Page 72 - APPL Annual Report 2019

assam tea has carved a niche for itself globally: there can hardly be a tea lover who
has not tasted pure assam tea. this great industry however exists because of lakhs of
tea garden community people who work tirelessly in the fields. these workers are
descendants of those earliest workers who were indentured by the British from places
like Bengal, Bihar, odisha; even as far as andhra Pradesh to assam. this community
comprises of 15-20% of the state’s population.
sirish , a brain-child of aPPl Foundation was an initiative started in 2015 which aimed
tm
to celebrate this rainbow community and unearth their own heritage. the name is
derived from sirish tree, which grows abundantly in the estates and is also the site

Like every year, in Sirish 2019 Oriya and Kurug
dance were major attraction of the festival

Progress and ImPact rePort 2018-19 73