English Class 10 - X CBSE Chapter 7 - Glimpses of India - Part 3 - Tea from Assam

PART III: GLIMPSES OF INDIA – Tea from Assam


Introduction

This is a very short description of Assam, a North-Eastern State of India. This state is famous for its tea plantations. In this extract Pranjol, a youngster from Assam is Rajvir‘s classmate at a school in Delhi. Pranjol‘s father is the manager of a tea-garden in Upper Assam and Pranjol has invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation.

Summary

In  'Tea from Assam' Arup Kumar Datta describes how popular tea has become as a beverage in the world. Over 80 crore cups of tea are drunk every day throughout the world. It shows the increasing popularity of tea. The lesson gives a graphic description of the sea of tea bushes stretching as far as eyes can go in Assam. The plucking of the newly sprouted leaves by groups of tea-pluckers with bamboo baskets on their backs are vividly described in the lesson.

Pranjol belonged to Assam. He was studying in a school in Delhi. Rajvir was his classmate. Pranjol's father was the manager of a tea-garden in Upper Assam. Pranjol invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation. Both of them travelled to Assam on a train. When the train stopped on the way at a station, a vendor called,  'chai-garam garam-chai'. They took tea and started sipping it. Rajvir told Pranjol that over eighty crore cups of tea are drunk every day throughout the world. Pranjol started reading his detective book again. But Rajvir looked out of the window of the moving train. There was beautiful scenery outside. Soon the soft green paddy fields were left behind and there were tea bushes everywhere.

Rajvir was fascinated by the magnificent view of tea gardens. There were shade trees also. He was very excited. Pranjol didn‘t share Rajvir‘s excitement because he had been born and brought up on a plantation. He told Rajvir that Assam has the largest concentration of tea plantation in the world. Rajvir said that no one really knows who discovered tea. He told Pranjol that there are many legends attached to tea, to the discovery of tea. According to one story, a Chinese emperor discovered tea by chance. He always boiled water before drinking it. One day a few leaves off the twigs burning under the pot fell into the water. As a result, the boiled water got a delicious flavour. It is said they were tea leaves. According to another Indian legend, Bodhidharma, an ancient Buddhist monk, felt sleep during meditations. So he cut off his eyelids. Ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids. The leaves of these plants when put in hot water and drunk banished sleep. Rajvir told Pranjol that tea was first drunk in China in 2700 B.C. Words like  chai and  ̳chini are Chinese.

Tea came to Europe in the sixteenth century. At first, it was used more as a medicine than as a beverage. Both Rajvir and Pranjol reached Mariani junction. Pranjol‘s parents received them on the platform they took them in a car to Dhekiabari, the tea estate managed by Pranjol‘s father. There were acres and acres of tea bushes. Women with bamboo baskets on their backs were plucking the new tea leaves; they had come there in the sprouting season. Rajvir said that this season lasts from May to July. The best tea is produced during this season. Pranjol‘s father told Rajvir that he knew many things about tea Plantations. Rajvir wanted to learn more about tea there.

Main Points of the Story

 Tea is really a very popular beverage in India.

 You can bear the vendor shouting ―chai-garam-garam chai at every railway station.

 More than eighty crores of cups of tea are drunk every day throughout the world.

 It was green, green everywhere and Rajvir had never seen so much greenery before.

 The landscape changed and tea bushes took the place of green paddy fields.

 A sea of tea-bushes stretched as far as the eyes could go.

 Assam has the largest concentration of plantations in the world.

 No one really knows who discovered tea. One Chinese legend says that a few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell into the boiling water.

 The leaves gave it a delicious flavour. They were tea leaves.

 Words like Thai‘ and thine are from the Chinese language.

 According to an Indian legend, an ancient Buddhist ascetic cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during meditation.

 Ten tea plants grew out of his eyelids.

 Rajvir saw acre upon acre of tea bushes and nearly all of them were neatly pruned to the same height.

 Groups of tea-pluckers with bamboo baskets on their backs were plucking newly sprouted leaves.

 A tractor was pulling a trailer-load of leaves.

 Rajvir asked Pranjol‘s father if it was the second-flush or sprouting period.

 The sprouting periods lasts from May to July and this period yields the best tea.


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