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W
e are midway through another
Season and we wish the Planter
success in all his endeavours.
In this issue we acquaint you with the
Company’s latest acquisition – Pfunda Tea
Estate in Rwanda, Africa. We also keep you
updated on the Company’s efforts in
furthering the cause of education in its
Ugandan estates and their surrounding areas.
An account of the Vietnamese delegation’s
visit to India and to the Company’s estates
in Assam is presented in Phu Ben
Communique.
In Outlook, we present the avant-garde
project undertaken at Attareekhat T.E. – the
Solar Power Plant – an initiative towards
developing a source of environment-friendly
and sustainable energy.
In the last issue, we had featured the
Bamboo Bari at Koomsong T.E. – a natural
ecosystem that harbours birds, insects and
medicinal plants. In this issue, two
Evolutionary Biologists from the National
Centre for Biological Studies, Bengaluru,
tell us about the species of butterflies that
find sanctuary there.
We have many talented executives who, in
the midst of their busy schedules, find the
time to pursue their hobbies and interests.
In Cameo this time, we get you better
acquainted with one of the executives from
our Guwahati office.
The Williamson Magor Education Trust, set
up by the Company to encourage education
and the literary culture of Assam, had
initiated the Assam Valley Literary Award in
1990 to acknowledge the contribution of
writers and poets to the literary heritage of the
state. In its Silver Jubilee year, we bring you
messages from some of the recipients of this
prestigious Award.
We have anecdotes from a young planter in
Kamjari and from recently retired planters
in Reminiscence, while in Planter’s Punch
we bring you stories from the 1950s.
The three gourmet recipes featured in The
Memsahab’s Guide to Gracious Living will
surely be welcome additions to many an
upcountry lady’s repertoire.
In addition to our other regular features we
bring you a couple of new ones. Living as we
do ‘cheek by jowl’ with Nature, so to speak,
many of us have had very close encounters
with creatures of the wild. We have nurtured
them till they were old enough to be set free
to fend for themselves in their natural habitat,
or looked after them for the rest of their
natural lives. In our new feature, It’s a Wild
World, a planter recounts his experiences with
his pet flying squirrel.
“As Man draws nearer to the stars, why
should he not also draw nearer to his
neighbours?” asked former US President,
Lyndon B. Johnson. Why not indeed! Our
other new feature, The World Around Us,
focuses on the Singphos who live in close
proximity to our estates in Margherita
circle. It is interesting to note that they were
growing, processing, brewing and drinking
tea much before the first estate was
established in Assam.
“Death is inevitable.When a man has done
his duty, he can rest in peace and sleep for
all eternity,” said Nelson Mandela. We pay
our respects to the late Vice Chairman of
the Williamson Magor Group,Mr Deepak
Khaitan – a visionary and dynamic leader –
who left us all bereft in March this year –
and also to Mr John Trinick who had been
closely associated with the Company for
half a century. We pray that they may rest
in everlasting peace.
01
Cover: Pfunda Tea Factory
Photograph: Mr Robin Mark D’Rozario
02
Editorial / Features
03
In Memorium
08
Treasury
Bargang T.E. ˜ Sarita Dasgupta
13
Laurels
14
Phu Ben Communique
A Visit to India ˜ Sakina Hussain
17
Beneficence
Assam Valley Literary Award ˜ Silver Jubilee
19
Narration
Pfunda Tea Company Ltd ˜ Amar Pal Singh Shaw
22
It’s a Wild World
Chickchick ˜ Amlan Jyoti Chakravarti
24
Melange
32
Honours
35
Treasury
Attabarrie T.E. ˜ Rupa Saikia
40
The Memsahab’s Guide to
Gracious Living
Bon Appetit! ˜ Sukanto Ghosh
42
Outlook
Solar Power Plant ˜ Ranjeev Dutta
45
The
Gem Collection
The Historical Tank at Rajmai T.E.
˜ Diganta Rajkhowa
46
African Beat – Uganda
Supporting Primary Education at MRUL
~ Richard Bangirana
48
Reminiscence
How I joined Tea ~ Jayanta Jash
Memories of my Tea Life ~ Sanjeeb Deka
50
Visitors’ Vignettes
Habitat Islands in the Midst of Tea ˜ Dr Deepa
Agashe &Dr Krushnamegh Kunte
52
Kamjari
Back ‘Seat’ Riding & A Bottle of Whisky
˜ Junior Dagar
54
The World Around Us
The Singphos ˜ Inderjit Dutta
56
Cameo
Sanjay Narayan Chowdhury – a profile
~ Shibani Hazarika
58
planters@play
Tingri Club ˜ Neeru Shekhawat
60
Shabaash
61
Planter’s Punch
Mijicajan in the Fifties ˜ David Air
62
Requiem
63
Postscript
˜ Rupa Saikia
64
Back Cover: Tawny Rajah
Photograph: Dr Krushnamegh Kunte
Features
Issue – 16
July 2015