within the fear of the unknown. We did not dare to ask a question but followed like a loyal soldier of the army.

Actually, we reached Chuapara Tea Garden, located in the Dooars, in the afternoon to experience a day with one of my friends who had recently been posted as manager. Since one of our common friends arrived from Mumbai, for a couple of days, we wanted to spend a day together, cherishing childhood memories.

While proceeding through the winding blacktopped roads of the garden keeping tea plantation on both sides, the host told us that there must be elephant onslaught in the dwelling areas on tea garden workers. Since the garden was on the extreme corner of the state bordering Bhutan, the mobile network was poor. It was not possible to contact properly and physical presence could only reveal the facts.

The weather was quite cold because of a heavy shower in the evening and we felt the need for an extra cover on our body as the cold wind bumping against us as it was an open vehicle.

Within ten minutes we reached the spot and found a lot of people which included ladies, gents, and children in the open area screaming and shouting. Some were holding torch lit with kerosene oil, throwing across the barbed wire, some threw firecrackers. My friend moved the vehicle placing the headlight towards the direction wherefrom trumpets of elephants could be heard. Though it was at a distance and it was dark, still we could see a herd of around eight to ten elephants, at a distance of around a few hundred meters, had declared war against the human beings. Their target was a small building in the tea garden. It was the primary school, where rice, vegetables, and other consumables had been stocked for distribution under the mid-day meal scheme.

Despite, efforts to remove the herd of elephants from that area firing crackers and throwing torch at them, the entire team remained static, trumpeting at times. It seemed that the efforts of the residents did not perturb the herd and they were waiting for the right moment.

It continued for around two hours after which guards from the forest department arrived with special guns and rocket type firecrackers that dispersed the herd.

On our return journey, we learnt that combating herd of elephants was a common phenomenon in the tea gardens of north Bengal and Assam. The season, after harvesting, gave the elephants little scope to have a huge quantity of the food as per their requirement tempted them to come closer to the dwelling areas.

The tea garden workers survived with so many perils which included leopards hiding in the drains of the garden, the serpents clinging to the shade trees and plants, and the presence of various types of poisonous insects.

By the time we reached the bungalow, it had crossed midnight.  We ended our day with dinner and dived straight into bed as we all were tired to the extreme.

A bright sunny morning with the chilled wind blowing across the balcony of the bungalow was gifted by nature the next morning. The chirping of known and unknown birds, the call of the peacock from a long distance, views of hornbill sitting on the top branch of shading trees of the tea garden made us forget the horrendous experience of the previous night.

After breakfast, we proceeded to the dwelling areas of the tea garden workers to assess the losses. It was found that few trees were uprooted, the barbed wire bordering the garden and slums of the workers were pastured at places, and walls on one side of the school building showed a big crack. But the local residents did not show any sign of fear and their daily chores started like a normal day. We learnt through interaction with them that it was very much normal for them to face elephant onslaught on regular basis during a particular season.

Incidentally, the tea garden workers, most of them were tribal were observing Karam Festival on that day. The ladies clad in bright dresses, flowers, and leaf bands on their heads also tucked in their hairs gathered in groups. The gents and the children, in their best clothing, were in a festive mood. The festival was dedicated to the God of power, youth, and youthfulness. The entire village was celebrating the festival with their traditional songs accompanied by drums and bugles. The tune of music played and sung created a pristine environment as if we had entered ourselves in a time machine and gone back to the earlier century.

A local market was set up where the vendors were selling various types of food, clothes, ornaments, and daily consumables. The people irrespective of genders were enjoying local liquor sold in tumblers made of leaves and perhaps the restriction of quantity had been removed for the day.

There was no sign of any fear prevailed among the tribal in respect of the incident that occurred on the previous night. At one location, there was cock-fight and betting was also in progress. It seemed that the misery of their daily lives had disappeared and the entire population had attained a level of joy and merriment.

Our stay at the festival lasted for few hours within which we realized that despite the absence of modern gadgets and utilities, how a section of our population knew to be jubilant and getting rejuvenated with minimum sources of income that seemed to be trivial for us.

It was a new experience for us, as we were not aware of such festivals. Having enjoyed the lunch in the tea garden, we prepared ourselves to return to our respective destinations.

How to Reach

The tea gardens in West Bengal are located in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar. Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts that can be reached by train touching New Jalpaiguri/Alipurduar or by flight landing at Bagdogra. The majority of the tea gardens are letting out the bungalows to the tourists which is a part of Tea Tourism. 
With prior information, some tea gardens have made arrangement for pick up and drop between railway station or airport and their gardens.  

Boarding & Lodging

The tea gardens have set up their own websites furnishing details of the charges and facilities provided. Some of the tea gardens have attached themselves with West Bengal Tourism Department (WBTDC) and booking for tea tourism can be done from the website of WBTDC.

Local Sight Seeing

Staying in the midst of a tea garden is itself a unique experience. The bountiful nature, with mountains and forests in the backdrop, wakeup call in form of chirping of birds will definitely add few years to our lives. Visit into the forests of Dooars or the hills of Darjeeling will be a bonus to the tourists. Other than walking through the winding roads within the garden premises or between the plantation, a pollution-free zone can be one of the best forms of medication.

The tourists can have scope to visit the villages of the tribal population working in the tea garden and have glimpses of their daily lives and culture. In case the stay is on the day of the weekly market, the visitors can witness an open-air shopping mall which becomes more gorgeous with the advent of consumers and sellers. The tourists can also purchase some souvenirs and recollect the memories of their visit.

The tourists can also visit tea processing factories attached to some of the big gardens to experience the conversion of green tea leaves to the finished stage.

Our Experience

It was not only Chuapara Tea Garden, where we stayed, but any tea garden either in slopes of hills or in undulated land carried an un-matching beauty. We were in the midst of nature accompanied by a touch of autumn breeze; occasional drizzle gave a fresh look to the entire environment. The morning of the tea garden had been exotic with sunrays peeping from behind the mountains, the presence of various kinds of birds, and murmuring sound of breeze flowing through the trees within the bungalow premises.

The activities of tea gardens were limited between dawn and dusk. Within this short period, we experienced a different world that was far away from our urban artificial lives where most of us interact with a camouflage of being enlightened. The ultimate truth of our lives remained with those people who are still designated as primitive. The smile with the simplicity of the tribal people had attracted us to a great extent.

Though tea-tourism is gradually becoming popular, the tourist can experience a different type of stay within the tea garden and enjoy the essence of tribal lives.

Photo Courtesy-Google