Back in the Day - Part XII

 by Shipra Castledine

Hello again, dear readers! I'm delighted to bring you the latest from Shipra Castledine: Part XII of 'Back in the Day', the engaging account of her childhood in the tea gardens. Thank you Shipra! - Gowri

The other day I was talking to a friend who is a keen Bridge player. For those who are not familiar with it, Bridge is a card game played with four players. There are two types of Bridge games, one is Contract and the other is Auction. In the tea plantations indoor card games became a part of tea life alongside Mahjong. It stands to reason that this happened as there were not many social distractions in tea life that a city might offer.

As a child growing up in the tea gardens a Bridge table became a familiar sight. I have talked about the club days we would have on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the nearest tea club, mainly the Western Dooars Club in my lifetime in tea. With many getting their outdoor sports of tennis and golf in, there were others who did not partake and card tables would be set up inside the club. Good numbers would make up the four needed for a Bridge table and a number of tables would be active. This was serious stuff. Often a married couple would be ‘partners’ for a Bridge table and believe you me a few games of Bridge and the journey home could almost result in a marriage break up, the conflict was so fierce about how a partner had played!! Not to mention that many trips to the generous bar fuelled one’s emotions!

 

All images sourced from the internet by the author

My parents used to play Bridge too but they hardly ever partnered each other at the same Bridge table. Very sensible! Not so with my to be in laws. They always partnered each other when they were available for a Bridge table together. Oh my!! I have witnessed the arguments that ensued after a session! One of them could be positively virulent accusing the other of ruining the opportunity to come out on top as it was a points game. Sometimes there would be competitions going on so the points mattered.

I know of married couples leaving a Bridge session separately and going home as the conflict heated up that much! And that’s not an easy thing to do as going home was often vast kilometres away 😆 Hence my relief that my parents were never Bridge partners. I learnt how to play Bridge from my father. He was a cool man and played an intelligent game. But he never got into Bridge to the point he was consumed with the moves of the game almost all the time like some others were. He and I would practice playing Bridge with each of us playing two ‘hands’ meaning playing the part of another player. And Dad would go over what I could have done better so I could sharpen up my game.

Right around tea, meaning whether the Dooars, Darjeeling or Terai which were most of the tea districts in North Bengal, Bridge competitions would be held between the various tea clubs. These created opportunities for tea planters and their families to meet others and grow the team community. And as always they were occasions for hospitality to shine, with healthy rivalry amongst tea families as to who was doing a good job 👏🏻 🥪🫔

As I mentioned earlier my childhood in tea was in tea estates that had Western Dooars Club as our district club. My parents Sudhin and Gouri Bose would take me every Wednesday and Saturday to the club. My mother was not into outdoor sports. Dad would go off for a round of golf followed by a game of tennis. Mum would join other ladies after seeing to the tea items she would have brought from our bungalow. The ladies would either sit around and chat or arrange a card table where they played either Rummy or Canasta. I will mention here that my trips to the club would have been before I went to boarding school at age four and a half or otherwise when I was home for a school holiday.

Dad, who was not much of a drinker would often join a bridge table after the very lavish tea set out on long tables in the club. The card tables had an area of their own in Western Dooars Club, giving the players some quiet. As I narrate these memories the images come clear in my mind. Children playing outside as well inside on the wooden floors that acted as indoor badminton courts when there were players. Little ones would go to sleep in the cloakrooms, their ayahs in attendance and forming their own little social circle.

Mahjong was very popular too but it was more the ladies who played Mahjong. I would be fascinated by the sets that many homes owned. Some of the Mahjong sets were made of ivory! My mother owned a set and I can still see it in my minds eye. I did learn how to play and I would watch over my Mum’s shoulder as she would sit at a table of 4 again and pass a very pleasant few hours usually in the morning with another 3 ladies in our bungalow. Delicious morning tea, called elevenses in our world, would be served by our bearers. Thinking about these images now makes me appreciate what a privileged life I lead in my childhood.

Individual families would regularly have friends over to set up Bridge tables. A Bridge morning amongst the ladies was popular but there were many evenings whiled away to late hours where very serious Bridge would be played. Drinks and dinner were very much a part of these social get togethers. Children would play separately, have their dinner separately much earlier than their parents and at their own children’s table. We would often go to sleep at the host’s bungalow and have to be carried by our parents when it was time to go home.

Tea plantation life evolved from the time tea planters first started that lifestyle and I would credit these indoor games along with the contests and competitions as an occupation that contributed to the sanity and mental health of the tea population.

 Meet the writer: 'My name is Shipra Castledine nee Shipra Bose (Bunty). My parents were Sudhin and Gouri Bose. I am a tea 'baba' of the 1950-s era. I spent a part of my life growing up in the Dooars and another large part of my life married to a tea planter's son the Late KK Roy son of PK and Geeta Roy of Rungamuttee TE in the Dooars. I continued to be in the tea industry for many years as KK was a tea broker till he passed away in 1998.' Shipra recounts her childhood in the Dooars and her school days in Darjeeling in a series called 'Back in the Day' of which Part VII went up in August. Read all Shipra's posts here: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/Shipra%20Castledine. 

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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!