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E
legant, warm and soft-spoken,
Vidya is the quintessential
Burra Memsa’ab who needs no
introduction after a long innings of
thirty-six years in Tea. She has also
been the Editor of The WM Times
for seven long years since its inception
and together with Sarita Dasgupta
and Sakina Hussain, has turned a
fledgling magazine into a classy one.
Vidya was born in Delhi and went to school for five years at Brussels,
Belgium, after which she completed her final years of education from La
Martiniere and Loreto College, Kolkata. She worked as a trainee at Hotel
Hindustan International, Kolkata, for two years and while on the verge of
taking up a job at the Taj Man Singh, New Delhi, she decided to get married
to Pavan whom she had known for some time and whose sister was her best
friend as well. Pavan was categorical that they would tie the knot only if she
was absolutely sure that she could spend her life in the tea gardens, as this
was the only profession he was interested in. And so Vidya stepped into Tea
life and fell in love with it. She chuckles when she reminisces that she
believed Pavan when he told her that the tea grew on the shade trees and
the bushes were ornamental! And she, who had never drunk tea before, and
had consumed her first cup with five teaspoons of sugar, was soon hooked
on to this brew.
A particular incident which has her in gales of laughter while recounting it,
is when she was welcomed as a new bride at Itakhooli, by the then
Superintendent, Late Chris Allen and Manager, Late Peter Swer. On
reaching their bungalow, Vidya was horrified to see that the main bedroom
had but a soaking wet mattress on the floor and a baby cot next to it with a
bleating goat!!! Needless to say, after an initial shocked reaction, she caught
on to the humour of the situation much to Pavan’s relief, I suppose, who
wouldn’t have wanted a runaway bride on his hands!
Over the years, they have moved to various
gardens in Assam, with a stint at Chuapara
in the Dooars. As she says, the best way to be
happy in Tea is to immerse oneself in various
activities. Being a voracious reader, she would
devour seven books a week from the club
libraries. Also, a self-taught guitar player,
there would be a lot of impromptu sing-song
sessions in their bungalow and stage shows
at the clubs. Vidya mischievously adds that Pavan would join in only after
drinking about half a bottle of liquor! Later when their two lovely daughters,
Pavani and Rohini, were born, they too would join their parents and sing
lilting melodies from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. Vidya loves dancing
too and has learnt Ballet, Bharat Natyam and Kathak dance styles. Her
father having taught her various styles of Western dancing, one would see
this graceful couple hit the floor in style with
some lively tango, foxtrot or ballroom dancing
during social gatherings at the clubs. Knitting is
another hobby she is fond of and she loves doing
up her bungalow compounds as well. However,
she has never been competitive, preferring to
showcase just a few exhibits, though she enjoys
the flower shows thoroughly. For her it has
always been a case of ‘Jo hai so hai’.
Vidya’s love for Tea life is evident when she
says that there’s a rhythm to life here. There’s a time for everything –
from wearing one’s silk and woollen garments in winter, to the chiffons
and cottons in summer, from making the seasonal preserves to planning
and planting out the ‘malibari’ and the flowers. That apart, she has
enjoyed doing welfare work and has gone regularly to the Lines at
Majulighur T.E. to promote cleanliness among the workers. At Romai
T.E., the workers’ children were found to have an inherent eye problem,
so children under five years of age were administered special eyedrops
to ensure they had better eyesight as they matured. She has taught
embroidery and knitting to the female workers on plantations and
planted fruit trees for their benefit. Both Pavan and Vidya have always
been extremely compassionate towards the workers.
Life has come full circle with the marriage of Pavani to Wendell in 2009
followed by the birth of their adorable
daughters, Thea and Zoe, and that of
Rohini to Som in 2011. Both Pavan and
Vidya make doting grandparents and
their days are full with their family. And
as they look forward to a retired life,
Vidya is confident that they will adjust to
city life since life in Tea has already taught
her to make so many adjustments. We
wish them the very best as they move on
to ‘pastures new’.
Vidya Kaul – a profile
Vidya Kaul is one of Tea’s ideal Burra Memsahabs –admired, looked
up to, and an inspiration to our younger generation of Tea ladies.
– Rupa Saikia
July 2014 13
12 July 2014
L - R: Sakina Hussain, Vidya Kaul & Sarita Dasgupta
The Doting Grandmother