Snippets Of My Tea Journey

  Let me at the outset convey my regrets for my long silence. I am catalyzed  back into blogging, by my children and a regular reader of my blog, Praveen who started his career in the Tea estates of Malayalam Plantations in the early 80’s and is now a senior portfolio Manager living in the US. Praveen messaged me on LinkedIn on my long silence. I hope to live up to his expectations and post more regularly. As far as the title of my blog, Metamorphosis or transformation is the apt word to use, I guess for the company Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd (H & C).   In the early 80’s as a part of the Indian Governments rules governing foreign companies, H&C hitherto a British Company with registered office in Great Tower Street London had to become an Indian Company as per the company’s act of India. Thus H&C India Ltd was formed with majority shares held by H&C U.K. and the balance by Indian Shareholders. Shares were allotted to a few select management staff and I was alloca

As I continue to update my blog post , it is a coincidence that my next blog is on the eve of our 39th Wedding Anniversary falling tomorrow the 30th June. Wedding Anniversaries are joyous moments but in my case Revathy passed away just the very next day after our 38th Wedding Anniversary last year and this blog is a fond memory recall of the commencement of those wonderful 38 years.  I closed the last blog mentioning that I would be writing about how appa and amma found me a life partner in Revathy , who continues to guide me and the kids from up above. Let me recollect how Revathy became my life partner .Sometime in January 1982 I was summoned to Natham Kovilpatti our home town by appa at short notice over a week end. Travel used to be by the overnight Cochin / Madurai bus , getting down at Dindigul almost at 3 a.m. and then  taking the morning first bus to Natham at 4.30 a.m reaching home around six. As usual I was lazing around and enjoying being at home but appa told me that I need

  It’s been almost two months  since my last blog  posting on my  career development in  the Tea Trade. Holistic , is the word I think I should use for the kind of training imparted on a Trainee Tea taster who graduated to a Covenant Assistant and then a Tea manager in the agency houses those days. You were trained in all facets  — Basics of Tea manufacture   / Quality Control — evaluation of the Teas produced by the estates / Tea Buying, Blending & Trading / Export Procedures / Banking & then General Management to make you reach the top position. We have had many such people ultimately heading large Tea companies e.g Brooke Bond India  & Lipton India were mostly headed by gentlemen who started of as Tea Tasters.  Thus one aspires to make it to the to head a company one day and so was I.   Somewhere in mid 1980 my immediate boss and Tea Manager Bala ( now a successful Tea trader in Indonesia) was enticed by one of India’s top Export company ( Allanasons) to join them and se

This blog  being posted on the eve of the International Women's day  is to honour a special woman in my life . The picture above was taken by Niranjan on the 1st January 2018 in Sorento, Victoria, Australia after our New Year temple visit when we holidayed with Niranjan & Shruti. Maya says that this is amma's favourite sari bought during their holiday in Orissa in January 2010, well before Maya's wedding. Mother and daughter were great travelling buddies also.     Rani was my companion for 38 years commencing 30th June 1982. Let me recall some memories that come to my mind  8 months after she passed away on the 1st July last year. I felt, as well as the  doctors also told me , that  Rani was  unaware that she was passing  away, she was  in deep slumber, losing her battle over Lymphoma. Her face was calm and peaceful & there was no sign of any pain. She seemed to be in deep sleep as if she had completed her mission .It all happened so very suddenly and mo

It’s been a long time and along gap since my last blog posting. Having been grounded in Madurai nearly 8 months after Revathy passed away in July last year I was allowed to travel out of Madurai by my immediate family to Coimbatore for a few days last week. This visit also took me back to the good old days when Coimbatore emerged as a new Tea auction Centre in 1980. I also visited the HML’s Tea complex at Coimbatore which brought back nostalgic memories of the 80’s when I was a Covenant Assistant visiting Coimbatore almost on a weekly basis to set up a Tea blending and packing unit for Harrisons for packing their brand “ Surya Super Dust” and “Mountain Mist”  Let me get to the history of the birth of the Coimbatore Tea auctions. Harrisons & Crosfield ( H&C) as managing agents for Malayalam Plantations ( MPL) were well known for their strict control and discipline over labour on their estates . Labour unrest was not tolerated and was dealt strictly The personnel manager  of H&am

Continuing on my Tea career,  consequent to being found suitable and having earned the goodwill of the company I was appointed as a Covenant Assistant with effect from 1st April 1979 at a revised salary of Rs 1100/-  increased from a monthly stipend of Rs 600/- in 1977. This meant that I had become a permenant employee of the company .Upon this confirmation I was also permitted to attend & bid in the Tea auctions independently . This was a major achievement  in a Tea Professional’s career . Cochin enjoyed the unique geographic location where you could buy Tea and export overseas within 24 hours as the Tea auction centre , Tea warehouses and a well connected sea port were all located in close proximity of each other in the Willingdon Island . Most  Tea Exporters had their office also in Willingdon Island . However  labour militancy was a major irritant and Harrisons had their share of problems also. Being the managing agents for Malayalam Plantations all Teas destined  for the Cochi