More than just Tea

It must have begun about a month ago- this crazy new zealous I'm experiencing about tea- while meditating, shortly after arriving at my family's house in Panchkula. 'Chai' crosses cast lines, appearing EVERYWHERE, perhaps the single most common item of human consumption besides water.  But where specifically is it coming from (I sometimes wonder if this inquiry rooted in a stubborn environmental ethic will ever cease to haunt/inspire me). My tea enthusism is not entirely new.  I've certainly held a deep appreciation for Camellia sinensis in her various forms and qualities for a number of years.  But perhaps my appreciation for tea has never been so inspired till just recently.  Even my journal cover and pages within are adorned with "Juniper Figlet Blossom's Healing Tea House" logo/art/designs for a future vision. 

Himachel Pradesh is a very minor tea growing region in India, but being there, I managed to find out about a city called Palampur, where a tea cooperative existed and which was only 34km away from the place I'd been living.  After happening upon a friend (the same one I'd met in Armritzar and traveled with to Mcleud Ganj) who was celebrating in part becuse he'd just finished a photo class, was in the process of developing a photobook on chai and was now also wanting to travel to Palampur, I decided the visit must be fated. We left without any specific idea about where exactly we were going or what exactly we were going to do, as usual. I had the name of a sweet looking tea estate I'd glanced at on the net; he had a workable phone; and we shared an equally new and current excitement about tea.

The combination of heat and nausea after the bus ride and a glnce on the way in at the big, impersonal-looking tea cooperative factory we’d heard about led us to the decision of calling the tea estate immediately.  The woman and man on the phone were exceedingly friendly, and our preconceived visit turned into a significantly-reduced price homestay.  So continues the trail of divine and perfect placement... “Darang Tea Estate” was established in the 1840’s, uniquely, by an Indian (rather than the British).  The mother of the current owner (Naveen) was born on the estate and, also uniquely due to her gender, inherited and managed the estate for many years, being her parent’s only child. To see/learn more about this beautiful place go to - http://www.darangteaestate.com/

During the time we were there, I was ablt to complete a short book about tea, Ian took a load of excellent photos and we both spent hours sitting with the Naveen and his wife Neeru talking about life and tea, over many cups of tea, of course.

The flavor is distinct from all of the tea I’ve had in India thus far.  It is black tea, but with a lite color and taste but is not weak. Naveen discussed with us at length about their particular variety of tea compared to others, why it does not require any fertilizer and how to make the perfect cup of tea;  Neeru shared a story about the German Ambassador who once came with his wife for a visit and later ended up ordering 20 kilos.

The estate is relatively small, so all of the tea they grow goes to be processed at the cooperative in Palampur. From there, they and the rest of the world buys it in varying qualities/prices. Of course, they ask about us and I bring up Ayurveda.  They share the now seemingly universal-Indian sentiment that they prefer Ayurveda because_____? It has no side effects!  They also confirm in my mind a perspective I’ve heard from a variety of others- that the reason for the decline of Ayurveda’s presence in India  was due to the Mughal Empire, which became the dominant power in India between the mid-sixteenth and early eighteenth century.  Ayurveda was included in this Muslim Empire’s strong attempt to eliminate anything Hindu.  This also explains why Ayurveda continued to flourish more in the south like in Kerala, as the Mughal’s presence/dominance was never fully realized there as it was in the North.   Neeru said she was happy to witness Ayurveda’s resurgence today.

Here is where it gets interesting.

She continues by saying, “In fact, I believe there is an Ayurvedic center or something close by…AYUR maybe or AYUSH…”
Hearing  this I exclaim, “AYUSH!”  Along with being an acronym that the Indian Government's Ministry of Health uses to refer to The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, AYUSH is a brand of Ayurvedic medicine. This particular brand is special to me not only because it is one of the only brands I’ve seen in India that offers a selection of organic products, but because it is sold by the women in Bellingham I once interned for, and owned by a pair of brother Ayurvedic doctors that work outside of Bellvue!  While still in Bellingham, I had not only gone with my mother to visit their actual office, which was closed that particular day, but had emailed a number of times in hopes of setting up some sort of an arrangement where by I could visit their production facility and/or farms while traveling this year. With no response, I decided to forget about it.  But God did not! Now here with these people, simply because of a whim driven by heart-passion, I am told that the headquarters of this multi-national Ayurvedic company might be located close by in the next village. 

“But I am not sure what it is called” she says.  “I have to go that way tomorrow anyhow, so we can stop by.” The couple also has an organic vegetable garden, orchard and a few cows from which they receive their milk and make cheese, yogurt and butter; so you can imagine our minds and bodies were both duly nourished by this point.

~

Alas, it was AYUSH! And though the larger, posessing more modern facilities than my family’s factory in Patiala, the space is still remarkably small considering their broad clientel.

It goes like this.  There were four brothers. Two became Ayurvedic doctors (one of which married an Ayurvedic doctor), one a Veterinarian and one an engineer.  All were raised by a wonderful mother who was also an exceptional Ayurvedic doctor, but gave up starting an actual practice in order to raise her family. The doctors and the Veterinarian wanted to move to states, so they did.  But they and their father
realized it would be vital for the medicine production part to take place in India in order to substantiate the brothers’ practice in the states (if you havn’t noticed, traditional Ayurvedic medicines aren't too easy to come by in the drug store) so the engineer,  Jilender Sodhi, became the managing director of AYUSH.  He is the one who greets us at the door, turning us over to be hosted by his wife as he is presently needing to attend to some plumbing predicament that had taken place the previous night. I see pictures of Seattle on the wall and internally celebrate the beauty of such a small world.  And it turns out I am not the only one.  The two women,  Neeru and Jilender’s wife Bankaj, are now making connections of how they met each other before and have mutual friends. 

 Neeru says, “all of these years I have been driving by and seeing this place…can you help my 90 year old mother-in-law?...we are your closest neighbors! Anytime you free you must come over for dinner. It give me such a pleasure.” 

Bankaj is also a wonderful lady.  She says she was personally not an Ayurvedist before marrying into the Sodhi family but now is, and not at all by force.  She shares her personal experience using a preparation made with Bosweelia to cure chronic swollen lymph nodes in her neck and also an amazing story about her daughter, whom she’d had from a previous relationship.  Her daughter had been very asthmatic all of her life and had developed an immunity to antibiotics at a very young age.  Her mother-in-law told the girl to drink a tulsi decoction with honey and ginger for 40 days.  Much to Bankaj’s surprise, her daughter was cured!

The facility serves as the center for the ingredient delivery, lab testing, medicine preparation and also offers pancha karma.  Unlike Patiala Pharmacy, which uses a plethora of traditional Ayurvedic recipies that included plant, animal and mineral substances and did NOT have a lab for testing actual medicinal/constituent value, Ayush uses only plant matter and does have a small lab for testing.  To me, the reasoning for for each is clear: Ayush started in 1994, a main focus being to serve an international community where in fact most traditional Ayurvedic formulas would not be permitted to import; Patiala Ayurvedic Pharmacy was founded upon the principles of remaining authentic to traditional formulas and to serve the local Indian population.  

Though Ayush may not be as "grass roots" as Patiala in the sense of its actual medicine-making processes, it is more so in other respects.  Where Patiala uses a middle man, Ayush procures all of their ingredients directly.  "People will stand out on the corner here with plants they've grown or collected in the wild," Bankaj explains noting a woman on the corner holding a bag of walnuts. "We will test the quality in the lab and then (usually) buy whatever we need at the time."
The other systems Ayush has set up to receive the plants/herbs needed to make their medicines tickeled me almost more.  In order to increase the amount of organic, not only on behalf of the medicines but on behalf of the ecology and safety of the environment, as well as to increase individual (specifically women's) financial self-reliance, Ayush will GIVE people in the village the specific organic seeds for the medicinal plants they need. Ayush will then buy the harvest for the same amount as would be paid in the market.  In addition to the profit the farmer makes from the direct sale, they also receive a part of the actual Ayush share.

After a tour around the facility, Jilender, finished sorting out the plumbing issue, invited us all to transition ourselves into the main office to talk. It turns out that Jilinder was the first man to launch an Ayurvedic product in the U.S, back as recently  as 1989.  And it was only after they switched marketing the product under the name "Ayurvedic" to "Traditional Indian" medicine that the business became popular. He now works long, tiresome hours, especially as his family lives on the top floor of the facility, but says he loves and believes in what he does, acknowledging the greater significance it has on benefiting the local and international community.   

Coming from a place of seeking what I want to do during my last year of college and post graduation, I left Ayush feeling a strong conviction (not to say it won't change) about going to Bastyr and doing my clinical internship with the Sodhi brothers. How simple a solution to many of my past conundrums: 1.) How to suit Ayurveda to a Western environment 2.) How to learn about the herbal pharmacopea of a place/climate I actually want to live in while still learning to utilize Ayurvedic theory and principles in practice and 3.) Not have to learn Hindi/Sanskrit fluently in addition to a vastly complex healing system- which would be necessary if I were to attend an Ayurvedic college in India.

I suppose the tea house business will have to come a little later, when I am able to offer more than just tea.