"The Tea Auction adventure By Abrar "

The Tea Auction adventure

It is not very often that I get out of my bed as early as 6.30 in the morning. But this was going to be a special occasion. 31st of July was going to be my first stint with tea trading, thanks to the program arranged by the trade club coordinators. After the grand success of the trading game, the club had more surprises in store for us. Sunil and Alok, the coordinators, had given us a briefing on the previous day on how the whole auction process takes place.

We all set off to the tea board with Sunil and the Rajat duo taking charge of the proceedings. The auction was to begin at 8.30 sharp and we managed to be there on time. I was expecting it to be some sort of market place with people shouting at the top of their voices, something on the lines of Dalal Street. As we moved into the building, we were ushered into an auditorium which was filled with people, representing various firms, maintaining perfect decorum. That was the first big surprise to me.


The proceedings started sharp on 8.30am. There was the moderator who, on behalf of the brokers, was taking forward the auction process. He was speaking at a rate faster than any cricket commentator. But he still made complete sense to his target audience. Then there were strange signs and conversations going on among all members. I could not make much sense; but one thing was clear: the trading had started. People were busy making calls and chatting on their laptops. After observing for some more time, there was some clarity on the happenings. The trading was taking place simultaneously in other parts of India including Guwahati and Banglore. To summarise the proceedings, there was a broker, who had several lots of tea from various suppliers and he held an auction for which there were various bidders including the likes of HLL and TATA.

On a personal note, it was a one of its kind of experience. It gave an insight into how actual trading happens. If not for this initiative by the trade club, I would never had a chance to visit a tea-auction. Cheers to the Trade Club for organizing this eventful trip and looking forward for more such fun in the days to come.

Mohammad Abrar
MBA IB (07-09)
IIFT-Kolkata