Assistant Manager- The Best Days

by Manjit Singh

The best days in the plantations were when we were Assistant Managers. It was a life led with gay abandon – free from serious responsibility; attending parties, playing games and living for the day – at that stage one had no ambitions and the only aim in life was to have fun.

Within a month of my joining I received an invitation on an embossed card for a party in Nyamakad Bungalow which stated that ‘pyjamas /night suits were dress de rigueur’. I went and checked in the Oxford dictionary and ‘de rigueur’ meant order of the day. I had never attended a pyjama party before and was not totally convinced, at the same time did not want to show my ignorance by asking my Manager .

On Saturday my friend from the neighbouring estate and I went on our motorcycles for the party-taking our pyjama/ kurtas in a bag.We parked the motorcycle far away from the bungalow and peered over the hedge in the bungalow garden to see a party on in full swing with everyone including the ladies in their night dress - one of our VAs was wearing satin shorts and a silk dressing gown!We changed and walked into the party nonchanantly and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - knowing that we would never see our bosses again in night dress! 

Top station was a beautiful place to start a career in planting and if one had like-minded people posted there it was bliss.We were three assistant managers in 1980 who enjoyed a certain bonhomie- we met practically on a daily basis and discussed everything under the sun except work. Rajiv, who was posted on Chittavurrai estate carried a very impressive pocket diary and we all thought it contained official data only to find to our surprise that the data was confined to the school/college opening and closing dates of all the daughters of the managers in Munnar! Rajiv left after two years to pursue a career with Gulf news in Dubai and Sanjeev went to the West Coast of America - both having spent some memorable times in Top Station. 

Whenever an assistant manager got married and returned to the estate, all his colleagues joined together and welcomed the newlyweds back with some pranks. One Assistant Manager married a conservative Brahmin girl from Chennai and when he returned to the estate with his bride his mother-in-law also decided to accompany them.

When they reached their bungalow two small children emerged from within, clapping their hands and shouting ‘ Appa vandachi’ ( father has come). The mother in law  swooned on hearing this and when she recovered her composure, she was told that this was only a prank and the children were from the estate crèche.

Appa Vandachi!!!

The News Years' party was the best celebration of the year. We all looked forward to it as it was conducted with panache and grace.The club lounge was decorated according to a theme selected each year by the committee and there was a sit down dinner. A play was staged for one hour by members of the club which was always a delight to watch. It was the only party when all heiarchy was broken and as we sang ‘Auld Lang Syne' and ushered in the new year we all hugged each other. 

There was a band in attendance and as per custom one left the club in the wee hours of the morning - some even left after having breakfast in the club! New Years Day was spent going around the estate wishing all the staff and workers, and no work took place on that day. These traditions created a bond between the management staff, staff and workers and made us realize that we were all dependant on each other to survive in the tea estates!

The innocence of the days spent as an Assistant Manager was lost when we were promoted as Acting Managers and became 'in charge' of an Estate and came under the scrutiny of the top management - and performance became vital for survival . 

Meet the writer: 

Manjit Singh

I studied in the Lawrence School, Sanawar, and passed out in 1970. I then did my B.A (Hons) and M.A in History from Hindu College, Delhi University. I joined Tata Finlay in 1978 ( in 1983 it became Tata Tea ) and worked in the Plantation Division in South India- mainly in Munnar and a brief stint in the Anamallais in Tamil Nadu. 

I retired in 2014 as General Manager of the Tea Division of Tata Coffee a subsidiary of Tata Tea. I am a keen sportsman and represented the Club,Company and Upasi ( United Planters Association of South India) in cricket, squash and golf. After retirement we have settled in Chandigarh and my son and daughter work and live in Delhi. 

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