Even before the Makaibari Bungalow—amã Stays & Trails’s latest offering in Darjeeling—opened in September, it found itself fully booked for the following two months. The overwhelming demand came as a sweet surprise at a time when the pandemic had just started easing its grip on the travel industry. Suffice to say, there couldn’t have been a worthier unveiling for the 6,000 sq ft vintage beauty that sits atop a hill in Kurseong, surrounded by the ancient Makaibari forests, the Mirik hills, and the plains of Siliguri. Though its architectural aesthetic is reminiscent of plush, colonial-era plantation bungalows, the ultra-modern comforts inside it remind you that this place has a youthful heart. “I wanted it to be designed partly to look like a tea estate bungalow and partly as a log cabin, like the ones you see in the mountains in Colorado,” says Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director of Kolkata-based Luxmi Group that owns the Makaibari tea estate. “At the same time, I wanted a contemporary design.” Chatterjee is all about keeping up with the times. The hyper-speed wi-fi connection at the bungalow was not exactly an easy feat to achieve for a homestay tucked in the foothills of the Himalayas.
However, even as it helps you stay close to your urbane rituals, the Makaibari Bungalow makes it easy somehow to distance yourself from the rat race and give in to the joys of slow living. The view across the expansive glass wall in the living room is so tranquil, you will find any disquieting voices in your head instantly hushed into silence. As far as the eye can see, an endless gathering of mountains plays peekaboo with cotton clouds. (Rest assured that at some point during your stay here, the clouds will drift into the property and caress you on their way out.) The silence inside, underlined with the subtle aromas of flowers and dense foliage wafting in from the gardens and surrounding forests, feels almost sacred; the quietude, only broken occasionally by startling birdsongs. (The area is home to more than 200 species of birds including the Himalayan bulbul, crimson-breasted woodpecker, scarlet finch, rufous-necked hornbill, fire-tailed sunbird and yellow-breasted greenfinch.)
Although nature undeniably drives the overarching theme here, the impressive luxury that one comes to expect from the Taj Group is unmissable—be it through the Sabyasachi wallpaper, the custom-made Manor & Mews furniture, the hand-knotted Obeetee carpets or the handcrafted tableware specially commissioned from Burleigh, the 170-year-old crockery house at Stoke-on-Trent in England. Even the profusion of paintings by Nicholas Roerich (the famed Russian Symbolist who, a century ago, had spent long months at the estate) speak for the outstanding décor choices of Chatterjee and his wife.
With four king-sized plus one twin bedrooms, a massive living room and a dining room, the pet-friendly Makabari Bungalow is a dreamy retreat for a family vacay or an office team huddle. It also helps that it’s just an hour away from Bagdogra Airport. (Make sure you have cleared up storage space on your phone; the 36 km pine-scented ascent from the airport to the homestay is one you would want to scroll back to for a long time.)
The mountains have a mysterious way of stoking one’s appetite, so it’s normal to feel peckish by the time you get here. Expect to be thoroughly pampered—the in-house chefs are blessedly skilled at a variety of Indian and international cuisines, in addition to local Nepalese delicacies. If you’d rather skip the fanfare, feel free to ask for your favourite comfort food. (Intrigued by a dish and want to know the recipe? Fret not, the staff here will happily volunteer the deets.) Part of the reason why the feast set before you tastes so mouth-watering is that the veggies sourced from the bungalow garden and the local market are wholly organic.
Makaibari has a long history of organic farming practices. In fact, the guided tour of the tea garden offers a clear picture of how deeply nature is revered in this part of the world. “This 550-acre tea estate is the steepest in Darjeeling, and to counter the challenges of the terrain, right at the outset, the owners relied on bio-mimicking based on advanced permaculture practices,” informs Sanjay Das, the tea estate manager. Even though the estate spans over six mountain ridges and is hemmed in by nearly 1,100 acres of forests, grasses and weeds, making it intensely difficult to supervise, the lean, sprightly Das negotiates the terrain with enviable ease. A repository of animated tales on tea cultivation at his disposal, he stirs awe as he explains some of the quaint practices that go into making the world’s first biodynamic tea: “Plantation workers consult a celestial calendar to choose the plucking period for the Silver Tips Imperial. These tea leaves are only plucked on a full-moon night, four to five times a year, with drumbeats and prayer chanting that lend the whole process an exalted sanctity. We only have about 100 workers who are specially trained for this plucking.”
The harvest is immediately sent off to the factory, so processing can begin before dawn to prevent sunlight from meddling with the aroma and consistency. (If you want to know how precious the output is, consider this: It takes 200 kg of tea leaves to yield 50 kg of processed leaves, which is then counted among the world’s finest teas.) Though the Makaibari tea estate is home to a wide variety of outstanding tea leaves, the Silver Tips imperial has a cult following from the haughtiest of the global elite. It’s favoured at the Royal Palace of Buckingham, high-ranking dignitaries from government officialdom in India and select connoisseurs from the US, UK and Japan. You will find your proof in the letters framed on the corridor walls of the bungalow, sent by Prince Charles and other gloried notables.
For the luxe aura surrounding the estate, the 160-year-old Makaibari tea factory—the world’s first—still retains its original architectural simplicity in wood, bamboo and cast iron. Das is veritably puffed with pride when he says that the tea estate and factory were the only ones to never be owned by the British Raj. Inside the factory, as workers go about their tasks—drying, sorting, bagging, storing—all in a meditative calm, it’s easy to feel as if you are caught in a time warp. Every wall, machine, glass pane and floor surface seem wizened, in the manner of things that have weathered time with strength and grace.
“Makaibari is guided by a mix of traditional agricultural wisdom and some wonderful biodynamic farming principles suggested by Austrian reformer and philosopher Rudolf Steiner,” says tea sommelier Pervez Arshad Hussain. “For instance, we make special manures using organic matters like oak bark and bury it next to a flowing stream, letting it ferment through the seasons. There is another manure for which we use dried yarrow flowers, and fill it with fresh manure.” Hussain explains that these manures work differently to play wonders on root development, water uptake and coaxing out the unique flavours of tea leaves.
Strap on a wicker basket and try plucking tea leaves with the cheerful workers at the estate. Though their hands move at a maddeningly brisk pace, they are sweetly patient tutors. If you want to take the thrill several notches up, sign up for the escorted trek through the 1,000-year-old Makaibari forests. The trail has more than a few steep drops and the woods, full of impossibly tall and majestic trees, are home to endangered panthers, tigers, leopards, snakes and spiders. The highs and dips also mean that by the time you are done, you might just want to return to the bungalow and dissolve into the inviting softness of the four-poster bed, but not before bingeing on an assortment of delicious snacks served by the kitchen. Chatterjee is right when he says that he wants guests to feel like they are living in their own home in the middle of the world’s oldest tea estate. The Makaibari Bungalow does feel like home—one straight out of a storybook that you can’t wait to share with your friends back home. This is just the place to send a postcard or a letter from, smudged ink and all. It’s an untold joy that can only be savoured like a cup of astoundingly expensive Darjeeling tea.
