Estate secrets

It is now over two months since I spent a long weekend amidst the tea gardens of North Bengal. The memory of that hectic trip still lingers, like the mellow aftertaste of a cup of well-brewed Darjeeling, but the news in general from the tea industry is far from happy. Hardly a day passes without news reports on closing tea gardens, out-of-work labourers and, in some cases, starvation deaths. With a few notable exceptions, the tea industry in North Bengal is in a crisis which shows no sign of being resolved. I was in North Bengal to report on 'tea tourism', a relatively recent initiative on the part of several garden owners. Most tea gardens in the region own heritage properties in the form of managers' bungalows and these are increasingly being converted into tourist accommodation. Typically these bungalows do not have more than three to four double bedrooms, so we are looking at a fairly low-key business model, targeted towards a niche clientele. None of the tea gardens we visited were widely advertised and, as a result, weren't bursting at the seams with visitors.

Our first stop was the Tata Tea-owned Damdim Tea Estate, which is located about 45km from Siliguri. Located in the Chel range of Jalpaiguri district, the estate was originally known as Barrons Tea Estate in the 1920s and is spread over nearly 1,400 hectares. We drove into the plantation in the middle of the afternoon, with the weak winter sunlight turning from golden to grey. The cream-and-white bungalow nestled in the heart of the plantation, all gleaming and newly painted. We were obviously among the first visitors to be staying at the spruced up bungalow.

Tea tourism is generally a daytime activity, so I spent the rest of the daylight hours sitting atop one of the miniature machans in the bungalow garden and reading a book. The landscape all round is not wildly exciting, with gently undulating tea bushes as far as the eye can see. But not far from the bungalow is the Gorumara forest reserve, famous for its elephants and separated from the tea estate only by the watery ribbon of the Chel river.

From the time we arrived in Damdim, everyone we met spoke excitedly about the herd of elephants which had been drummed up for the benefit of a BBC team the previous month. Elephants are somewhat awkward neighbours to live with &mdash they are good for tourism but they also do occasionally take it in their heads to picnic in the plantation for days on end, eating up various kinds of crop and damaging the fragile tea bushes. When we drove to the riverside the following morning, we immediately saw tell-tale signs of pachyderm presence by a solitary tree &mdash dung and hair.

The riverside is pretty featureless but there is a pucca watchtower from which it is possible to keep an eye out for the approach of wild elephants. However, we were told that it was possible to smell a herd of elephants even before you could see them. I looked across the river at the dim outlines of the forest reserve and sniffed the air in vain &mdash the elephants of Gorumara were not about to oblige us with a photo-op.

Back at the bungalow, we lived the good life, billeted in two of the three newly refurbished suites. The meals were sumptuous, and cooked to a turn with the vegetables and spices freshly picked from the kitchen garden. After sundown, we were also treated to a small divertissement of song and dance by the young people living in the gardens. What seemed to be a simple routine of drumbeats and a conga line became immensely complex as soon as we joined the dance, with our inept footwork providing some comic relief.

The next day we were back on the road, retracing our path all the way back to Siliguri, then winding our way up to Makaibari on the Kurseong road, with the musical grumbling of the Teesta in our ears. Makaibari is of course the most famous tea garden in the world, and the world record holder of the highest price ever fetched at any tea auction, a small matter of Rs 18,000 paid for a kilogramme in 2003. It is spread over nearly 1,700 acres, but only a third of it is under tea cultivation, with the remaining two-thirds under lush forest cover. It has been doing business from 1859, and has stayed with the same family. Currently, it is owned by the charismatic Rajah Banerjee, a tireless raconteur who will tell you everything about Makaibari that you ever wanted to know.

Makaibari is also a recent entrant into tea tourism but as in most things has put its own distinctive stamp on it. It has encouraged its workers to offer home-stays in their own homes, and at extremely affordable rates. Two of the rangers at Makaibari &mdash Robin Khawas and Suresh Rai &mdash are the driving forces behind this initiative, known as 'Hum Terah' after the 13 families who were first part of it. Currently, there are 15 such homestays on offer, spread over seven villages. We first visit Railapani village, perched on a wind-swept spur of the mountain from which one can look up at mountains at all sides and the limitless firmament of the Himalayan sky. We spend a delightful hour at the house of Ruplal Rai, where we are treated to an impromptu violin recital by his son Subu, who has also recently cut his first album, and a convivial glass of Ruplal's home-brewed.

We did not stay at one of the village homes this time around, but in one of Makaibari's two visitors' quarters. There are no-frills but comfortable rooms, and a dining area from which one can look upon the whole valley. The place hums with the comings and goings of visitors &mdash the Makaibari estate is no stranger to tourists. Nature and tea enthusiasts come from all over the world to study this unique tea garden which practises organic farming with a rare passion, following the biodynamic principles of Rudolph Steiner. On one side of the main road, a signboard commemorates the planting of a sapling by Masanobu Fukuoka, the legendary pioneer of no-till farming. As usual, Banerjee has an interesting anecdote about Fukuoka which he tells with gusto in his curio-crammed office at the Makaibari tea factory.

It is difficult to tear oneself away from Makaibari but we are on our way to the plains to the Nuxalbari estate, located not far from Siliguri town. This is the most low-key of all bungalows we have been to, with just two double rooms but with lots of space and air and light. The teakwood bungalow was built over a century ago by the original British owners of the plantation. The 1,200-acre estate was later acquired by Nawab Musharraf Hussain of Jalpaiguri and has stayed with the family ever since.

We were hosted by journalist and activist Sonia Jabbar, whose perspective of the tea business gave us some understanding of how corporate greed and short-sightedness had stymied the industry after a boom period in the 1980s. She spoke about the intensely personal bond the family had developed with the garden, which extended to the preservation of the century-old 'mother' Chinese bushes in a nursery so that the old variety continues to propagate.

Another striking feature are the large number of trees that continue to be planted in the garden &mdash we encountered some sal trees which are over a hundred years old, with pride of place taken by one particular old-timer which measures 18 feet in circumference. I managed to clamber my way to one of its lower branches before my nerve gave out.

The best way to see the estate is by bicycle and this we did early the next morning, setting off on three sturdy mountain bikes. The Nuxalbari Tea Estate is bounded by two rivulets on the east and west, and in between lies a lush estate where human beings share space with countless birds, and the occasional leopard or herd of elephants.

The 15km ride made us feel quite legless but there was a picnic breakfast brought up for us by the estate jeep and we felt like characters out of Enid Blyton, lying on the edge of a hill and looking out at the whole estate bathed in pale early morning light. By the time we got back to the bungalow, we had worked up a fearsome appetite and made short work of the huge breakfast.

The hectic activity continued in the evening too, when the combined might of Outlook Traveller took on the tea estate in a series of badminton games.

Needless to say, we were roundly thrashed. For those of a less sporting disposition, the gardens adjacent to the tea bungalow are full of surprises and delights, and one can while away an entire day by simply making the acquaintance of all its plants.

We left the hills with regret, and soon the horrors were upon us, with our flight not being able to leave due to fog, and the consequent nightmarish road trip back to Kolkata. If there is a highway worse than NH34, the world is yet to learn of it. As I endured the endless bumps and craters and midnight traffic jams, I dreamt fitfully of green fields and a cup of gold.

The information

Getting there

North Bengal is well-connected by rail, air and road, but the state of NH34 at the time of writing is nightmarish. This is a journey that should be avoided at all costs. Most trains leave from Sealdah in Kolkata, with the Darjeeling Mail leaving conveniently at 10.05pm and reaching New Jalpaiguri in time for breakfast at 8am. The Kanchankanya leaves Sealdah four times a week at 7.35pm and reaches NJP at 7 in the morning. Also recommended is the Kanchanjangha Express (dep. 6.45pm, arr. 6.20am). Most airlines operate flights to Bagdogra airport but beware of visibility problems during winter &mdash flights have been known not to take off for days on end.

The Bungalows

> Nuxalbari Tea Estate Two double rooms are on offer. Tariff Rs 2,500 per person per night (all meals). Contact 0353-488627/8, www.nuxalteaindia.com

> To visit the Damdim and Makaibari estates, get in touch with Help Tourism (033-24550917, 24854584, www.helptourism.com). Damdim Tea Estate Rs 5,000 per couple per night (including all meals). Makaibari Tea Estate Homestay Rs 1,000 per couple per night (including all meals). Cochrane House Rs 2,000 per couple per night for double-bedded standard room, without meals.

> Help Tourism also offers stays at Glenburn Tea Estate The 1,600-acre Glenburn tea estate stretches from 3,700 feet to the banks of the rivers Rungeet and Rung Dung and commands a spectacular view of the Kanchendzonga range. Rs 7,000 per couple per night (all meals).

Phaskowa Tea Estate Set up by the Duncan brothers in 1897, the 650-acre Phaskowa Tea Estate stretches from the Buxa Tiger Reserve to river Rydak. Rs 5,999 per couple per night (all meals)