With
special emphasis to
Munnar, and to the delight
of tea lovers and tourists,
Tata Tea recently opened
a Tea Museum which houses
curious, photographs
and machineries, each
depicting a turning
point that contributed
to a flourishing tea
industry, as seen today
in the region.
The
museum set up at the
Nallathanni Estate of
Tata Tea in Munnar is
a fitting tribute to
the toils and rigours
of its pioneers, who
showed utmost determination
and were resolute in
their efforts to transform
Munnar into a major
plantation centre of
Kerala.
The
Tata Tea Museum diligently
portrays the growth
of Munnar tea estates,
veritably conveyed through
some of the displays
like the rudimentary
tea roller to the modern
fully automated tea
factory.
Visitors
to the museum can satiate
their curiosity on various
stages of tea processing,
and also learn a thing
or two about the production
of black tea.
A sundial,
placed on a granite
block, which was made
in 1913 by the Art Industrial
School at Nazareth,
Tamil Nadu, greets a
visitor to the Tea Museum.
At
the museum, if one is
curious to locate an
item with some antiquity,
then the burial urn
from the second century
BC, which was found
near Periakanal estate
tops the list.
Some
of the attention grabbing
items on display at
the museum include the
original tea roller,
the 'Rotorvane,' dating
back to 1905, used for
CTC type tea processing;
the 'Pelton Wheel' used
in the power generation
plant that existed in
the Kanniamallay estate
in the 1920s; a rail
engine wheel of the
Kundale Valley Light
Railway that shuttled
men and material between
Munnar and Top Station
during the first half
of the last century.
A section
of the museum also houses
classic bungalow furniture,
typewriters, wooden
bathtub, magneto phone,
iron oven, manual calculators
and EPABX of the1909
telephone system.
A demonstration
room for tea tasting
is another attraction
where one would come
across different varieties
of tea. Those eager
to understand the nuances
of tea processing can
do so at the CTC and
orthodox tea-manufacturing
unit at the museum.
The
museum authorities are
also contemplating on
the idea of allowing
tourists to pluck tea
leaves themselves and
have them processed
in their presence.
The
Tea Museum by Tata Tea
would soon turn out
yet another reason for
travelers to visit the
enchanting plantation
hills of Munnar, which
have already become
one of the prime tourist
destinations in Kerala.
Timings:
10:00 a.m. to 05:00
p.m. (open 7 days a
week)
