Cup that cheers

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Can you imagine a life without tea? Can you really face the day, still groggy from last night's sleep, without sipping that golden liquid? Tea has been a part of our life since the colonial days when the British opened large plantations in Assam (Asom) and Darjeeling . In its turn tea 'colonised' Britain whose tea-parties became a part of their social diary and also led to establishment of numerous tea-houses.

Today, even as the tea industry in the country is facign many problems, more and more scientific researches are showing how beneficial tea-drinking is - a fact the Japanese and the Chinese knew anyway, attributing to it many medicinal properties.

In this background, it is but natural to be curious about the tea industry itself, its beginning, its role in the socio-economic life of the people, and yes, also the future. Gautam Prasad Barooawah, a 'tea-man' himself with long years in the industry, and a poet and travelogue-writer to boot, gives a glimpse of this world through his lavishly mounted book Tea- Legend, Life and Livelihood of India . The book was released recently at Kolkata's Oxford Book Store, which has its own 'chai-bar', in the presence of the city's cognoscenti and decidedly avid 'chaiwallahs'. Published by Red River Publications (an imprint of Lawyers Bookstore, Guwahati) and illustrated by eminent photographer Dushyant Parashar's evocative work, it is in the style of " tea-table book"; Basudeb Banerjee, chairman of the Tea Board of India rightly refused to call it a 'coffee-table book'.

The author reminds that "Tea is a culture, not just a commodity," but warns that unless the industry keeps pace with modern day sensibilities and becomes market savvy, the country's premier position as a tea-supplier to the world might be on the backfoot soon. He has forwarded some suggestions too about how to tackle some of the problems bogging the product image.

Meanwhile, it is a virtual journey into the plantations for the tea lovers as Baroowah weaves the tale of tea.

The book is soon to be launched in North America where a large community of tea-drinkers from Assam and Bengal has made their home.