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Adrian and Sadie pay tribute to their late father, Chris
Allen , who was a stalwart of this Company in his time.
– Sadie Lund & Adrian Allen
A Tribute to
Christopher Allen
O
ur father, Chris Allen, always said that the best years of his
life were spent in Assam as a Tea Planter. But as we all
know, ‘Tea Planter’ was more than just a career, it was an
exceptional way of life that embraced a plethora of customs and
traditions and brought together families from all over India, the
UK and even the occasional Europeans.
Chris joined Williamson Magor in 1950 and uniquely he spent
his whole career on the South Bank, firstly at Phillobari, then
Bordubi and finally over 20 years at Keyhung.
Under his auspices, Keyhung became a legendary garden in Tea
and he was renowned for keeping the thousands of acres of tea
spotless and would not stand for any weeds or cows within the
garden boundaries. To this end, much of his leisure time was spent
either exercising his dogs around the estate or taking his daily 6am
horse ride which was meticulously planned to incorporate a section
of the estate he may not be visiting for the remainder of that day.
He made it his mission to make Keyhung a yardstick for other tea
planters and indeed it was. His responsibility also encompassed
the welfare of the workers and he can be credited for building new
housing, developing the local school as well as the garden hospitals
– with Dirial ultimately boasting an operating theatre. He was
particularly keen to promote family planning amongst the tea
workers so that future generations of families could enjoy a better
standard of living.
Laipuli section of Keyhung always appeared to be particularly
special and we believe that was because most of the tea bushes
there had been grown from selected leaf cuttings – under his
watchful eye – first of all in the nursery and Kakajan area before
being replanted.
The pride in Keyhung extended to us, his children, and when we
returned home for our holidays, our suitcases had barely reached
our rooms when Dad would say,“Right… let’s go for a ‘howa kana’
in the jeep around the estate.” It goes without saying that Laipuli
was the first port of call. We also remember he loved taking us
around the factory to witness the various stages of the production
process – what a privilege, because due to the over cautious health
and safety measures adopted in the UK our children would never
be party to such an experience.
Chris Allen was also synonymous with the ‘Golden Tips’ strain of Keyhung
tea which he developed with his team. At the time, it achieved a record price
per pound in West Germany and it went on to excel throughout the world.
From Manager of Keyhung he progressed to Superintendent of Keyhung,
Dirial and Itakhooli and latterly General Manager of all the Macneil &Magor
gardens on the South Bank.
Chris was also passionate about tennis and was Chairman of the Upper Assam
Lawn Tennis
Association.He
firmly believed that one couldn’t commit to both
golf and tennis which did cause raised eyebrows in our household as our
mother, Barbara, enjoyed playing both!!! In addition to this he also held leading
positions on Scientific Tea Committees.
He also had his stint as Club Chairman of Tingri Club which included some
fabulous ‘meets’, parties, cinema evenings as well as plenty of sporting activities
– tennis of course, football, cricket and the like.
His talents also extended to the menagerie of working animals and pets he
kept, including a small herd of dairy cattle which were always in exceptional
condition, dogs, cats, countless chickens, the horses of course, as well as rabbits,
monkeys, a civet cat, a jackal cub, fish and even a deer.
Behind every successful man is always a good woman, and our mother, Barbara,
was certainly that. She helped him behind the scenes with many an activity –
being particularly devoted to the human side of the tea garden community –
schools, hospital and the wellbeing of the workers’ children.
Chris Allen was renowned as being a man of integrity, as well as being
respected and held in great affection by his employees, workers and friends –
his name and reputation have provided an inspiration to young planters who
have followed in his wake, long after he had left Tea. Deepak Rikhye, a former
young planter who received his initial training from Chris, attributes the Latin
phrase ‘e pluribus Unum’ or ‘out of many, one’, which just epitomises our
father perfectly.
The second McLeod Russel Tour Championship was
held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club from 26 to 29
December 2013.
The top 60 professional golfers who play the PGTI
participated, along with five special invitees who also
play on the Asian and European Tours, namely
Anirban Lahiri, Rahil Gangjee, Jyoti Randhawa, SSP
Chowrasia and Gaganjeet Bhullar.
This edition was won by Anirban Lahiri while home
favourite Rahil Gangjee finished second.
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22 July 2014
Chris & Barbara Allen
The Kiosks