Tea Tales In Kurseong

"If you are cold, tea will warm you if you are too heated, it will cool you if you are depressed, it will cheer you if you are excited, it will calm you." These words by William Ewart Gladstone, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, seemed to echo in the hills as I sat at Goodricke Teapot, Margaret's Deck in Kurseong, Darjeeling. Goodricke Group Limited's new tea lounge overlooks Margaret's Hope Tea Estate, the largest of the tea estates here. Twice on that day, I heard a whistle announcing the toy train, steaming away to Darjeeling town and back. The tracks were laid right outside, as if the lounge itself were a station.