The play explores the inhuman suffering undergone by Assam’s tea tribals in British India in the beginning of eighteenth century, and their struggle for survival while being subjected to heinous exploitation by the British, and the ensuing identity crisis that haunts the community till date.

The exploited and downtrodden tribals of Jharkhand in British India were misguided to think they will upgrade to a better life if they migrated to the far east - Assam - and settled there. Their lives in Jharkhand were unimaginably tragic and many of them readied themselves to go Assam to escape from the never-ending sorrow and poverty. Whoever was reluctant to migrate were forcefully boarded onto ships by the British authorities. The journey of these tribals on overloaded river vessels was hazardous, torturous and inhuman; they were chained and plagued by shortages of food, supplies and medicines, mercilessly flogged, the sick were thrown alive into the river. At the end of the journey, only one-third would reach Assam where they found their lives to be even more hard than before, toiling relentlessly in tea gardens. Depleted of any identity or liberty, their suffering continues even now. This play is the tragic backstory behind that calming cup of tea all of us savour everyday.