The Laahe Laahe! Diaries- our journey of working in the tea estates of Assam
Introduction
The Bengalis have this strange romanticism with the tea gardens in Assam and West Bengal. Several noteworthy works of Bengali literature have the tea gardens as the backdrop. Standing on the balcony of a Victorian style bungalow, a nip in the air, looking onto the vast expanse of greenery of the tea bushes, sipping on freshly brewed tea and the sound of tribal music in the distance. These are the visions created by some of the great Bengali authors.
Our experience was not too far from that. Just that we had gone in with a very grave task- ending violence against women and girls in the tea estates of Assam. Adding to that, we had a whole lot of other apprehensions. We are all aware of the volatile political history of Assam. Also, the zone we were going to was once the stronghold of the Bodo rebels. We also heard that the tea gardens had a very strict code of conduct. It was also the elephant corridor with frequent animal human conflicts (we were excited that we would get to spot them during our course of stay but fortunately did not encounter any of these wild beasts). These were all factors adding to the jitters. But funnily, once we reached what immediately lightened the mood was the uncanny similarity of the language to the Bengali dialect spoken in certain parts of East Bengal, currently Bangladesh. We all tried to strike a conversation too in the language but the natives did not pay much heed to it. The term, laahe laahe is locally used to describe the relaxed and laidback lifestyle of the Assamese people and that stuck on with us. And so began our journey where we realised that a lot of what would happen would be different from our other experiences.
Entrenched in history
Our journey began by hearing impeccable stories of the history and heritage of the place. Right from the inception of the idea of establishing a business of tea in the early 19th century to a fully fledged highly methodical industry, the sector has a tradition and heritage of its own. We were narrated the story of how one of the tea estates, Corramore was established by two gutsy Irish ladies whose husbands were killed in a battle with the local Bodos. Proper roads have been established in the area only a few years back. Prior to that, it was supposedly impossible to reach the estates by car during the monsoons as the rivers would flood the highway. So to establish a business in those times when there was practically no means of communication, we can only salute the enterprising nature of the Europeans.
We were then taken to see a tree at one of the tea estates. The first reaction when we saw the tree was that is this one tree? The stilt roots of the main tree had dug themselves deep and there were many offshoots of the tree that had grown from them. It reminded us of the 200 plus year old banyan tree at the Botanical Gardens in Kolkata. Nobody had knowledge of the real age of this tree but it had definitely seen many a days.
There definitely is a certain degree of opulence in the tea estates. Each of the estates had their own air strip. In times when the business was flourishing, we heard that the top brass would arrive in their chartered air planes. We could almost vision a scene straight out from Hollywood celebrating the life of the tycoons.
The manager bungalows were gorgeous structures with a fireplace et al. There were several butlers to keep the space spick and span. The interiors were decorated with mindfully selected articles perfectly put in place. The washrooms were truly a room in itself with a bathtub and a select range of toiletries. Our stays during our field work is ordinary and thus the luxury at times felt a little surreal. We were provided with wholesome delicious meals. The food was a mix of continental as well as the choicest Indian recipes. Infact, we heard that the recipes were also being passed down by the generations of the chefs. We would be perfectly seated at the dining table and all we had to do was ring a bell and in came the extremely soft and caring butler with one of the delicacies. Must mention that it was truly a dream for the sweet toothed as some of the desserts served were out of the world. The apple pie, caramel custard and the payasam made with the locally available black rice are few of them, the taste of which the team members will cherish all their lives. We infact had some of the payasam made in-house to celebrate the end of the project.
The community
Although we were aware of this fact, it was quite strange to find people of the same race we meet with when in Purulia and Jharkhand, in the extreme corner of Assam near the Bhutan border. The history goes that this entire lot had migrated from the Chota Nagpur region to Assam to work on the tea estates then owned by the British. They were identified as the hard working race to work in this labour intensive sector.
There has been a mix of cultures definitely but whether it is an accepted identity is questionable. From being tagged as the ’Tea Tribes’ it has not been easy for them to fit into the eco system. The tea workers have now developed their unions and are advocating for their rights with benefits. They are surrounded by the local Assamese people and the Bodo tribes who themselves have a very strong culture of their own. Although on observing closely, one will realize how these cultures have fused and given rise to a unique lifestyle. The ‘Baganiya’ culture is now referred to whenever there is a talk on the culture of Assam. Regarding their food, they have also adapted to what is available locally. Infact, we heard very vivid descriptions of how they fry the flowers of the tea plant and cook it into a tasty curry. We were tempted to taste it but unfortunately that did not happen.
The top brass
Another section of people whom we interacted with considerably are the managers on the tea estates. Truly they are the epitome of machismo. Golf caps, smart tees, weather beaten shorts , the latest sports shoes, aviators, on their cruiser bikes or all terrain Gypsies, they could easily fit into the shoes of a movie hero. They are on their rounds through the day extremely busy with their crisp talk. The evenings are fun at their club. They party quite hard with their drinks and smoke in hand but when you talk to them you will inevitably hear, ‘this is the lonely life of the tea planters’ and you realize why they are the way they are. Tea is the main revenue earning crop for the country and they are under tremendous pressure to reap as much as they can keeping the quality intact. There are different kinds of hurdles they face on a day to day basis. From malfunctioning machinery at the factory, the mechanic for which has to be got from more than 250 km away, to hartaals by the worker unions, they are faced by the toughest of challenges. We figured that most of these officers belong to families which have a tradition of serving in the army. And then when we analysed the situation and conditions under which they need to deliver, we realized the need for this tough attitude.
Their better half ladies are coy and reserved but fashionable and well versed with all that is happening in the country. They infact have their own set of contribution to the tea estates from developing local handloom clusters, gardening, teaching the children of the worker families and managing the functions of the enormous bungalows. The manager households have a kitchen garden where the vegetables for their day to day consumption are grown. Some also have their own cattle and poultry. The ladies have the tedious task of monitoring these. On having a conversation, you realize that they are no less involved in the functioning of the tea estates as they are aware of everything that is happening.
The planters’ families also have a very healthy tradition of sports. They are passionate of various sports such as golf, tennis, cricket and soccer and the companies have given the facilities and encouraging of this habit as it helps in keeping up the spirits of the planters. Also, must mention that some of the managers have weird fancies too. All of them own these very well bred dogs but we came across one manager who had an Emu bird as a pet. And his explanation was simple. ‘Everyone has dogs. I wanted to be a little different.’
The art of producing tea
Prior to this we had no idea about the effort that goes into producing the tea that we so easily boil, drink and relish. Here, we got to see the entire process right from the cultivation to the final processing which is a very intense one. Each tea plucker collects around 20kgs of tea leaves in a day in 3 shifts. The leaves are weighed and sent to the factory for processing. The quality of leaves depend on the season during which it is plucked. The fancy first flush or second flush refers to the tea from the leaves plucked post the first and second shower of the season respectively. Care is also taken to keep the crop free from pests. June to September are the busiest months for tea production and winters are the relatively relaxed months when the bushes are pruned and the factory goes into overhaul mode. The tea bushes also have a certain life span during which the quality of tea is upto the standards. After that, the bushes are razed and new bushes are planted. The estates thus have a nursery section too for nurturing the new shrubs. This entire planning is the responsibility of the managers.
The tea estates in Assam produces very little of the leaf tea. It is mostly the cut, twist and curl (CTC) that Assam is known for. This process is done in the factory with the support of machinery. The leaves and the dust are both used for making tea for different segments. The managers have the task of tasting and grading the tea just as most would have heard of wine tasters. It is then packed and sent to a central warehouse where different varieties are blended. These blends are sent for auctions where they are sold to international buyers. The tea market is monitored by a board for quality check and assurance. There is a lot of passion involved in the process and so it is no wonder that it is the highest earning cash crop and the pride of India.
The unifying spirit of Jhumur
Shirish gacher tole tole ( among the shirish trees)
Cha gacher majhe majhe ( in between the tea bushes)
O mor Jugnu mini Mother mini ( the Jugnu and Mothers Club women)
Bagane kaam kori (work in the gardens)
Deri kore (till late in the day)
The Jhumur songs and dance of the Adivasi tea workers in the plantations of Assam is very popular among the people. Every woman and man of the households knows the tunes and dances by heart. Their life is very different from that of the people living in the city. Their day starts very early in the morning either plucking tea leaves or at the factory. It is quite a sight to watch the lines of men and women going to work. Many a times we have walked past a group of workers plucking in the gardens and have heard them humming a Jhumur tune. These songs are very closely linked with their lives.
The Jugnus amicably used these Jhumur tunes to give messages against domestic violence and sexual harassment to the community. Thus, their traditional tunes were not just a part of their lifestyle but were also used as a tool for protest and awareness. It became so relatable to the people that they were easily able to grasp the issues of women’s and child rights. There were quite a few music composers among the community members too.
Mirrors can talk
All our work with regard to communication for development has a strong element of street theatre involved. This project was no different. We had to effectively reach out to the community with messages revolving around prevention of violence against women and girls in the tea estates. The essence of our work also relies on working with a local theatre team to make it more relatable to the audience. We were in search of a local team for quite a while and had heard only of one.
Pabitra Rabha, a visionary theatre artist from Assam, a pass out from the acclaimed National School of Drama, had set up a theatre village in the nearby town of Tangla, with a vision to create opportunities and a life of respect for the ostracized physically challenged, in this case the dwarfs. They called themselves, Dapon- The Mirror. The group had managed to create quite a name for themselves on national television. Famous Bollywood personalities had lauded their efforts.
There was a bit of delay but we were eventually invited to see a demo performance. What we saw was nothing short of a miracle. The amount of energy that these little people had in their bodies was remarkable. We were stunned. We ofcourse had a bit of fine tuning to do but were more than convinced about their abilities. The team did 24 highly successful street shows over a span of 6 days in different tea estates and were able to reach out to more than 6000 people.
No dearth of inspiration
While hosting the workshops in the month of November at Dimakusi Tea Estate, we came across this elderly lady whom we had not noticed in the earlier sessions. She seemed to be round about 60 and was part of the Mother’s Club. We got to know that she was on the verge of retirement. We were surprised to see her enthusiasm of still wanting to contribute to society. She would be the first to arrive during the community meetings which were held in the evenings after their work got over. She took the initiative to call other members of the community for the meetings. The best part was that she had a pleasing smile on her face and thus no one could refuse her.
One day after the workshop, she invited us to her house for tea. She only had one little room to herself. The room almost had nothing but we were yet so warmed with her hospitality. We all had a deep realisation that day that we actually do not need a lot to be happy.
Spooky!
A lot of us like listening to ghost stories but what if we have to spend a night in a ghost infested bungalow? The Paneery Tea Estate is extremely neat and beautiful. It’s a sea of green tea bushes dotted with English style bungalows. We were living in one of those bungalows. It seemed like a once in a lifetime experience!
The bungalow just next to ours seemed empty. We asked the local people out of curiosity and they mentioned that it was haunted. It has not been inhabited for long. Apparently, once someone was living in that bungalow. The day was normal but he found it difficult to sleep at night. Whenever he tried to sleep, he could hear a lot of noises. It is because of this reason that the bungalow does not have any caretakers. But there is another version that apparently there are a lot of snakes in the bungalow and the ghost myth has been created so that people don’t venture in. All we heard were these stories but no one knew the actual truth. Thus, the mystery still remains unsolved.
The rise and rise
The pivot of our work was to develop an exclusive women led vigilance committee whose focus would be to rid the estates of violence against women and children. It required a few vocal women to enthuse other women to form a group aptly called ‘Jugnu’ or firefly symbolic of a hint of light in darkness. During the workshops, a lot of the women had mentioned that it was the first time they had been given the opportunity to express themselves and introspect outside their busy working schedule. There were several first timers for the women. They were able to identify violence and harassment as wrongs which had become a part of their normal day to day lives. They now had a voice to raise and their rights to uphold. In fact during their sessions on communication, they were taught the basics of theatre. They went and performed little skits in front of their community people and that was a huge confidence booster for them. One could spot the determination in their eyes once they were in their orange ( colour for women’s empowerment) sarees wearing their identity badges with pride.
The practice of Safety Audit was a major step in the evolution of these women as leaders as they themselves decided what needed to be done for their own safety and submitted the findings to the management. The youth and adolescents too were extremely supportive of this movement. There are currently 62 of these women leaders and their network is expected to grow with time. This beacon of light is definitely in the process of shaping a better and brighter tomorrow in the historic tea gardens of Assam.
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