The Majesty of Thengal

As a child taking frequent trips to middle and Upper Assam, I have always been fascinated by Tea Gardens- the raw smell of tea leaves, the narrow lanes with houses on either side on the vicinity, enveloped neatly in layers of beige clay, the magnificent shades of green and more so, the tea Bungalows. I always wondered how life would be inside those manors, imposing structures in the middle of nowhere – flanked by tiny hamlets or tea gardens on either side.

As I grew older and took up history as the major subject of study, my interest in them grew even more, reaching a point of ecstasy when I met a friend who shared an equal or perhaps even greater interest for tea, the bungalows and the planter’s clubs. This passionate tea lover introduced me to a sprawling bungalow pitched in a remote corner of Titabor, dashed in all white and light hues of blue in the window panes, built in the middle of an expansive patch of land with an orchard, a ‘Namghor’ , a grand courtyard, a lawn, graveyard of the members of the family and a somewhat newly built pool facing the mansion.

The bungalow built in 1929 still holds in it the essence of the Feudal world, where the Lord would live a magnificent life with his family and numerous helps while the world around in the hamlets would represent a stark contrast to the life inside the manor, so much espousing the concept of a world within the world.  Each and every piece of furniture, floor carpet, tea pots, center table, cupboard and dressing table, not to forget the mirrors, all showcase the Feudal colonial air with the Lord and the chamberlains on one hand and the serfs and the gardeners on the other, not to forget the cats sprinting from the kitchen with painted glass doors to the lawn and then back to the courtyard, finally disappearing into the foggy haze of the expansive land area.

“The stay at Thengal took me to a quasi-feudal age, where the manor represents a different world within itself and is cut off from the main city, having all the sophistication of urban living whilst being located in an entirely rural ambience.”

The living area smells of regality, painted by original art pieces by painters from across the globe, but mostly Indian paintings with women as the central theme, which is also true of each of the four bedrooms that are open for guests, and one small adjacent room, all of which are tastefully arranged.

The dining hall speaks of elegance and culinary etiquette, and the heavy wooden chairs bear testimony of the decades of their association with the place. While at night, the elegant empty dining hall tells tales of the numerous banquets and dinners and breakfasts and echoes the music and the laughter and the discussions and deliberations of bygone days.

The nights in the lawn gives a pleasantly chilly experience, especially in winters, when you can get drenched in the mist enveloping the lawn, with the comfort of the fireplace in the living area as well as the bedroom.

I sat on one of the iron benches attached to the floor near the swimming pool, looking above at the sky, sprinkled by stars scattered here and there, entering into a trance in the calm of the ambience by the music of the resident cicadas and the voice of Don Mclean offering tribute to Vincent in the most melodious way. I could almost imagine Van Gogh with his canvas and his art set, about to make a portrait to be hung in one of the rooms of the mansion, shying away as I stared at him. He fizzled into the magic of the night and I retired to the comfort of my room offering the luxury of a raised bed typical of the traditional bungalows with spiral pillars of wood and intricately carved backrests, and other pieces of furniture, all glazing beautifully in dark brown wooden brilliance.

The dinner was all about conversations over traditional Assamese food proudly exuding the flavors of mashed potatoes, Masor Tenga, sprouts and lentils and some salad, where the boy in charge of the over-all management of the Manor told us about the history of the manor as well as his own peculiar family history, typically tied with the family of the Barooahs of Thengal. He told us that his father worked with the family of Ms. Usha Barooah in Shillong and after she got married to Hemen Chandra Barooah, he came to live with them. He learnt a number of cuisines and even now works as a cook in the Burra Saheb’s Bungalow, another of the family’s ancestral property, while his son takes care of the Thengal manor. In fact, most people, including the Bhakat of the Namghar have had old linkages with the Barooah family, speaking of a highly feudal structure.

The stay at Thengal took me to a quasi-feudal age, where the manor represents a different world within itself and is cut off from the main city, having all the sophistication of urban living whilst being located in an entirely rural ambience.

#Swaswati Borkataki is a PhD Scholar in JNU

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