Sylhet’s tea estates are an ideal visiting point for Eid vacationers
By Saad Mahmud
Tea gardens are always perceived to be quiet places and these days more and people want to enjoy the tranquility of the green belt, far away from the noise of the capital city. Whenever someone talks about tea estate in Bangladesh, what comes to mind is Sylhet.
Located in the North-Eastern region of Bangladesh, Sylhet is one of the famous and beautiful cities for its terraced tea gardens, rolling countryside and the exotic flora and fauna. From its natural resources, Sylhet became easily attractive and from the 18th century Englishmen first started tea plantations there. Srimangal, about 80 km away from Sylhet town, is known as the Tea capital of Bangladesh. There are more than 150 tea gardens there.
Why Srimangal?
Srimongal, The land of two leaves and a bud, and also the tea capital of Bangladesh, is famous for being the largest tea garden in the world covered like a lush green carpet. Here one can have a look into the tea processing at Tea Research Institute. Every year Bangladesh produces and exports a large quantity of high quality tea. Most of the tea estates in Sylhet are in Srimongol. The terraced tea garden, pineapple, rubber and lemon plantations form a beautiful landscape. After entering into the tea estates the smells and the green beauty will lead you many kilometers away.
My two cents
Since I had arrived in the dark the previous night I was astonished by the journey along the lovely, winding, tree-lined, ‘country’ road. I could have been in Ireland, except for the tea gardens covering the gently sloping hills. At the entrance to Finlay’s tea estate we picked up two very dark, barefoot young boys: they may have been tea labourers.
Unfortunately, the language barrier was absolute: we could only smile at one another. (They didn’t seem to understand my attempts at Bangla, which suggests that they might speak another language.) I had read a little about the plight of tea plantation workers and the history of tea estates in Bangladesh. Many of the tea pickers are descendants of indentured labourers brought in to the area by the British during the colonial era, from parts of what is now India. In addition to dislocation, many live in poverty, are subject to harsh ‘management’ with few entitlements, and are said to be amongst the most marginalised occupational groups in Bangladesh.
It had been my intention before arriving to cycle around the area, but morning temperatures had already reached the high 30s and I reluctantly abandoned that idea. I had no sooner checked into the Tea Town Hotel in Srimangal when I found myself negotiating with two local guides – Russell and Rashed – who had come straight into my room and seated themselves on my bed. I hated having to choose: both were equally nice guys, but I decided to go with Rashed because his English was a little easier to understand. I spent the rest of this memorable day (which ran into late evening) with Rashed, and our driver Ismail, in and around the Srimangal area. By the end of the day, both seemed like old friends.
From the village, a bumpy rickshaw ride along a narrow, picturesque ‘boithrín’ brought us to the Nilkantha Tea Cabin where I tried their famous ‘five-colour’ tea. It was delicious – 5 layers (oddly enough!) each with a different ‘tea’ – cinnamon, mint, ginger, lemon, etc. It makes for a really interesting taste experience as the different flavoured layers come through in your mouth. Romesh Ram Gour, who invented this layered tea experience, has now expanded his offering to include all kinds of variations on the original theme – including a 21-layer tea.
No visit to Srimangal would be complete without a trip to one of its many tranquil tea gardens. We had an almost meditative picnic at the restful Madapore Lake and Tea Garden, though I envied the children splashing about in the cool water of the lake. Later, we spent time at the picturesque and peaceful Zareen Tea Estate where we interacted with estate workers – though the picking season had not yet started in full force.
Other tea estates worth visiting, or not
One of the most frequently visited estates is Madabpore Tea Gardens. It has a lake on the premises that hasn’t been treated with the respect that its scenic potential deserves, but is pleasant nonetheless. The turn-off for the gardens is about 1.75 km beyond the tea Resort compound. The sprawling Finlays estate is reportedly not so hospitable. Politely pleading ignorance and leaving should be enough to deal with estate managers.
Lackatoorah Tea Estate: We started from the Lackatoorah Tea Estate. After walking about an hour we
go deep inside the garden. I am not sure about the place Lackatoorah or Malnichaerra. It is not a big deal that time. All are same green garden as far as you can see. We walked across the steep hill roads to reach at the top. It was drizzling at the top due to photosynthesis. But when we moved out, there was no rain and it was sunny everywhere.
Malnicherra Tea Estate: Arguably the largest and oldest existing tea garden in Bangladesh. We came down from the Lackatoorah garden and headed towards Malnicherra. I have visited the Iocal homes beside the garden and buy tea for my home. They said it will taste different than the market tea bags. But I did not find any difference. So do not buy tea bags from them with high price unless you have a good understanding about tea. (Note: Don’t try to go inside the tea garden without a garden staff. It is easy to get lost and face unusual problems.)
Verdict
A relatively new area that has come under tea cultivation is the sub-Himalayan terrain of Panchagarh. The soil and climate is highly favorable for growing tea here. In fact this area is contiguous with Assam and Bengal in India where tea has been grown for decades. Beginning with only 300 acres of land in 2000, the cash crop is now being cultivated on over 3,500 acres in Tentulia, Sadar and Atoari upazilas of Panchagarh. It can be expanded to ultimately cover about 60,000 acres.
The humus content in the soil here is more than in the traditional tea-growing areas of Sylhet. The tea produced in Panchagarh is supposedly much better in quality than that of Sylhet. Several nurseries have been set up in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon to supply high quality saplings to the tea gardens. This promises to be a good avenue of employment for the locals and chances of increased exports of tea. As of now Bangladesh exports tea to Pakistan and Russia. This may soon reach wider markets and become everyone’s cup of tea.
