Guwahati, Oct. 1 -- Towering 20 to 30 feet above the ground, the wild tea plants of Senglung no longer resemble the carefully maintained bushes found in Assam's commercial tea gardens. Untouched by generations of pluckers, these enormous plants have grown beyond human reach, scattered amid creepers, bamboo and dense vegetation.

Yet, hidden in the foothills near the Assam-Nagaland border, they preserve a remarkable chapter of Assam's tea history, one dating back nearly 170 years.

Senglung was one of the two tea estates established by Maniram Dewan, the first Indian commercial tea planter and an important figure in Assam's anti-British resistance. After resigning from his position as dewan, land agent and chief executive of the Assam Comp...