Sixty-nine-year-old Mathew Philips wants to go to his home in Kerala and look after his rubber plantations.

But there is a small hitch.

Residents of Newlands tea estate in the Dooars are not ready to leave their “Bada Saab”, whom they love as their “father figure”.

Philips has spent close to 40 years in the Dooars, and for the past 29 years, as the manager of Newlands, a tea estate in Kumargram block of Alipurduar district.

“Other tea estates have managers. But in Newlands, Mathew Philips is our guardian . We don’t want him to go. He is our father figure,” says Prakash Chik Baraik, a youth of the garden.

Prakash, also the Alipurduar district Trinamul president, said in the past three decades, Philips brought startling changes to their lives.

“I am a living example,” he said. “After my father’s death, he helped me continue with my studies. He stood by three other youths, made them study tea management in North Bengal University and today they are in managerial posts in other estates.”

In Newlands, there are 1,545 permanent workers and an equal number of casual workers. For each, Philips is who they turn to in times good and bad.

In 1983, Philips, who hails from Thiruvalla town in Kerala, had joined a tea estate in Matialli block of Jalpaiguri. In 1992, he joined Newlands, where he stays with his wife. His daughter is married in Kerala while his son is in Canada.

Senior workers said he helped the garden stand on its feet. According to them, the garden was in distress when he joined. Also, it had no power connectivity and bad roads.

“He brought power here and was instrumental in improving road connectivity. He stopped the sale of illegal country liquor here,” said a senior worker. Philips got women workers to create a transparent welfare fund from where workers could borrow for emergencies, instead of going to money-lenders, and encouraged children in the garden to study, he added.

Philips is equally appreciated for his business acumen. In 1999, the garden’s production dipped owing to low yield at the plantations. To ensure production stayed steady, he took up the task of buying tea leaves from closed tea gardens. It also helped workers of closed gardens to earn some money.

Workers here also make extra earnings as he has shown them how to grow rubber and betel nut on vacant areas near their quarters.

The manager, who is a Christian, has always enthusiastically taken part in celebrations like Durga Puja or Karam Puja, another employee added.

When told that workers don’t want to let him go, Philips laughed.

“I am almost 70 now and lack the dexterity that a garden manager needs. There are many dynamic youngsters (who can take my place). I will speak to the workers soon. All I want is to enjoy a retired life back home,” he said.