19. Azaadi ka Din : An Independence Day Story
There’s a song that goes, ‘It Happens Only in India’ and it comes to my mind often, because there are some things that can happen only in a tea garden! Independence Day is special for…
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!
18. Becoming a Planter
Life isn’t all tea and cake, as any planter will tell you. The situations that ‘the boys’ face would make anyone long for boredom. ‘Assault’ ‘attack’ and ‘gherao’ aren’t just words in a tea garden….
17. Our Childhood Picnics
Story by Mandira Moitra Sarkar, where she takes us all to the river Bhareli to a picnic, here:Read the story
16. High Tea at Sunset
What is a life in a tea bungalow without teatime ? Where else would you be served the most princely teas on multi-layered trolleys with all the time in the world to work your way…
15. Ghenwa the Jewel: A Birpara Tale
The people who serve us in tea bungalows become family, but it takes time. Just as a bride or groom is inspected and ‘passed’ by prospective in-laws, a new memsaab has to pass a tough…
14. A Predator – Lost & Lovelorn
“..Sadly the mighty river swallowed up Oaklands. The stories that read like fiction but aren’t, make me feel like an ancient part of history”, writes Shalini Mehra. Her story ‘A Predator- Lost & Lovelorn’ illustrates…
13. A home beside two areca palms
This story is as heartwarming as a cup of chai on a rainy day! Joyshri Lobo writes about a feisty woman from the tea gardens of the Dooars – one of those who ‘sock life…
12. The Tale of a Wedding Less Ordinary
The planter and his family live in surroundings that are far from anybody’s idea of ‘normal’. But has anyone ever let that get in the way? Life goes on: children go to school, we have…
11. The Haunted Bungalow of Dumchipara
When we started sharing stories here, one of the first things I mentioned was ghosts! You’ve waited long enough: here it is, the ghost story I have heard many times from the writer, who happens…