A Coffee Lover’s take on Tea!

Hello again, dear friends! Please welcome Rajan Mani to Indian Chai Stories. Thank you, Rajan, for sharing your thoughts with all of us. Goes to show there’s a world of stories in every cup of tea! Cheers! - Gowri 

by Rajan Mani

At the outset, this title sticks out like a sore thumb, doesn’t it? After all, what is coffee doing in a collection of tales full of chai ka bagan and chai? My defence is that it is an attempt to give a different perspective.

I grew  up in Delhi, but in a pakka TamBram family – so it was pretty much in line that coffee would be the beverage that would kick-start the day. Not just coffee, but filter kaapi made from roasting coffee seeds just so, then powdering the seeds in a contraption called a coffee grinder and then creating a decoction which when mixed with milk and sugar in my mother’s own formula would generate a heady elixir.

My parents belonged to an era where instant coffee was just entering India and Nescafe and the like were not just recognized by them. In fact there is a story in our extended family circle, probably apocryphal, that a prospective marriage alliance got grounded because one of the parties served (hold your breath!) cups of instant coffee rather than filter coffee. During my graduation, my love affair with coffee continued, but a two year stint in Jamshedpur for my PG in management introduced me to tea and varieties of it. We had a small tea stall just outside the hostel and Fazal, the guy who ran it spiced up especially our winter afternoons with his elaichi chai and adhrak chai. It definitely made me take a relook at chai.

Corporate life gave me a totally new view of how tea divided and how it categorized! My first assignment was in a company with British partnership which made bicycles and my stint at the factory helped me understand how the cup in which it was served made a difference. Workers on the shopfloor would be given their cuppa in small steel tumblers, their supervisors would get the same brew in mugs with handles, officers and managers would get cups on saucers with their tea and for the top brass, tea would be served by a liveried waiter with the ingredients separate and mixed to taste in front of each big man.

The stint in sales which followed was a different learning experience and I found that tea was a more palatable drink than the ‘Nescoffee’ latte which many dealer friends wanted to give me, because ‘aap South se hain’! Our biggest dealer in Pune, I found, had a pecking order using tea for the sales people who called on him.

The starting level was chai – ordinary tea from the neighbouring tea stall in the stall’s cups, not particularly clean and maybe even with a crack or two. People who were more useful to Popatbhai would get ‘chai, special cup me’ – he had given a set of his crockery to the tea shop! The next promotion was to ‘special chai, special cup me’ – special chai meant more sugar and some spices in the brew. The ultimate level was Popatlal Seth calling someone home for a sumptuous Marwari meal!

I have realized from all this experience that tea is not just tea. There is a huge difference between tea from different locations and between dust tea, leaf tea and tea from tea bags, but though I have a prominent sweet tooth, I draw a line at the ‘khadi chamach’ chai of some areas in Maharashtra. The brew is so thick and has so much sugar in it that a spoon can literally stand vertically in the cup. It just isn’t, well, my cup of tea!

Starting from being just a kaapi drinker, I am now equally comfortable with either tea or coffee though I must confess that my day starts only when filter kaapi courses through my veins! For me, as somebody said, it is still ‘Coffee is a beverage, but kaapi is an emotion’.

Meet the writer:

Rajan Mani

Rajan Mani is a Dilli wala Madrasi who is now settled in Chennai. His management degree took him to a sales career, but halfway through,  he got off the bus and became a Prof in a B-school. He uses his retirement usefully by pretending to help his wife, whistling old Hindi songs and composing bad limericks.

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 in 2018 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!

This is the link to all the stories on this blog: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/ Be sure to add it to your list of favourites! Happy reading!! Cheers to the spirit of Indian tea!

“Chai Pe Charcha” : My thoughts on tea

Hello friends! Here is Story #3 to mark “Birthday month” at Indian Chai Stories! A hearty welcome to Gayathri Ramachandran. “To a South Indian brahmin, coffee is intrinsic to life, but tea was anathema….In the land of tea from the Nilgiris, Munnar and Valparai, how could they feel this way?” asks Gayathri. Thank you for sharing your lovely memories, Gayathri!! You took me back to another time and place with the beautiful photograph of your grandmother. 😀 - Gowri

by  Gayathri Ramachandran

Friends promised to drop in for 'high tea' on Saturday and my thoughts turned to what I had been reading recently - interesting accounts of life during the British era in the various tea gardens of India.

Then I dwelt in my mind on what life was like during my grandfather's time in Valparai and Pollachi. I have heard that my grandfather Mr TS Mani Iyer and his younger brother Natesan Iyer had a transport Company in Pollachi which transported chests of tea from Valparai to various places.  There is a street named after my grandfather : 'Mani Iyer Street' ( now called Mani Street), running parallel to the Railway Station at Pollachi.  Natesan Company still has its outpost in Kallidai Kurichi in Tamil Nadu.  My father narrated anecdotes of Naachimuthu Kaunder ( father of Sri Mahalingam) who worked for my grandfather.

I had my early childhood in the sprawling house of my grandfather Mr Mani Iyer in Pollachi. At times we used to accompany him to Top Slip. Mr elder brother Suresh and I would spend our play time sliding down on the grass and watch gleefully as the 'Touch me Not' closed to our touch!!

My grandmother Janaki, who served tea to 'Doraisanis' of Valparai!

One of my aunts, Balammma, would give me interesting accounts of how my grandmother, clad in the traditional nine yards sari, would entertain her British guests - the 'dorasanis' - to tea with impeccable taste and grace both Valparai and Pollachi houses! The tea, I am sure, is the Valparai tea. To a South Indian brahmin, coffee is intrinsic to life but tea was anathema for a very long time. In the land of tea from the Nilgiris, Munnar and Valparai, how could they feel this way?

Valparai

Traditionally, coffe is served in brass / stainless steel or pure silver tumblers and dawara, wheareas tea has the dubious distinction of being served in glass tumblers or porcelain cups. It is believed that tea tastes better when served in porcelain. There should be a 'Tea Ceremony' in the households that serve tea. The golden brew deserves a good treatment!! 

I was brought up on a diet of coffee till I moved to New Delhi after marriage. Tea became the 'word' gaining all importance. Living among the Punjabis, this exotic beverage became a centre point in socialising during wintry afternoons. I was introduced to kadak chai, adhrak chai, masala chai, cardomom chai, green chai and white chai.White tea is costlier than the other vareities of tea. This amazing fact dawned on me when my daughter in law Ruchi presented me with a packet of white tea. In Ooty there is a government run facility which entertains and educates the visitors on the process of how the deftly picked tea leaves become the final product..from procuring the tea leaves to its journey of becoming a magic drink. There they even treat you to a 'cuppa' as you leave the factory.

Whenever I visit Valparai, I wonder if there is any such facility there! Tea brewing is a special art…you can boil tea leaves in water and milk and make it really sweet with fair amount of sugar and sometimes a few bits of ginger to alleviate headache, cold or that bone chilling winter weather! Chai Pe Charcha, with friends, also taught me how to make that delectable beverage for the morning or afternoon in the true British style. In boiling water just sprinkle a teaspoon of tea and close it with a lid. After a few seconds, strain the golden coloured brew and have it with milk/honey/ sugar!! Voila!! There's the 'delightful cuppa' that you can have with tea biscuits or tea cake as the British planters did it in Valparai. 

With Meenu Nair who so efficiently manage Valparai Sinna Dorai Bungalow. We had an awesome stay and tasted the best brewed tea!

‘Chai hojaye!' is a familiar sweet music welcomed with cheer while you play cards or just have some plain 'gup shup'. Oh! my taste for tea grew and the bitter 'after taste' of coffee was replaced with the milder invigorating drink. Tea finally arrived in my life. I enjoy tea in various forms, white, green or golden, with or with out milk, sweet or just black!!! Living in Delhi, the plethora of brands of tea made my head dizzy! Darjeeling, Ananda, Chai Chun, Tetleys, Nilgiri or Kannan Devan but after coming to our own land of tea gardens in the Western Ghats, I became a connoisseur of tea from Ooty and Valparai. I delight in sending packages of tea to my family in Delhi and Mumbai. For friends, nothing can be better than a gift of Nilgiri tea with a note on how to prepare it!!!

Meet the writer

Gayathri in Coimbatore

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 in 2018 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! 

This is the link to all the stories on this blog: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/ 
Be sure to add it to your list of favourites! Happy reading!! Cheers to the spirit of Indian tea!

The Louis Mandelli Saga – Continued!

Hello again, dear friends! 

Here’s the second of the three stories I promised you this birthday month! Two years ago, Sarita Dasgupta told us the story of Louis Mandelli, the nineteenth century Italian tea planter and ornithologist from Darjeeling. Today she tells us more about the Mandelli family…in another era!!

Thank you, Sarita😀!!

by Sarita Dasgupta

 
When I wrote my story about Louis Mandelli, little did I dream the amount of interest it would arouse and what it would lead to!

I decided to write about Louis Mandelli because firstly, I was intrigued by the fact that he was the only Italian tea planter I had heard of, and secondly, being a bird-lover myself, I was impressed by the fact that as an amateur but enthusiastic ornithologist, he had discovered hitherto undocumented Himalayan bird species which were subsequently named after him. And now, what the article led to…

Firstly…

Louis’ great-great-grandson, Jason Mendelli, based in Japan, came across my story while researching his lineage. He emailed Gowri, our editor, who forwarded his email to me, and I replied. This led to a further exchange of information, which, with his permission, I am now sharing with the readers.

Louis Mandelli and his wife, Ann, had two sons and three daughters. One of the sons, Louis Hildebrand Robert, joined the Railways as a travelling ticket collector, and rose to become Station Master in Darjeeling. He and his wife, Alice, had a son in August 1893, and christened him Louis Herbert Francis.

Not much is known about Louis Herbert Francis, except that he was a Commercial Traveller (travelling salesman) and lived in Kolkata during the latter part of his life. There, he had a relationship with a lady called Nora, and a son was born to them on 3 October 1923. He was baptized Norman Melville Louis Mandellie on 5 January 1924 at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Dharmatala, Kolkata.

Jason with his father Norman

Norman grew up in Kolkata and went to school in Lucknow. He joined the police force as an officer, and was stationed with a group of Gorkhas in an outpost on the northern border of India. Norman told Jason about being attacked by around a hundred horse-riding marauders wielding knives. Fortunately, he survived but was haunted by the memories of this traumatic event for the rest of his life.

Norman left India for the USA in the early 1950s and lived there for some years before moving to London. He worked for an aeronautical company in his earlier years, and then managed a psychiatric hospital. He married a lovely lady called Yvette, and they had seven children, Jason being one of them.

Jason grew up in London, and worked in the film industry. He then moved to Japan with his wife, Yoko, and daughter, Emma, and is currently writing his first book.

Jason, Emma and Yoko

Secondly…

The Consul-General of Italy in Kolkata, Dr Gianluca Rubagotti, was researching Italians who had contributed in some way, or made a mark in the eastern states of India that come under the Consulate-General of Italy in Kolkata. He read my article and was interested in knowing more about Louis Mandelli. This led to an event held in Kurseong on 3 November 2021, to honour the 19th century tea planter’s contribution to the region. The event was organized by the Italian Consulate-General in partnership with the Kolkata-based NGO, FREED (Force for Rural Empowerment and Economic Development).

Mr Adya and Mr Pyne of FREED, Sarita Dasgupta, Dr Rubagotti, Dr Spadoni

 I was invited to be part of the panel comprising Dr Rubagotti, Dr Massimo Spadoni (Scientific Officer at the Italian Embassy in New Delhi, and avid bird-watcher) and myself, and asked to acquaint the local populace with Mandelli’s life as a tea planter and naturalist, which I did through a visual presentation. I also played them an audio-visual message from Jason Mendelli.

The next day, we drove to Darjeeling and paid our respects at Louis Mandelli’s grave at the Catholic Singtom Cemetery.

Louis Mandelli’s grave at the Catholic Singtom Cemetery

It is true that one can never foresee the consequences of one’s actions. I can only be glad that my ‘action’ of writing Louis Mandelli’s story led to my acquaintance with Jason Mandelli and Dr Rubagotti, and to a renewed interest in, and recognition of, Louis Mandelli’s contribution to the tea industry and the natural history of the region in which he chose to spend his life.

Meet the writer: Sarita Dasgupta

Sarita enjoying a warm cup of Kawakawa tea in New Zealand.  

Read about it here

"As a ‘chai ka baby’ (and grandbaby!) and then a ‘chai ka memsahab’, I sometimes wonder if I have tea running through my veins! 

I have been writing for as long as can remember – not only my reminiscences about life in ‘tea’ but also skits, plays, and short stories. My plays and musicals have been performed by school children in Guwahati, Kolkata and Pune, and my first collection of short stories for children, called Feathered Friends, was published by Amazing Reads (India Book Distributors) in 2016. My Rainbow Reader series of English text books and work books have been selected as the prescribed text for Classes I to IV by the Meghalaya Board of School Education for the 2018-2019 academic session, and I have now started writing another series for the same publisher.

More stories by Sarita here : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/Sarita%20Dasgupta

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 in 2018 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! 

This is the link to all the stories on this blog: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/ 
Be sure to add it to your list of favourites! Happy reading!! Cheers to the spirit of Indian tea!

Jolly Jalopy

 Thank you, Nandita, for chronicling Rita’s reminiscences for all of us. Thanks to Rita for sharing this story…it will surely put a smile on your face, dear reader! - Gowri

by Nandita Tiwari

She was rudely awakened by the loud sound of what seemed to be a damaged silencer pipe of a vehicle. It was way past midnight and she could sense the vehicle going at top speed around their bungalow. She covered her ears and looked at her husband Kuldip, only to find him rejoicing gleefully. He exclaimed, “They have arrived! Come meet my buddies from Rydak – across the river.”

“Who? At this unearthly hour?”

“Nothing unusual about it, they always enter through the botol khana,” stated Kuldip.

It had been a little over a week when on a freezing night in the first week of February 1975, Rita, the new bride, had alighted at the Alipurduar platform. The two-hour long, dusty and bumpy drive to the No. 16 bungalow was soon tucked away in the folds of her memory and she began settling down to the “candle-lit” lifestyle, as the chhotta bungalows would get electricity only when the factory was running; a far contrast from the bright and vibrant Delhi life that she was accustomed to.

No. 16 bungalow - Sankos Tea Estate

That particular night, she awoke to the whirr of the engine. Rita heard a voice blasting in with a thunderous “Koi hai?”

She now stood in the gol kamra with a warm smile while her husband introduced the bachelors as his friends – Prem Singh and Rustomfram.

“Oh yes, haven’t we met at the Jainti Sankos club?” she asked.

“Of course Rita,” said Prem in his deep drawl, “and now you will see us more often.”

“That’s great,” replied Rita asking if they would like to have something. “A cup of tea perhaps?”

“Oh! We have already done justice to a brimful dekchi of milk from your fridge today,” they replied as laughter echoed in the drawing room of the Sankos bungalow.

“There’s plenty more to have,” said Rita mentally rummaging through the contents of the Electrolux kerosene fridge. “We’re good to go,” the friends replied and made themselves comfortable on the sofa. Rita’s eyes met two shy but well-behaved youngsters dressed in shorts and hunter boots. They stood up to greet her and Rustomfram introduced them as new recruits who had just been inducted at Rydak Tea Estate.

The jokes, banter and the inane but hilarious repartee carried on into the night. Then, as abruptly as they had arrived, Prem clapped his hands and said, “Okay boys, time to go.” Obediently, they stood up and made their way out. Prem and Rustomfram said their back-slapping goodbyes as the couple stood in the verandah to see them off.

Rita and Bawa Kuldip Singh

In front of the bungalow, an old retired Army jeep, which had not seen a coat of paint for decades, was parked. The jeep had no hood and only two seats in the front. So starry nights, torrential rains and winter chills had equal charm. Prem beckoned the chowkidaar and it seemed that it was another familiar drill as the chowkidaar came with the jerry cans. Using a half-broken bottle as a funnel, the jeep was made to drink up half a can of petrol.

Rita was bewildered as a ludicrous scene unfolded before her eyes. The boys stood behind the jeep jogging on the spot. Prem started the ignition as Rustomfram sat next to him. “Prem’s khatara has its own rules for starting up,” said Rustomfram in friendly banter.

On Prem’s cue, the new recruits began shuffling and pushing the jeep forward. Soon, it coughed and gurgled and with a jerk, it came to life. As it inched forward, the two new boys ran and jumped in the back, into the comfort of cotton quilts.

Rita looked at her husband, feeling somewhat sorry at the silent discomfort of the boys. But Kuldip stated as a matter-of-fact, “Inki training ho rahi hai.” (They are being trained.)

Soon, into the darkness, they sped away on the narrow desolate roads. The only sound that pierced the silence of the estates was that of the jalopy. They felt the cool breeze on their faces as well as the warmth of the spirits radiating from within them.

The jeep made its way on the dry shore amongst the boulders and crossed the fair-weather bamboo bridge spanning across the larger stream of Rydak river. They had barely covered a mile when the engine began to sputter and gradually died. It seemed that the landscape had acquired a hyper-realism lit by the moon and the twinkling stars. The fields stretched endlessly, broader and flatter than during the daylight hours. The sky looked inkier and the river glassier. The night was edging towards dawn, though still devoid of birdsongs. They heard a growl.

“The leopards are on the prowl,” warned the seniors.

The boys looked at each other, taking a moment to soak in the vastness of their surroundings a wee bit nervous and then repeated the routine of push, shove and jump as they drove on. Prem proudly beamed and stated, “in spite of many odds, this Jalopy has a ‘carry-home-instinct’ and we have lived many adventures, always managing to find our way back home.”

L - R - Bawa Kuldip Singh, Sarosh Rustomfram,| Prem Singh, Vijay Singh Mann, Bawa Kuldip Singh, B Narayan 

Glossary:

Botol khana: Pantry

Chhotta bungalow: Assistant manager's bungalow 

Gol kamra: Drawing room

Dekchi: Metal pot used for heating

Chowkidaar: Night sentinel

Khatara: Jalopy (an old car in a dilapidated condition)

Meet the writer: Nandita Tiwari

Nandita joined the tea fraternity in 1991 when she arrived in Danguajhar in the Dooars. She and her husband Akhil were in various gardens in the Dooars for over 30 years, and also in Amgoorie (Assam) for a brief period of time. They are now settled in Siliguri.

In 2019, Nandita decided to start penning down some of the unique experiences that came her way.

 You can read her stories on her own blog, here: https://nanditat6.wixsite.com/rosee-t

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, maybe long, short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull. You will find yourself transported to another world! 

This is the link to all the stories on this blog: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/ 
Be sure to add it to your list of favourites! Happy reading!! Cheers to the spirit of Indian tea!