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Live like the sahibs

UNWIND CENTRE At Burra sahib’s bungalow

Stumbling on Burra sahib’s bungalow on the Internet excited us. The next week, we were to visit Upper Assam, the state’s picturesque tea region, to attend a wedding, and would have a day to spare. The heritage bungalow was deep inside G atoonga tea estate and just 45 minutes drive from the airport (Jorhat). I dreamt of waking up to lush green tea estates, with silence for company, leafing through a book while sipping home-grown tea, and if lucky enough, a chef who would give us a whiff of fine dining from the days of the sahibs. The bungalow was recently taken over by Welcomgroup. So we called their office to book it for a night’s stay. Hearts laden with hope, we set off for Burra Sahib’s bungalow next morning. We landed at the relatively quiet Jorhat airport mid-afternoon. Welcomgroup organises pick and drop service from the airport.

Green countryside

With heavy rains in the preceding weeks, a lovely breeze hit us as soon as the car moved. We soaked in the idyllic beauty. As we neared our destination, the car veered between a carpet of tea plants that extended to the horizon. The aroma of freshly plucked tea leaves wafted from the long bamboo baskets lugged by a bevy of girls walking on the roadsides.

Through a gravel road we arrived at a fork. With no signage to direct us, we took the better road, and got lost! By the time we found our way, it was raining so heavily that the car began to skid. The driver knobbed off the engine and all we could do was sit and pray.

When the rain stopped, we sought help to push the car out of the slush. Finally, we reached the gate of the bungalow, fuming at Welcomgroup’s thoughtlessness. But one look at the bungalow and the ill feeling faded away. Walking through the rooms (it has four large rooms), we found some old paintings, prints of old aquatints of Calcutta by the famous duo of William and Thomas Daniell, among other interesting curios blending with the period furniture.

‘Burra’, in local lingo, means ‘big’ and ‘sahib’ is an Englishman. So burra sahib’s bungalow loosely translates to ‘the English big boss’s residence’. Though now owned by an Assamese tea grower, many Englishmen stayed and managed the estate. An old help, on the rolls for the last 25 years, narrated to us the recent visit of two daughters of a burra sahib. They came to see the house they grew up in. A scrapbook in the sitting room gave us an idea of the previous visitors. We lounged in the majestic sitting room after dinner, talking about how life must have been some 50 years back. Over breakfast in the bungalow’s portico, the estate’s amiable manager talked about life in a tea garden. Later, over lunch, we mulled over what more could have been offered to better our experience. Perhaps, a round of the tea factory, rubber boots to walk through the estates or a game or two. Also, for Rs. 350 per head, the buffets were an apology for fine dining. Wish we could have tried an array of Assamese dishes or menu of the sahibs.

Hoping to enjoy these some day, we got back into our car, leaving behind the luxuriant estates and the blissful breeze.

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