45. Freezing Fridays in January
Greetings to all you lovely people at CFC/FOM! Foggy mornings and freezing nights in Delhi leave me longing for the warmth and colour of the Dooars (North Bengal). The Dooars, that beautiful green haven which…
Indian Chai Stories
What started off as an exciting new collaboration with Indian Chai Stories as part of the Chai for Cancer Season 8 Campaign, has only grown from strength to strength.
Indian Chai Stories is a blog by Gowri Mohanakrishnan with almost 200 original stories from 58 contributors from the tea gardens of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka!
Season 8 Campaign tagline was “Ek Chai Zindagi ke Naam”, and it was felt that there was no better way to take the campaign forward than to showcase the real life stories of tea planters. As Gowri herself puts it, “Back in the tea gardens, our motto has always been “Ek Zindagi Chai ke Naam”.
So, while our tagline changes Season wise, the sentiment remains the same!
When Gowri got married to a tea planter in 1986, she had to leave her city life behind and experience first hand life in the “Dooars”. Amazed by the incredible stories people shared at the tea garden clubs, she decided to start a blog and share their stories with the world! “Life here is a celebration of the human spirit. Indian Chai Stories is all about the people who live here!”
Tune in to Chai for Cancer every Friday for stories of elephants and leopards, of people and of ghosts; some stories so vivid and amazing, they beggar belief!
44. Indian Chai Stories: The First Friday of 2024
A very Happy New Year to all the lovely folks at CFC/FOM! The New Year is a time for friends old and new. More old than new today, as ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot, and…
42 & 43. Friday’s here, and Christmas too!
It’s that time of year, and I would like our dear readers to get a taste of a real tea garden Christmas. Santa was in my dreams last night, and I woke up thinking of…
41. Bungalows that became homes
Hello again, friends! It’s so joyful to go through the Indian Chai Stories blog in search of the story that I plan to share on the coming Friday. We’ve read two very different accounts of…
40. Caught in a Shootout
Hello, friends! It’s Friday, and I’m so happy to be back with another story from the tea gardens for all of you lovely people at FOM/Chai For Cancer. There’s a song that comes to mind…
39. My World in a Teacup
Hello to all the dear good people at FOM/Chai for Cancer. December begins, and suddenly everyone is longing to drink lots of tea! What is your favourite style? I like mine very fresh; brewed for…
38. Mangra Oraon – A Man of Many Parts
Aloke Mookerjee’s engrossing story will transport you to the Dooars and to another era. And you will enjoy meeting Mangra: ‘In the driver’s cabin, Mangra would regale me with stories of his love life and…
37. Friends Forever
I’ve always loved sharing stories by the ‘chai ka baba and baby log’. The children who grow up in tea bungalows have a wonderful childhood, and they have the most lovely stories to tell. Dip…
36. Lychee Tale from Cha Bagaan
The story I have for you is from a visitor to the tea gardens. Now there is something about the tea gardens that draws visitors in and makes them a part of ‘tea life’ as…