Old tea garden bungalows

Manager's bungalow: Ducklingia Tea Estate, Assam, India. I was born and raised here.

This was my childhood home. Yes, we lived in a mansion. British colonial lifestyle, liveried servants, big game hunting, fancy formal dinners -the works. Strange to think of it because these palatial residences were built in the middle of nowhere. Assam. One of the most rain-locked, deeply forested and inaccessible regions of North-east India. Early colonial planters braved the malaria-ridden jungles, dangerous wild game and head-hunting tribes to set up the tea industry in Assam and grow the finest tea on earth. Check the map here if you want to know more about Assam and Assam tea. 

This historic photo of the Digulturrung Tea Estate Bungalow was shared with me by Davey Lamont. I used it as my picture reference for my novel "Teatime for the Firefly". This bungalow has has a fascinating history. To read the intriguing true-life story of "The Elephant Boy of Tea" (reprinted courtesy of Koi-Hai.com) CLICK HERE.
Mancotta Tea Estate (Courtesy Larry Brown)

While researching “Teatime for the Firefly” I started collecting information about tea garden bungalows in Assam. I discovered each one had its unique architecture, charm and even RESIDENT GHOST!Tea garden bungalows come in a baffling array of styles. Here is an except from my research notes:

“In the early days of tea, Managers had plenty of say in the design of their personal residences. It was one of the ego-perks allowed by the Company to entice capable men to join tea. As a result, tea garden bungalows were a startling medley of styles, reminiscent of the dreams and aspirations of their first owners.

Some managers tried to replicate the English-style manor houses of their home country, but the result was a confused mish mash of western architecture using Indian materials, incongruous but fanciful nonetheless.

The Hunwal Tea Estate Bungalow where my best friend Kumi Baruah lived. I spent a lot of time here. This bungalow has one of the most magnificent and ancient Acacia tree, hundreds of years old as seen in this photograph.

I am attaching photos to showcase these wonderful bungalows from Assam tea gardens– most of them have mysterious and quirky names. These photos have been shared with me from tea planters from all over the world. (Planters! I need captions for Bungalows marked “unknown”. If a you have any information of these featured here please send me a message. ) 

Many thanks to the members of the KOI-HAI.COM community for help your loving support.

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If you are an Assam Tea planter and would like to share a photo of a bungalow, please send me a message HERE I will give you my direct email where you can upload the photo. Don’t forget to include the name of the tea garden and the year the photo was taken. Many thanks 
 
I have started a separate photo gallery to showcase tea garden bungalows and will be adding to to this from time to time. Please click PHOTO GALLERY OF ASSAM TEA GARDEN BUNGALOWS here to see what I have so far.
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Teatime for the Firefly is my debut novel. It is a love story set in a remote tea plantation in Assam, India. You can read the SYNOPSIS and the FIRST CHAPTER by clicking on the red links. I am represented by April Eberhardt Literary.