The visit to tea centres in Lalbazar and other areas in Kolkata
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
After returning from Dakshineswar, the ride to Lal Bazar was effectively accomplished in a tram. A place teeming with series of activities, a slew of tea shops on the left while approaching BBD Bag conveyed the tea the tea masters wanted to showcase. Fewer would be found tripping over tea and the discourse during the course of purchasing tea is not confined to benefits the tea releases; it equally underscores the benchmark the tea companies have set for themselves.
Perhaps there is a tram stop in the vicinity but given the time consumed in taking the receipt followed by taking the tea leaves in a wrapping almost an hour gets spent. By this time more than two to three trams would have gone past you. Sometimes it can get more than that depending on the rush to the tea centres and those refusing to relieve themselves from the task of standing in the queue even after collecting tea in a ton.
A return from Dakshineswar the other day i was split on the areas i should approach. Certain was a tram i had to take from Shyambazar at any cost. A tram from Shyambazar which would take me to BBD Bag i took and in the course had a different set of sightings. Somewhere after reaching Bipin Behari Ganguly Street the thought crossed on why not take the tea from Dhruba Tea Centre which the other day i had spotted.
The tea flavour i could not recollect
As i reached the shop, the build up to the queue had not started but under 10 minutes the gathering-momentum gained. A lady ahead and an employee of a company behind engaged me in a conversation on tea and the flavour that were not fewer. I told them i was not in a position to recall the flavour which is admirably used by tea vendors near k c das food joint.The lady thundered "fennings" and this was handy enough to seek fenning favour from the man at the counter. Mind you tea leaves here are a bit expensive despite the state of West Bengal having a reservoir of tea gardens. One kg fennings were in the range of 300rs and up. I sought for 170rs which the counterman expressed his inability to do so. Finally had to settle for 500 grams for 150rs.
Taking tea and the receipt
The process of taking tea is to first make payment, take the receipt which has a number on it. One foil of the receipt is handed to the person who is putting tea in a wrapping. At one go not less than 10 to 15 foils go to him. These foils are put on the tea-putting wrapping table by the cashier who puts cash in a tray. Arrangement is fine as the foils put at the last minute are taken later and those buried under are taken first. No fault at this stage. My number was probably 708 and by the time i could hear the counting it was somewhere at 650. In between i came across a large number of instances where the number was read and the person concerned had not come to collect tea. Some leaving with one wrapping and some with five to seven different tea wrappings, all determined by the budget they had. I was told that tea began from 200 to 300rs a kg to touching all the way to 5000rs a kg were available here and in other tea centres.
As my turn came i came across an instance where an old man who had a receipt was told to pay 30rs extra as the quantity mentioned and the amount he paid had a disparity. The cash was handed to the cashier with no receipt whatsoever. And herein given the large number of transactions, there would be a repeat of such instances where receipt won't be handed and that would not be appropriate for those reporting for work there. Second given the big boxes in which tea had been preserved it took no extra effort for the men who were putting tea leaves in different wrappings quite familiar with which box had which flavour.
Given the insurmountable nature of transactions and the weighing machine nearby, there won't be a dearth of little hits and misses here and there. When the business is big and the customers seeking services no less there is bound to be malfunctioning to a degree. Here the owners need to lay stress to their staff that howsoever the big trade may be the staff has to be vigilant to adhere to procedures.Against this the Dhruba Tea Centre in Rasbehari Avenue had no crowd pressure whenever i visited. The rationale for this was only locals procured tea from here and in LalBazar there was a big bunch of outsiders placing tea orders.
As i left the tea centre i noticed a large number of staff members being served readymade tea made mandatory by the number of hours they were on foot and the number of orders they had to cater to. A strict arrangement where any customer who is asked to pay extra for the extra filling his wrapping has should be handed a receipt for the same. That would do a world of good to the entire tea centre.
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