Red Tea

Red Tea is an English novel written by Paul Harris Daniel (born 1910). It was published in Madras by Higginbothams in 1969. The 2013 Tamil film Paradesi was based on it. It is based on the experiences of tea plantation workers in the Madras Presidency during the British Raj. It was translated into Tamil as Eriyum Panikaadu by Ira. Murugavel. Daniel was a medical doctor and had worked in a series of Assamese tea plantations as chief medical officer during 1941-65. He also acted as a union organiser. During that time, he had interviewed many workers there and obtained signed statements from them. Later he used that material to write this novel. Though a work of fiction detailing the lives of Karuppan and Valli, Red Tea was written with an "explicit documentary purpose". It details how the Madras Planters Act of 1903 led to the poor conditions of plantation workers. Debt bondage of the workers, their poor working conditions, their inability to escape their life are all captured in this novel.The Tamil film 'Paradesi' is based on this work.