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Back Cow and Company Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. Acknowledgements
  46. THE BEGINNING

‘It was nothing, really. Keep your feet firmly on the ground. That’s all it takes. You see this?’ Thompson picked up a corked glass jar containing grey tea leaves. ‘Only a handful of plantations in Darjeeling make silver tips. These are tea buds from the tip of the plant, plucked early and processed minimally. Each year you only get a handful. The sky needs to be clear. In Darjeeling that’s hard. It requires trained hands. That’s even harder. These are the leaves that end up on the Queen’s table. Even a well-connected Englishman will find it hard to procure. If you go down the order of teas, you reach dust, tea dust like sawdust; these are leaves plucked from the bottom of the plant, mechanically treated, bitter, astringent and wholly undrinkable. The Board had no idea what to do with it. Do you know it’s illegal to export tea dust from India to England?’

‘I read that in Samuel Johnson’s Manual on the Production and Processing of Tea—I have often recommended it to my friends.’

‘The Board didn’t think it was worth the bother. The Russians bought it for peanuts. When I was touring the tea districts, I noticed the workers taking it home. No one cared how much tea was stolen. It wasn’t worth anything. I proposed that the Board promote tea dust as tea in India. For the natives.’

‘He said you were a hit at the Board.’

‘We began with the army. In the first year, 300 regiments. By the fifth, every unit. Today, they make more money from that garbage than from the silver tips.’

‘Isn’t it bitter?’

‘Haven’t you tried it? Chai they call it. You cannot have it without sugar and milk. I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole. Astringent like alum. How long are you going to be here?’

‘Six months. My old man says six months is all you need to build confidence. After that, you either have it or you don’t.’

‘In this part of the world, confidence is thrust upon you the moment you step off the boat, like an entry permit. In the end, it’s what you make of it. Keep your weapon at home is what I say. You’re young. The Indian variety of confidence is not for you. For you, I recommend East, the Far East.’

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10

Dear Dibu,