COORG NOTES 3

19h May.I and Renjith were on the way to Cheyyandane.After passing Heggala Renjith drove a kilometer or so and parked the car near an estate gate.A few feet away, Inside the estate a middle aged man and woman were cutting some dry and living branches of coffee plants.Renjith asked them what they were doing there.The man replied that they were rounding .The work of cutting some old branches for giving the plant enough space and convenience for allowing it to grow with new vigour without causing any trouble to the nearby plants is known as 'rounding'.The man and his wife were engaged in that work.We asked them what was their wage.'Rs.230 a day'The man replied.Everybody knows that the amount is just enough to pull on meeting only the basic needs. After an hour we got the chance to meet another worker of another estate .He was tipsy,no,he was really fit, but seemed to be aware of many problems related to coffee cultivation.He said, 'Look,the price of coffee varies.Our owners get only a small amount. The middle men and the companies which make coffee powder make money.The estate owners here are not cunning.They don't use pesticides and chemical manures.So the yield is less.But they don't take care.They are interested only in the studies of their chidren and some traditional festivals.With what they get from their ancestral property they can give good education to their chidren.Only that much.But one thing is sure.The coffee here is the best in the world. Oh,really good,great.'