Robert anxiously watched the Gaam. He had to be cautious and wait for an appropriate moment to ask questions or else Bisa Gaam might become suspicious of his intentions. But the chieftain looked cordial and seemed to give Robert his due respect – perhaps because of Robert’s friendship with the Burmese. After the initial courtesies from both sides, a bamboo tube was handed respectfully to each person.

‘What is this?’ Robert asked politely, unwilling to offend but curious at the same time.

‘This is “chapuk”. One feels happy and physically fit after having this.’

Robert looked inside the bamboo tube. The contents had a peculiar smell; it did not look like tea at all.

Slowly, he took a small gulp.

‘Oh, this is wine! Singpho wine!’ Robert shook his head, while the Gaam looked at him curiously.

‘We make this from rice. Don’t you like it?’ he asked through the interpreter.

Robert shook his head.

‘No, I quite like it. What other beverages do you drink? Anything made from leaves?’ he asked. It took Bisa Gaam a while to understand what Robert was saying. Then his eyes widened.

‘Yes, we do drink a beverage made out of leaves. “Phalap” is what we call it. Are you asking about phalap?’

Phalap! Yes, that was the name Maniram had mentioned!

‘I suppose I’ll know when I drink it. Could I taste a little bit?’

‘Yes, of course,’ Bisa Gaam nodded happily.

Soon a young girl brought him another bamboo container, this time containing phalap.

‘One feels good after drinking this. It also wards off illness.’

Robert looked into the tube of reddish liquid. He took a sip, and jumped up in excitement.

‘Tea! This is tea!’

‘Tea?’ Bisa Gaam asked in surprise.

‘Yes, tea. The drink of China! This is the most popular drink in our country, and in Europe.’

In his excitement Robert had started speaking in English. No one understood a word. Realizing his mistake, Robert smiled.

‘Could you show me some phalap?’ he requested the Gaam.

In a moment, a lump of dry tea leaves was brought in a bamboo tube. Shaking out a bit on his palm he felt the leaves with his fingers and brought them close to his nose. Everyone was watching him. What was there to be so excited about, they thought. Slowly, Robert’s face brightened.

Yes, this was definitely tea.

Putting the phalap back, he asked, ‘How do you prepare this drink?’

‘We get the leaves from the jungle and pound them. We then leave them to dry on the fire in bamboo tubes. Then we boil them in water and drink it.’

With the permission of Bisa Gaam, he noted down the method of preparation.

‘Do any other tribes drink phalap?’

‘No one drinks apart from us, as far as I know. A few people in the neighbourhood also drink this and so do the slaves that we have brought from Assam. They boil it in earthen pots. It is a good remedy for the common cold. Why do you ask?’