The story behind the cup of Tea
DIGANTA DAS
Head-Finance I Handle Corporate conflicts I Monitor Governance I Risk Assessment I Handle Regulatory matters I Cross Border transactions I Experience working with foreign companies I M IOD ICertified Independent Director
The Tea industry in Assam has completed 200 years since it was first discovered by Scotsman Robert Bruce, in 1823. Well known for its golden colour and strong body, Assam Tea has a rich malty character. As strong as its tea, the Gardens of Assam also have a very rich legacy left behind by the British. The tea gardens in this far Eastern State of India, known as Bagans, are still run on Human Intelligence; Artificial Intelligence will never be able to operate in any of the gardens, all of which, live in a completely different time zone called the 'Bagan time', about and hour ahead of the Indian Standard Time. This was done to utilise the available daylight properly from sunrise to sunset. Noted award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Baruah is also strongly advocating this separate time zone for the Northeastern part of India.
Sprawled across anywhere between 100 to 1100 hectares, these tea gardens are divided into sections. The meticulously planned daily operations of plucking & pruning etc. of these sections, have to be conveyed to the workers residing in colonies called 'labour lines', not via email or a WhatsApp text, but by a human titled the 'Line Chowkidar', who announces the allocation of work by going around the labour lines and shouting at the top of his voice.
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