The Dikom Tea Estate, one of the oldest estates in Dibrugarh, Assam, was home for our member, Ms S. Laha, several years back. She was a Delhi girl but had travelled all over India with her father, who had a transferable job. These included Shantiniketan, where she studied and Puducherry too. The two ashrams had a defining influence on her life. Marriage to a planter took her to the tea estate and it meant considerable adjustment, getting used to life in the Dikom. The area finds mention in Assam’s medieval era history, where local rulers of the Bodo-Kacharis discovered that the water of Sessa River flowing by was sweet and tasty. They named the place Dikom (Di or Doi means water). No wonder, every cup of Dikom tea has a sweet after-taste that is unique to this estate. Life here was an idyll compared to the madding crowd of urban India as Ms Laha settled down with her husband in their sprawling bungalow with its enormous compound. Dikom’s undulating terrain, covered with lush green tea plantation, was the only view for miles.
The managers had a pampered life, with a retinue of well-trained help and a supply of fresh green vegetables. For recreation there was the Estate Club with its swimming pools, tennis court and everything that one could possibly want. While this was luxurious living, there was a regimen around their lives and planters were rather orthodox and disciplined in their ways.
Dikom was under British management in those days but it gradually changed hands to become an Indian-owned estate. The bonhomie continued though with parties, movies, get togethers, all sorts of entertainments and festive celebrations at the club. Everyone knew everyone else, which was totally different from the anonymity of city life. “The rolling plains of Assam with mist-shrouded hills, life on the tea gardens seemed completely different from the normal civilian lifestyle,” Ms Laha reminisces. Then there was the fascinating Bihu festival, which was celebrated in the club and at homes as well. This was the occasion when the locals visited the estate bungalows to dance to the lilting Bihu tunes, dressed in their festive finery. Tribal culture mingled with modern Assam with Bihu being celebrated throughout the state. The experience made for memories of a lifetime.

Just married, our member, Ms K. Banerjee, went to Mumbai with her husband in the late 60s. Her initial fears were soon overcome, thanks to the welcome that other Bengali residents of Mumbai gave her. She was overwhelmed by their hospitality and camaraderie, being asked to stay over for meals when she and her husband visited them; sharing whatever the family was having for meals; nothing elaborate. “We even had bread with mutton jhol! It is their love and affection that I miss the most even today.”
The couple first stayed at Chembur and then shifted to Saat Bangla, a neighbourhood of Versova, Andheri. Saat Bangla probably got its name from its seven bungalows owned by then Maharaja of Gwalior. The sea beach was just a few minutes walk from their house, which they bought later. The beach was not as congested then. They were a few horse-driven carriages, an attraction for tourists, and a few shops.
It was a special locality with Om Puri, Dipti Naval and other film stars as their neighbours. There were other stars and celebrities whom they often met in the shops. She started working at a departmental store as a stock manager. She remembers Tabu visiting the store and a member of the staff staring at the star, instead of helping her with her stock counting. It needed a reprimand from her to get the attention back!
They were the part of one of the oldest Durga pujas at Shivaji Park in Dadar. The pujas outside Kolkata are different. They were not as jazzy as the Kolkata pujas were but the involvement and dedication seemed deeper. “Everyone had a feel of Barir pujo (private Durga puja at one’s home)”. The immersion took place at the Juhu beach, which was very clean then. There were not as many hotels and shops except for the Sun and Sand Hotel, visible from the beach. She also went inside the otherwise protected Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) because they had a relative there. She exclaimed: “Can you imagine, I have seen Gamma Reactor?” They finally returned to Kolkata to settle down here amidst their relatives but still misses Mumbai and the lifestyle there during the sixties and seventies.