This is a very short description of Assam, a Northern-Eastern State in India. This state is famous for its tea plantations. In this extract Pranjol, a youngster from Assam is Rajvir’s classmate at a school in Delhi. Pranjol’s father is a manager of a tea-garden in upper Assam and Pranjol has invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation.
Important Question and Answers
Q. Why was Rajvir excited to see the tea gardens?
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What made Rajvir amazed on the way?
Ans. Rajvir found the view outside the train splendid and eye catching with a lot of greenery. It was his first visit to Assam and he was fascinated by the sprawling tea gardens, spreading like the green sea of neatly pruned bushes and found it more interesting to watch, than reading his book on detectives.
Q. How did Rajvir describe the view from the train?
Ans. Rajvir described the magnificent view of the landscape from the train window. It was a sea of tea bushes, fleeting against the backdrop of densely wooded hills. At odd intervals, there were tall shade-tree and one could see women tea-pluckers picking tea leaves, who appeared to be doll like figures.
Q. What information was given by Pranjol’s father to Rajvir about Assam Tea Estate?
Ans. Pranjol’s father agreed to Rajvir’s information about it being the second-flush or sprouting period and it lasted from May to July and yields the best tea.
Q. What legends are associated with the origin of tea?
Ans. According to Chinese legend, once a few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell into the water and gave a delicious flavour: According to the Indian legend, Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during meditation and threw them on the earth. Ten tea plants grew out of those eyelids. When he boiled them in water and drunk that water, it banished his sleep.
Q. What is the Chinese legend regarding tea?
Ans. The Chinese legend about tea is that there was a Chinese emperor who had the habit of boiling water before drinking it. Once, a few twigs of the leaves burning under the pot fell into the water and gave it a delicious flavour. Those leaves were tea leaves.
Q. How did Rajvir describe, the tea garden at Dhekiabari?
Ans. Rajvir’s visit to Dhekiabari, where Pranjol’s father worked as a manager, was a novel experience and he found it extremely fascinating. As they proceeded along the gravel road, with neatly pruned sea of tea bushes spreading over acres of land, he saw groups of tea-workers, wearing plastic aprons and baskets of bamboo sticks on their back, picking newly sprouted tea leaves.
Q. What is the Indian legend regarding the discovery of tea?
Ans. We have an Indian legend regarding the discovery of tea. Boddhidharma, an ancient Buddhist ascetic, cut off his eyelids because he fell sleepy during meditations. It is said that ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids. The leaves of those plants when put in hot water and drunk, banished sleep.
Q. How are the tea-pluckers different from the other farm labourers?
Ans. Tea pluckers are different from the other farm labourers as the tea pluckers are hired labourers whereas the farm labourers can be hired or can be the owners of the land. Tea pluckers just pluck leaves whereas farm labourers go through the whole process, i.e., from sowing to harvesting.
Q. Describe the magnificent views of tea estate with reference to the lesson ‘‘Tea from Assam’’.
Ans. The view around the tree estate was magnificent. There was greenery all round. Against the backdrop of densely wooded hills, a sea of tea bushes stretched as far as the eye could see. Dwarfing the tiny tea plants were tall sturdy shade-trees and amidst the orderly rows of bushes busily moved doll-like figures of tea-pluckers.