by Inder Nain
My favorite walk happens a couple of times a week, or as many times I can return from work at least half an hour before sunset, which is a shade before seven pm round the year. When it does happen, my wife is always ready & waiting. I am as eager as the dog & we are soon on our way.
Getting out through the back gate, we climb the gentle hill behind the house and take the grassy road between the tea fields. The dog bounds on ahead chasing after birds. The 'caucal', a biggish brown bird, is the most vulnerable. The caucal makes its nest among the tea bushes. It has a low, clumsy flight. The dog does manage to knock one down once in a while when he takes it by surprise. Fortunately he doesn’t know what to do after that. With me yelling and screaming at him to leave the bird alone, he runs away quite content with the outcome of the game and the frightened bird scurries off into the bush.
Wife and I hurry along. The grass is still wet from the afternoon showers & our sneakers are soon soaked through. We talk continuously. The topics are many and varied. I tell her a little about work, she tells me a lot about her day, the children and their school, about our friends and everything else.
It is wonderful; I soak in the stories and the scenery. Hills stretch into the distance in varying shades of green and blue. The land falls away towards the east. The view of this vast expanse is overwhelming. The rains have been good and it is green and lush everywhere. The cypress trees are tall and heavy with all the moisture. A gust knocks some water on to us as we pass. We walk on with the water now going 'squish, squish' in our shoes.
Suddenly the sun is in the gap between the clouds & the opposite hills. The whole area is bathed in the evening sunlight. The yellowish green of the tea bushes spread like carpets across the hills glimmers and glows as it catches the sun at that angle. The patches of red cannas scattered around the tea fields are ablaze. We stop and admire the grandeur as we have done so many times before, amazed at the beauty.
The dog is still running up and down the road chasing after every sound and smell that tickles his senses. We reach the end of the road and turn around; the sun catches us straight in our faces. We pull our caps down a little to avoid the glare and start the walk back. The return, about one and a half kilometres, must be covered fast, as the sun will sink quickly now. We talk more than we look and walk fast.
A pale gray hue descends upon the valley as the sun vanishes behind the hills. I yell for the dog as we approach the house. The jackals will be out soon. The night sounds are picking up. The crickets start their cacophony, the doves coo as they settle back into their nests. The auger buzzard has taken post for the night on a telephone post opposite the house. A cold light mist is all around as we return through the back gate. The lights are flickering on. "Mbili, chai, please", my wife tells the cook as we peel our drenched shoes and socks off. Another wonderful walk .
Meet the writer: Inder Nain
Inder in his own words:
Inder's life & times
Little brains & ample mind,
No common sense to hold me behind,
I push on..
Lucky breaks & simple takes,
Keeps me smelling the roses -
and whisky's fine,
Leaving little room to whine.
And here is the 'practical version' as his wife calls it:
Inder Nain worked for Goodricke Tea for 15 years in the Dooars and Assam before moving to Kenya in 2000. He worked with Sasini tea and coffee before moving on to start his own rose farm in 2006. He is now successfully settled in Kenya growing roses.
My favorite walk happens a couple of times a week, or as many times I can return from work at least half an hour before sunset, which is a shade before seven pm round the year. When it does happen, my wife is always ready & waiting. I am as eager as the dog & we are soon on our way.
Getting out through the back gate, we climb the gentle hill behind the house and take the grassy road between the tea fields. The dog bounds on ahead chasing after birds. The 'caucal', a biggish brown bird, is the most vulnerable. The caucal makes its nest among the tea bushes. It has a low, clumsy flight. The dog does manage to knock one down once in a while when he takes it by surprise. Fortunately he doesn’t know what to do after that. With me yelling and screaming at him to leave the bird alone, he runs away quite content with the outcome of the game and the frightened bird scurries off into the bush.
Wife and I hurry along. The grass is still wet from the afternoon showers & our sneakers are soon soaked through. We talk continuously. The topics are many and varied. I tell her a little about work, she tells me a lot about her day, the children and their school, about our friends and everything else.
It is wonderful; I soak in the stories and the scenery. Hills stretch into the distance in varying shades of green and blue. The land falls away towards the east. The view of this vast expanse is overwhelming. The rains have been good and it is green and lush everywhere. The cypress trees are tall and heavy with all the moisture. A gust knocks some water on to us as we pass. We walk on with the water now going 'squish, squish' in our shoes.
A pale gray hue descends upon the valley as the sun vanishes behind the hills. I yell for the dog as we approach the house. The jackals will be out soon. The night sounds are picking up. The crickets start their cacophony, the doves coo as they settle back into their nests. The auger buzzard has taken post for the night on a telephone post opposite the house. A cold light mist is all around as we return through the back gate. The lights are flickering on. "Mbili, chai, please", my wife tells the cook as we peel our drenched shoes and socks off. Another wonderful walk .
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| Pix of Kipkebe tea plantation at Kericho, Kenya, courtesy Shashi Menon |
Meet the writer: Inder Nain
Inder in his own words:
Inder's life & times
Little brains & ample mind,
No common sense to hold me behind,
I push on..
Lucky breaks & simple takes,
Keeps me smelling the roses -
and whisky's fine,
Leaving little room to whine.
And here is the 'practical version' as his wife calls it:
Inder Nain worked for Goodricke Tea for 15 years in the Dooars and Assam before moving to Kenya in 2000. He worked with Sasini tea and coffee before moving on to start his own rose farm in 2006. He is now successfully settled in Kenya growing roses.
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Do you have a chai story of your own to share? Send it to me here, please : indianchaistories@gmail.com.
My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and
I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things
that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea
story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny -
always true (always), maybe a tall tale, maybe long, short, impossible,
scary, funny or exciting but never dull. You will find yourself
transported to another world!
Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
ADD THIS LINK TO YOUR FAVOURITES :
https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!
ADD THIS LINK TO YOUR FAVOURITES :
Nice story!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your languid appreciation of all that's bright and beautiful...the flora and fauna, the changing hues, the canine at your heels, your lovely wife; and the quintessentially Indian ending with chai in an essentially African tale!
ReplyDeleteA fantastic word picture. I can “see” all that you described. Must be a garden of Eden! To be in such a place during Covid 19, is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteWow Inder Loved each word of your beautifully described walk.
ReplyDeleteSo if ever prose could be mistaken for a Matisse masterpiece then it is this … Inder ji I couldn’t stop reading and re reading . Thank you Gowri & Indian Choi Stories for this addition to the Chai for Cancer collection
ReplyDelete