Tea point ...
While sipping a cup of tea in the morning, have you ever wondered how the tea you are enjoying is grown? How is it like working in a tea garden? How does it feel to exist in a tranquil environment far from the madding crowd? People who are working as tea estate managers say it is the life of a sahib (from the Raj days/a boss). You get to manage a whole lot of people; you are given a bungalow to live in with servants to take care of your needs. They say that the English culture/way of life is still prevalent in tea gardens of good companies and 
that is the reason why only students from public schools are preferred for the job or so till a few years ago.
Pranav Chatterjee joined a tea garden in 1983 and has since been living the good life. “As a manager you are the boss; and have to handle a number of responsibilities. You have to look after the tea processing units, the garden and around 1,000-2,000 labourers,” says Chatterjee, a senior planter in Darjeeling.
A tea estate manager has to control the tea gardens with the help of junior assistants and assistant managers, depending on the requirement of the garden. Their work involves supervision of all plantation work — from planting to plucking, processing to packing and transport of tea to auction houses.
There are other aspects also that a manager has to look into. “Tea gardens come under Plantation Labour Act and a manager’s job is to see that the welfare schemes for labourers are implemented in their true spirit. Along with the medical officer he has to see that medical facilities in the tea garden is in good shape. As you are based in the tea garden itself, you have to attend to anything that happens there,” says Chatterjee.
Most of the tea gardens are in a secluded place and for people who are not outdoor types it can be a problem. “One is mostly busy clubbing (most of the tea gardens have clubs), horse riding, trekking, etc. We always look for sports-oriented youngsters, people who are fond of sports. We do not need brilliant students but we need people who are good administrators and have a good personality,” he says.
He goes on to add that one faces a lot of challenges when working in a tea garden – equivalent to what a corporate executive might face in a in a company or a firm. Add to this the grand old customs – a leftover from the Raj days. “As many companies adhere to old traditions left behind by the British, you have to have good table manners, you must know how to speak impeccable English, you must know how to wear a tie and things like that. These things are part and parcel of a tea estate manager’s job,” says Chatterjee.
Author: Syed Amir Ali Hashmi
Date: 21st April, 2010
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