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And from there I was put in touch with Sarita Dasgupta who lives on the
Bordubi Estate and she has told me all about Bordubi and sent me photos
of the people who actually made the Tea Chest and it’s all very interesting
and exciting. It’s a world I knew very little about. I love tea and drink a
lot of it, and it seems there could be Bordubi tea in any number of the
teas that I drink!
I would love to find out how the Tea Chest came to be in Tasmania, and
something of its journey from the Bordubi Estate to my house in Cimitiere
Street in Launceston,Tasmania. It sits in pride of place and every now and
then I turn it around so I can read the lettering on each side.
Bordubi C06047B George Williamson (Assam) Ltd, Mahatma Gandhi Road,
Guwahati 781001.
It Pays To Buy Good Tea
Indian Tea 4-1991
Bordubi C06047B (with MM stamped above)
And details of the shipment on the bottom -
Gross weight 45.6kg Nett
weight 41.0kg
I understand that Tea Chests aren’t used any more and the tea is shipped
in vacuum packed bags nowadays. Very sensible I’m sure. But I’m thrilled
to think that I have a piece of Indian history sitting in my living room
proudly displaying my Peace Lily.
The sequel…
17 April 2016:
Hello Sarita - Bordubi arrives! I came home last week to find
a notice in my letter box - a parcel awaits at the Post Office! With great
excitement I collected the package and brought it home. But I had to wait till
the weekend to open it, when two of my kids - Anna and James - would be
visiting. My other daughter Emma bought me a tea set as a belated birthday
present. She knew all about the Chest and she told me a few weeks ago she had
found 'the perfect present' I had promised them a Tea Party.
And Tea Party it was!
I opened the well-sealed bag of tea with an enormous kitchen knife! Then, the
Bordubi Tea was placed in the Bordubi Tea Chest for the first time since 1991…
a homecoming. While I fully intend drinking all the tea, I have left a spoonful
in the bag in the chest, so the Tea Chest will once again fulfil its destiny and its
role in life – holding Bordubi tea.
So there you have it. Bordubi Tea and the Tea Chest are reunited, and I am
really enjoying the flavour of the tea. It is very strong, which is how I like it,
I'll experiment over the next few days to get the amounts just right.
So thank you so much! And please thank Ramanuj.
Time for a cuppa!
Regards,
Nick
Epilogue
7 May 2016:
Hello Sarita - excuse the intrusion, and I hope you don't mind,
but I've planted a Lavender plant in my garden in honour and memory of
Ramanuj. It is in a huge urn right outside my kitchen window. I put a teaspoon
of Bordubi tea in the soil, so the plant is sitting on the leaves Ramanuj sent me
so recently. My little garden does not get much direct sunlight, but the urn is in
the best spot where the Lavender plant should thrive.
Sincerely,
Nick
July 2016 19
TREE ROOF
˜
Nick Flittner
I can’t possibly reach the top
where denuded fingers
tickle the sky
and branches light of leaves
hold out and wave.
My eyes grin
through wind-whipped tears
and I feel rooted
to earth
to the earth,
beneath the boughs
beneath the sky,
beneath the time-full
ages of trees.
The ‘Mistris’
The Lavender Plant - A Living Memorial to Ramanuj
A Spoonful of Bordubi Tea