Gopal Upadhayay leads procurement at Teabox, a fine tea sourcing and delivery company. He is based in Siliguri, West Bengal, and loves a good Darjeeling tea, especially a brew made of the AV2 clone
With Covid-19 disrupting operations in India’s best tea gardens, the entirety of the Darjeeling first flush, the champagne of teas, is lost. Lockdown restrictions are finally easing this week, but overgrown bushes, a dearth of manpower, and logistical issues could imperil the summer flush, too
TCA Raghavan is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. His first book, Attendant Lords: Abdur Rahim and Bairam Khan: Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize by the Indian History Congress. He is also the author of The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan and History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past. His latest book is Circles of Freedom: Love, Friendship and Loyalty in the Indian National Struggle