The 1944 to 1950 Story

by Jaswant

One sunny September afternoon in 1944, a slim young man who had just graduated from Madras Christian College was ushered into the the general manager's office of English & Scottish Joint Cooperative Wholesale Society for an interview with the general manager for the post of an Assistant superintendent on Ripon Estate in South Wynaad.

This office was situated on the Beach Road in Calicut and was the head office in India. Their estates were Ripon in South Wynaad close to town, Meppadi, Talapoya, Cherkara, Jessie and Tatamala estate in North Wynaad, Caroline and Attikunna in the Nilgiris, Iyerpadi, Paralai, Lower Sheikalmudi, Murugalli and Sheikalmudi in Anamllais, and Deckiajuli in Assam.

Calicut was a trading centre for companies like Pierce Leslie and company, Volkart Brothers, Aspinwall and company etc. They all traded in spices, cashew, coir products and copra. Calicut had a pier jutting into the sea about two kms long.Goods for overseas trade were moved on rails to the end of the pier for loading onto to the huge dhows that were anchored alongside.These dhows carried the export goods to waiting ships in the middle of the Arabian sea.

There were a few textile mills too. All of them were headed by British executives.My grandfather was the public prosecutor in Calicut and was also the legal advisor to most of these companies.He Was Rao Bahadur T.C.Karunakaran.He was a close friend of Mr Boland who headed Pierce Leslie and company. Mr Boland and Mr J.W. Russel, general manager of E&S were bum chums and this is how my father C.Harikrishnan was selected as an assistant superintendent of Ripon.

Selection of the candidate as a covenanted staff was based on the family background, command over the English language and sporting activities. Appointment was a contract to be signed with the company for three years and to be renewed for a further three years after a furlough of three months. The contract to be signed was sent from the office on 100 Leman Street, London.The entire Leman Street belonged to E&S, a company with different divisions from safety pins to aeroplanes. 

Tea was a very small division. The British candidates were selected and sent to India on contracts ranging from three to five years with three months' notice on either side. So the same terms and conditions were applicable to the Indian counterparts too. The salary was Rs 1000/- per month with all facilities like furnished bungalow with curtains, bed linen, crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, an Electrolux refrigerator that operated on a kerosene lamp, the cast iron stove that burnt throughout the day on fire wood and of course a cook and a bungalow servant.

My dad's first posting was on Ripon Estate close to the Meppadi town. Ripon was about four hours from Calicut (now its about 2.5 hours).The roads were bad: Calicut to Kunnamangalam, Thamarserri and to Adivaram where all the cars are stopped for cooling the engine before climbing the Vythiri ghats.

My dad always spoke of the small tea shop at Adivaram where you could devour the best sardine curry and rice with coconut chutney and pappadam while the car engine was being cooled. Once you are up the Vythiri ghats you are in Chundale and then Meppadi and next is Ripon. 

Dad's boss was Mr Threadgill, a stocky middle aged Scottish man who ran the estate like an army commandant. His workers were very loyal to him. Those were the days when there were no labour unions and whatever the Superintendent said was law. The field staff were the field writer, plucking writer, and the supervisor. Estate office was run by the head clerk who had three or four assistants to take care of the accounts and the day to day affairs of the estate. Most of the staff members were Malayalis. The training as an asst superintendent was rigorous. Field practices and tea production were taught by the Superintendent, the field and factory staff.

Trainees were not involved in the social activities though there was the Meppadi Club frequented by the British managers of Harissons&Crosfield, AV Thomas and Company, Chembra Peak Estate, Elstone Estate, private owners of large estates and also visitors from Attikunna and Caroline Estate in Nilgiri Wynaad.

After three years' contract my dad went for his three month furlough and got married.The contract was renewed for another three years. He picked up his first second hand Norton bike from one of the managers in Harissons Crosfield

My elder sister was born in 1948. My father was selected as a member of the Meppadi club in 1949. The club days were Wednesdays,Saturdays and Sundays. On club days the clubs car parking space had the likes of Citroen,  Austin of England, Studebaker, Dodge, Hillman, Vaxhall, Standard Vanguard etc. The bikes were Matchless, Triumph, AJS, Indian etc.

On 7th May 1950 I was born in Ripon Estate's Assistant Managers Bungalow. Within six months transfer orders came from the Calicut office for my dad to move from Ripon to Murugalli Estate in the Anamallais. 

Anamallais with 42 estates belonging to seven corporates and the beautiful club in Valparai changed my dad's life.

All I can say is that it was party time.

Meet the writer :

My name is Jaswant. I live in Coimbatore.My father Harikrishnan woked as senior planter in E&S Joint Cooperative Society Plantations in Wynaad and the Anamallais. I graduated from Madras Christian college in 1972, worked in J Thomas and Company for one year, Excel industries Ltd,Mumbai, an agro chemical company for three years and from 1976 to 2007 I was running a company called Growel, supplying agro chemicals to most of the tea planting companies in South India. Since 2006 I am running a homestay in Coimbatore catering to the needs of the international,corporate and plantation guests who visit Coimbatore often.

I am planning to write my stories in four parts. 
1.The stories as told by my father (1944 to 1950) 
2.The Anamallai days. 
3.The Wynaad days. 
4.My chemical peddling days.

Is this your first visit here? Welcome to Indian Chai Stories! 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, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull. 

Happy reading! Cheers to the spirit of Indian Tea!