TEA CULTURE
IN INDIA:
Long before
James Bond became young Indian’s hero, Brooke Bond was a more a familiar name
and had concurred India. Arthur Brooke chose the name because it was his 'bond'
to customers to provide a quality tea; hence he named it Brooke Bond. In 1903,
Brooke Bond launched Red Label in India.
This tea
drinking habit story was narrated by my grandfather-Bholanath Satpathy.
“After marketing the brand Brooke Bond tea in towns, the company
realized that the biggest market was in the villages of India. There was no
direct communication from towns. A couple of white men would come from the Tea
Company on horses back or bullock carts with milk, Brooke bond tea, sugar, few
glasses, a saucepan, spoons and a kerosene stove for demonstrators on how to
prepare tea. There was a live demonstration of tea making for the villagers and
children who flocked to watch this new magic potion and imported idea. People
were offered tea for free, no compulsions. Some took it others ran away telling
that –“they will make us Christian through this English drink.” The advantages
of drinking tea were also highlighted to the villagers, mostly to the women. (Till
1972 there was an English poster which mentioned the benefits of drinking tea
at Balasore Railway station. This is what it said. 1. Makes you feel fresh
2.You feel strength in you 3.Good to drink because it keeps you awake4.Use it
in place of water to prevent water borne diseases 5.It suppress your appetite
6.Increases your memory power.) I think the same benefits might have been told
to the people of Pandhda village during 1913, during those live
demonstrations.”
“It took
time to educate the villagers. They were convinced once they came to know that
the nearby villagers have started taking it along with ‘Mudhi’ (puffed rice) as
breakfast. Tea with ‘Mudhi’ became a common breakfast item during those days,
biscuits came much later. The company people gave free tea bags, milk powder
and sugar to the villagers and returned to make sure they have used it and
listen to their side of the story on ‘Brooke Bond’-parrot brand tea.”
My
grandfather narrated further after
another dose of dukta (tobacco leaf)“initially we tried to avoid but when we
watched others are taking it without any side effects but with some benefits,
we too started to drink it once in the morning and subsequently twice, that
became a habit. We fell in to the trap and got attracted to tea, like a moth to
a flame. If there was delay in taking tea we used to get headache. The tea and
the milk powder were given free to each family for three months then slowly
company people stopped coming. Brooke Bond became another name in the Indian
society. Some people even named their children as ‘Tia’. Subsequently the
culture changed the society, offering tea to the guests and relatives became a
status symbol and as a mode of entertaining the guests. Some house wives became
famous for making good tea. Usually tea was not offered to children. Few years
after Brooke bond came to Indian market another brand called Lipton was
available but it was not that popular.”
Remember the
tea which we take at present in shops and at home were not the original method
of making tea but it has gone through many modification and evolutions. Some
tea addicts think more milk, more sugar and more tea means a good tea: that’s
individual choice not the original idea.
My
grandfather is no more but his legacy of drinking tea and family bondage still
continues through Brooke Bond India in our family. I was fortunate to have
heard many stories from our Grand Father not only about tea but also about ghosts
and tiger.
Sanjoy
Satpathy
PS: This
article is dedicated in the name of my grandfather-Bholanath Satpathy. Remember
the tea which we take at present in shops and at home were not the tea which
was the original method but it has gone through many modification and
evolutions. Some tea addicts think more milk, more sugar and more tea means a
good tea: that’s individual choice not the original idea.
