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Memories of my Tea life
~ Sanjeeb Deka, Guwahati
I
n 1977, i joined McLeod Russell as a young chap, full
of enthusiasm and energy, to begin a new life. Never did
i imagine that this life would leave us with so many
memories hard to forget. i was kind of job hunting, when
my brother asked me if i was interested in joining Tea. My
passion and interests were very different at the time and my
main focus was only on cricket. i had represented Assam
in the Ranji Trophy tournament at a very early age – when
i was just seventeen. i played with quite a few test players
while representing the state cricket team. However, i soon
realized that cricket would only be short-lived and i had to
find a proper job. i applied for a position in Tea and to my
surprise i was called for an interview in Kolkata. My
interview lasted for only ten odd minutes and the main
questions asked were about cricket. Soon after, i was offered
the job in Tea.
i joined at Monabarie T.E. under Mr R.A. Eastment and
shared my bungalow with two other young chaps; however
they were a few years senior. They were none other than
Mr Partha Dowerah and Mr Nandu Ganguli. Being fresh
off the boat, they decided to tell me ‘haunted’ stories about
the bungalow and Tea in general.The same night i heard a
knock on my door; i ran for my life and went straight to
one of their rooms. i lived in fear for a couple of days, only
realizing later that the ghosts were none other than my
house mates themselves!
Life went on and most of my time, other than in
the factory and the garden, was well spent at the
club bar and playing games representing various
Tea clubs. i played in the Company’s John Morice
cricket match during my entire career in Tea,
representing both South Bank and North Bank,
depending on my posting, and happened to be the
batsman who scored the first century in this
tournament. i still remember doing all my ‘kamjari’
on my cycle; it was my favorite mode of transport
and i was known as ‘Cycle Deka’.
Manju joined me a few years later, in 1981, and we
were blessed with two beautiful children thereafter.
Dora was born in 1982 and Diego in 1986. Both
my children were coincidently born in my first
garden, Monabarie. Both Dora and Diego are currently in
Melbourne, Australia.
Manju became actively involved in flower shows and
catering for Club Meets. we were both avid travellers and
often made impromptu decisions to travel to different parts
of the state with our friends and colleagues. Picnics and
expeditions were always on our cards.
i got my billet at Tezpore & Gogra T.E. after working for
14 years as an Assistant Manager. it was a fantastic posting
as both our children went to the Assam Valley School
which was very close to us. we were there for 4 years after
which i was transferred to Mijicajan T.E. After 5 years at
Mijicajan, followed by another 6 years at Koomsong T.E.,
i finally completed my Tea journey at Samdang T.E.
37 years in Tea have flown by so quickly. it’s hard for me to
comprehend where these years have disappeared.
“Sahab chai laga diya”, is a distant memory. Now i am the
Jharuwala-cum-Bearer and Manju, the Bawarchi –
although she is slacking a bit with the cooking!! My
children miss the ‘nimbu pani’ prepared by the Tea bearers.
Guwahati has taught us the reality of life in the past few
months. it is a busy life and a crazy world, nowhere near
the luxury of life in Tea, but Life goes on and we were
fortunate to experience the two sides of the world. i am
now looking forward to playing my next innings.
JULY 2015 49