Around 1 in the afternoon, our car rolled into the driveway of the Chota Tingrai bungalow. Even as we stepped out, a Jeep came up behind us and out jumped a very young man dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Had I not been told, I’d never have guessed that he runs the 600-hectare estate that we were now visiting. Only 24, Mrityunjay Jalan, with his sister Avantika, manages the daily running of the family estate that boasts a state-of-the-art green tea processing plant, and a successful organic garden.   Avantika and Mrityunjay were nothing I had expected of estate owners. No airs, no touch of the ‘sahib’, nothing. They were warm, friendly and we immediately hit it off. The first order of business was a cup of tea, obviously. John, Avantika’s life and business partner who is a new tea convert (from coffee), is the official tea brewer in the house, we were told. He handed us perfectly brewed cups of hot Assam tea, that in spite of the warm weather, wasn’t entirely unwelcome. The … Continue reading Assam Diaries: The Jalans at Chota Tingrai