New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- There are many things "French" that Pondicherry (now Puducherry) inherited and chose to keep, like its boulevards, the mustard-yellow villas, streets with French names, patisserie... Read More
New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- Thanga emerges from the tea bushes where she's been busy plucking leaves, stopping to yank a leech from between her toes. She is in her early 60s and although officially retired, ... Read More
New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- Over the last year, I have been researching the life story of a minister who played a part in Indian politics between the 1920s and 1940s, and went on to serve in India's first ca... Read More
New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- In recent years, all talk of Darjeeling tea comes with a gloomy outlook, at risk of turning into a cautionary tale. Not long ago, the region produced nearly 10 million kilos a y... Read More
New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- Last week, I took a short break in Wayanad. Tea was part of the plan but I chose to stay on a coffee estate. The estate was not directly involved in running the hospitality wing ... Read More
New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- Indian independence and its aftermath had an unexpected effect on the subcontinent's tea industry. It created three industries: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. When the East Ind... Read More
New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- On the India Tea Collective WhatsApp group, a recent chat was about sourcing compressed tea cakes from Assam. It got me thinking about how much has changed in recent years. Back i... Read More
New Delhi, July 19 -- Tea has an image problem. In India, we still think of it as comforting and familiar, or as a drink to pause, unwind with. Both are true, but they carry a passivity that does tea ... Read More