Yet one more country… 

Tea Board is taking us to Bhutan this time where 3rd SAARC Fair shall be held from 11th to 14th September 2009 and we shall be showcasing our teas.

Fate again…

Down memory lane…

In 1980, that is 30 years ago, we installed a Skoda industrial engine in Longview tea estate and I was looking after factory there. One engineer came to commission it and stayed with us on and off for six months – virtually becoming like a family member.

Internet has brought people togather and in our case he googled me and there after came an e-mail, full of affections and memories. Arvinder Singh with his wife Arvinder, both husband and wife have same names, and their two childern Jasjit and Ramanjit is a loving family today.

They are settled in Little River in Australia near Melbourne and working in Ford Motors.

How small is this world now.

China Tea Expo, 24-27th October 2009, Beijing…

This year only we are Indian participant and that too on 2nd Floor where black tea ceremonies will take place. Xiao Juan will manage the show.

www.teawindow.com

Fine Foods, Sydney…

As in 2008, we shall be there from 7th to 10th September 2009 in Sydney and Jennifer Howard will represent us there again. Tea Board pavillion at booth no. R-36 will accmodate us there.

http://www.foodaustralia.com.au/page/hotel_australia.html

This year two more companies from Siliguri participate there.

Sinclair’s Chalsa resort…

Vikas Kothari took me yesterday to his 15 crore property 50 kilometers away on a 20 acres plot in a very lush green patch overlooking Dooar’s tea gardens.  

Perfect place for marriage.

ISRO classes on tea watch…

Siliguri, Aug. 21: Tea planters were today briefed on the various applications of the Geographical Information System (GIS), a project taken up by the Tea Board in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Experts from Isro, the department of space of the central government and the Tea Board spoke at the first national-level workshop held here today.

“The focus was on the elaborate and varied use of the satellite mapping to be done through remote sensing. The Tea Board will have information about the total area under cultivation, quality and age of the bushes and details of existing natural resources. Once the project is implemented, there will be regular updates on climatic conditions, pest attacks and likewise,” said Amal Roychoudhury, the deputy director of the Tea Board in Siliguri.

“The experts asked planters and other stakeholders to provide more information on tea estates to make the satellite mapping comprehensive,” said Roychoudhury.

Tea Board officials said a host of other tasks could also be executed with the help of the data obtained through the GIS. The tasks include the marking of land for cultivation in the gardens, measurement of area needed for shade trees, determination of sand suitability for tea and alternative crops, management of water resources, the monitoring of uprooting and re-plantation areas and web-enabled MIS (management information system).

“Once the mapping is complete, advance warning on climate, pest attack and quality of tealeaves can be given,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the convener of the United Forum of Small Tea Growers’ Associations, an apex body of small growers in the region.

“These would definitely help us in many ways. Experts present at the meeting also made it clear that the information would be updated on a regular basis,” he added.

The project, which would cost around Rs 6 crore, was taken up by the Union ministry of commerce and industries in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

Thor, the Norse god of thunder…

Mayuri & Torgeir Sundgot got a baby boy yesterday the 20th August 2009, Thursday at three am and named him Thor. Has Father Jellichi reincarnated in our family?  

Thor (Old Norse: Þōrr, Þunarr; Old English: Þunor, Þūr; Old Saxon: Þunær;^[1] Frisian: Tonger, Old Dutch: Donar; Old High German: Donar; Proto-Germanic: *Thunaraz) is the red-haired and bearded^[2][3] god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic paganism.

Most surviving stories relating to Germanic mythology either mention Thor or center on Thor’s exploits. Thor was a much revered god of the ancient Germanic peoples from at least the earliest surviving written accounts of the indigenous Germanic tribes to over a thousand years later in the late Viking Age.

http://cid-08ec579c9c3838f1.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Tor%2020.08.2009?uc=1&isFromRichUpload=1

Ak-bota looks smart…

When the Kazak packs came today they looked so smart – both wooden plywood caddies or the cardboard boxes. Hope consumers will like them too.

Now it is time to turn to Mongolia…

During my last trip to Kunming, I bought many movies and the best I got was “Mongol” by an Russian Director. It impressed me and the life of Changes Khan forced me to get a book called “The secret history of Mongols” as translated and edited by Francis Woodman Cleaves, which is infact the history of Changes Khan from the annals of Mongolia.

Dan Robertson or Luo Lao, as I prefer to call him, was more fortunate one then me to take his World Tea Tour this year there and gave me this extraordinary picture here. I must join him next time in 2010 to Japan & Korea.  

Father Jellichi finally laid to rest…

The man, who was everything to me, is no more now – only his memories remains.

Father Jellichi, we shall miss you…