Darjeeling Tea Revised II
In my earlier notes on Darjeeling Tea Revisited, I briefly mentioned the evolution of tea in the hill station of Darjeeling, which over a century ago was covered mostly by virgin forests and was home to only a few hundred inhabitants who we now claim to be the ‘ Gokas’.
The small town reestablished by a few British government officials grew rapidly, the surrounding natives rushed to take advantage of the blessings of life under the aegis of the Pax Britannica, and in a very short period the population increased to 20,000, and spread by leaps and bounds.
There was a common saying in Nepali at that time: “Chiya ko butta ma paisa fallcha”, which literally means that tea bushes give money. This proverb was widely used to attract immigrants from neighboring countries. The remarkable growth of the tea industry and the local population necessitated the need to connect the plains and the hills permanently.
Lieutenant Napier began laying the foundation for the Pankhabari road which is still in existence and widely used today. This road was later found to be too steep and too narrow for wheeled traffic, so a new cart road with an easy grade was started in 1861. The cart path connected with the great highway built through Bengal, with Calcutta as the epicenter of business.
During this time hospitals, schools and huge buildings for social gatherings were built in Darjeeling. In addition to tea, the British, who were now quite numerous, also began to venture into Cinchona, Rubber, Silk, and Timber. But among all, the greatest achievement was the thriving tea industry worth millions of pounds.
The first garden of commercial importance and notable size was that of Tukvar, started and planted by Captain Masson in 1856. Along with him, Mr. Smith also planted tea in the Kurseong subdivision. Many people acquired land and began to plant tea. In 1860 Mr David Willson completed the Happy Valley plantation which was then known as ‘Ulsing Kaman’ and nearby Dr Grant also planted Windsor Tea Estates. Mr. Martin established the Hopetown Tea Estate and the Capitan. Samler expanded the Allobarrie Tea Estate. Dr Brougham established Dhooteriah Tea Estates in 1859 and Mr Martin, Mr James White, Mr George Christison and a local resident Mr Bhagatbir Rai started the pioneering work of planting different tea estates in different areas or valleys of Darjeeling. .
As stated above, according to a rough census conducted in 1874, there were 113 tea gardens in Darjeeling planted on approximately 6,000 hectares producing 20,000 kilograms of tea per year. By 1905, the number of these small tea gardens was already 148 and they covered approximately 18,475 hectares. The production of these estates was then 58,50,311 kilograms, but in 1947 the number of tea estates producing tea commercially was 102 and they produced 14 million kilograms of tea per year.
The Gorkha community’s contribution to turning this English dream into a reality was overwhelming, but has been historically misrepresented by many. Many have also used ‘Coolie’ in direct reference to a ‘Gorkha’, in their lore books. Let’s visualize these gigantic tasks performed by simple humans with basic tools. Wasn’t it amazing? Brave!
At present we have 74 tea plantations covering 17,500 hectares of tea planted land, producing just over 8-9 million kilograms of Darjeeling tea. The reasons why Darjeeling tea is declining in number are several.
Firstly, the merger or merger of smaller plantations with larger ones has been very prominent.
Second, natural calamities (mudslides) swallow up large chunks of planting area from time to time. This is one of the biggest losses, as these areas cannot recover or reset. For example, in 1899, 1900 and 1968, monsoon rains hit Darjeeling hard and many areas suffered severe mudslides and loss of life.
Gardens with large planting areas such as Chaitapani, Poobong, Ringtong, Dabaipani (mineral springs), Downhill, Allobari, Passting, Okayti, Rohini, Pashok, Vah Tukar, etc. were enclosed. (After 1947) Later big Indian companies hardly realized the importance of this independent industry and thought it was uneconomic. Some of these farms no longer exist. Some of the few that have been revived are still struggling to break even. The small families that maintained the gardens promisingly could not sustain long-term investments such as nurseries, extension planting, and replanting programs.
The disintegration of the USSR has also had a great impact on the production of Darjeeling as the planters had to change their production and cultivation methods according to the needs of the new markets that were very demanding in terms of quality. The switch to organic farming practices has further pushed production down.
So why should we be surprised to learn that 40 million kilograms of tea are sold under the Darjeeling brand?
tea designer