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The KoiThe KoiThe KoiThe Koi----hai of dot com hai of dot com hai of dot com hai of dot com DAVID AIR, the author of web site

http.//www.koi-hai.com, has enabled

personnel, who served in the tea

industry, now scattered across the

globe, to keep in touch with one another

and narrate those tales of a unique life

style they had lead in India. The life

style, from the days of the British

pioneers has not totally faded away, in

spite of the changes of time. Many

traditions and customs prevail and the

age old summon, ‘koi hai’, which activates personnel on a tea estate, can at times, still be

heard.

David, who qualified as an engineer flew with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. One

day, the 1st Sea Lord, Mountbatten of Burma, was reviewing the officers, who were all

Sub Lieuts [AIR] in the aircraft carrier HMS Theseus, he stopped in front of David and

enquired of his name. “Sub Lieut Air Sir”, Lord Mountbatten quipped, “I don’t want your

b----- rank I want your name”. When the Squadron Commanding Officer explained that

his name was indeed ‘Air’ Mountbatten exclaimed, “Good God” and moved on.

On release from service a family friend in the tea trade, arranged an interview for David

with Geo.Williamson in London. The Company recruited him as a mistri sahib and sent

him to Assam. It was work from the day he joined Mijicajan, in 1954, with no respite,

even when he fell through the factory roof!

The Sterling Companies, after WW II and India’s independence, studied the future of

Indian tea before investing in their properties. The scenario appeared encouraging and

companies commenced developing their fields and factories. A change over from

orthodox manufacture to CTC was made. David was soon an authority on CTC’s and at

the same time fitting into plantation life.

David mentions the veteran planter Doug Meston, of Borpukhuri, a confirmed bachelor, a

great shikari, and a good host, who held on to his guests. Meston had his living room

furniture arranged in a manner where the bearers never stepped in front of the guests to

refill the glasses. The trained bungalow personnel kept topping the drinks from the back

without the visitors’ knowledge. Dinner was always served late and the cook would be

summoned and reprimanded for serving cold soup. The soup removed for reheating was

an excuse for the host to lead the guests back to the gol kamra for more rounds. Meston

served what he hunted; the steaks could be anything from elephant, tiger or python meat!

The Company Air Scheme, under the charge of the Superintendent at Pertabghur, was

operated by an eccentric pilot. The Pilot, never on good terms with the Superintendent,

regularly complained of technical defects of the aircraft. David was asked by the

Superintendent to give an opinion on the plane’s air worthiness. This was done and

reported that he could find no fault. The plane was then flown back to Majulighur by the

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pilot with David accompanying him in the passenger seat. Shortly after take off to

David’s great embarrassment the planes engine cut out –point made by company pilot

deliberate or otherwise

At Borgang he had encounters with the unnatural and natural. He describes his dinner

disappearing in front of his eyes from the tray held by the bearer. Queries revealed of

eerie happenings in that residence. Another night the house shook and it was not an

earthquake. It was a herd of elephants scratching their backs on the bungalow’s walls.

It was at Borgang that his fiancée Christine joined him and they were married on the

estate. For their honeymoon the couple drove to Shillong in a Standard Vanguard estate

car, which had indicators between the doors that lit up and flipped out to show directions.

The honeymooners had difficulty driving to Shillong as wedding guests had reversed the

connections between the horn and signal. Applying the horn had the indicators flipping

out and the horn blew relentlessly when the signals were operated. The frustrated groom,

in desperation, yanked off the wires to the horn.

Christine and David settled down to tea life. The children arrived, the first born a pair of

twins, boy and girl. With the second birth, another set of twins, two boys, the

Superintendent quipped, “David, you must realise that you are paid to produce teas”!!

At Mijicajan an elephant, adored by the children, became the family pet. The owner, John

Batten, who reared the animal from a calf, was posted to Africa for eighteen months. A

dilemma was encountered when the pachyderm, prescribed pills for an ailment, refused to

swallow them even when the tablets were camouflaged in papayas. The fruits were

relished but the elephant spat out the capsules. Finally the medicines were fed rapped in

molasses.

Posted to the south bank David served on Sangsua and Gootonga. In between he acted at

Boroi and installed the manufacture of CTC teas.

David informs that from his youth he belonged to the church of golf, a game he plays

well till today. For his golfing skills he was regularly invited to play with the Bara sahibs,

including the veterans Bill Gawthropp and Bath (Ghusal) Brown, Superintendents of

Jorehaute Tea Company. David was requested to join a foursome which included a Major

General. The Army brass was accompanied by two ADC’s, one carrying a bag of golf

balls and the other Ben Hogan’s Book on Golf. Some shots the General played, where the

ball hardly moved or flew in the wrong direction, the ADC had to refer to the book and

read out the error made!

David talks of the days when he and the other Service Veterans, in dinner jackets

displaying their campaign medals, would gather at Digboi for the ‘Trafalgar Day’ dinner.

He fondly recalls his tea days in Assam which he decided to leave in 1962.

David joined North British Rubber Company in UK. The children settled down to the

changed life style and schooling. Penny, their daughter, for a class essay on pets wrote

about the elephant. The teacher summoned Christine and informed that her daughter was

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a bright child but her imagination was running riot. While the other children described

their cats and dogs the girl wrote about an elephant as a pet! The teacher was amazed to

learn from Christine that they had, had a pet elephant.

David in 1970 was asked to join Dunlop and the family moved to the Midlands. Life was

pleasant for the Airs when tragedy struck. Christine was diagnosed with cancer in 1976

and passed away in 1980. The older twins had already left the nest but the younger pair

was still there. After a few years the younger pair progressed to further education. David

was visiting the USA in 1988 where he met a wonderful lady, Cynthia and they married

in 1991. He then retired and moved to live in Florida It took him a little time to adapt to

the American way of life.

He still retains a Directorship of Engineering Company in Florida, Gencor, which is

deeply involved in supplying Equipment for Road building

Cynthia and David live in a beautiful house in Florida where visitors, especially from tea,

are made to feel at home. Cynthia, who has never seen a tea garden, has developed an

interest for that unique life style from the tea tales which fascinates her. She and David

regularly visit UK and have attended the planters’ reunions in Aberdeen and Eastbourne.

Cynthia was recovering from a knee operation, when I visited them, but ensured that

David showed me around Florida. He drove me to Cape Canaveral in his beautiful

Cadillac where I dozed off. Planters and their lie backs!!

The creation of the web site occurred when good friends from the Assam days, Jimmy

and Wendy Knight, visited the Airs. Talk, as it always happens with planters, centred on

the wonderful days of tea. The Knights suggested that the stories should be preserved and

David, having trained himself in computer application, was the right person to do so.

David designed and created the koi-hai web site* which brings so much pleasure to the

chaiwallahs scattered across the world.

Thank you David.

Ali Zaman

Kolkata

*the site averages 1000 hits per month from over 28 countries.