Q: Which years were you in BCS and what is the first thing that comes to mind?
INDI: 1959 to 69 Rivaz House. Loved it and have always thanked my parents for taking the step to put me in a boarding even though our home was in Simla.
Q: Your first day at BCS?
INDI : Howled my heart out.  For more than a week and had Mrs Goss fuss over me. How well I remember Mrs Goss!
Q : Do you recall your school roll number?
INDI :  993. Etched on my brain!

You asked about any particular incident when I was pushed into BCS at the tender age of 5.  One stays as though etched in my memory.  In those days, there being no extension to the main dining hall, tiny tots/juniors/seniors all had supper at the same time in the main dining hall with the one table for the 15/20 Lilliput’s being just below the high table.  On a particular day, probably 4 or 5 days after being left in the care of Mrs Goss, when we were seated on the tiny benches, the food came on – cutlets!  On either side of my plate were a knife and a fork to dig into the cutlet.  I was from a simple Punjabi family where we had most of our meals in the kitchen seated on the floor and having used, besides my hands, only a spoon before that day and having no clue what I was supposed to do with the weapons besides my plate, had both my elbows on the table with my head in my hands totally fixed.  Mrs Goss walking along and seeing what was considered unacceptable manners, simply pulled up both my arms and banged my elbows on the table.  Now a good 67 years after being ‘taught’ that ‘lesson’, that was the last time that I ever kept my elbows on the table.

Passing out from school in ’69 with 23 points, which I considered to be an achievement, between Jullundur and Simla, I graduated with a BA English honours degree and with nothing better to do, followed up with an MA in English from Punjab university.

Thrashed around for a couple of years doing stuff which meant nothing and then somehow, that’s a story in itself Diving head first Into my calling | A Tea Planters Tales I just drifted into tea.  Love at first sight!!

 Now with an industry experience and a tea knowledge base of five decades and counting, I literally live and breathe Tea.

 Starting my career in 1975 as an Assistant Superintendent with Malayalam Plantations Ltd, rolling up my sleeves by ‘dirtying’ my hands at the grassroots level and having literally ‘grown’ in the business, my experiences have matured me into a ‘one of a kind’ unique entity in the industry.  The invaluable experiences along this very interesting route have culminated into a unique new venture, a one-of-a-kind specialty tea manufacturing facility unit in the Nilgiris – www.teastudio.info at the end of which, most thankfully, this very interesting Tea journey continues as an ongoing learning experience.

Q : Tell us about the interesting story as to how you chanced on the statue of Tomáš Baťa?
INDI:  ❇️https://teanteas.wordpress.com/2023/09/13/totally-batad [This is also the blog mentioned in the course of the podcast/talk below] Here is the youtube video of the Podcast interview I recently went through in the Czech Republic. Watch this fascinating video about Bata’s “Office in a Elevator“