Krishna Sengupta, a veteran CPM leader in North Dinajpur, was sipping black tea on Thursday morning while watching television at home.

“Suddenly, the news came! Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has demised! Initially, I couldn’t believe it but gradually realised that he had indeed left us,” said Sengupta, a septuagenarian, sitting morose at her house in Kumardangi of Raiganj.

Since the nineties, Krishna was the “tea maker” of the former chief minister of Bengal during the latter’s visit to her district.

“He was a frequent tea drinker and would enjoy intermittent sips of black tea without sugar. Whenever he would come to our district (North Dinajpur) for organisational or other work, I would make and serve tea to him. It will be an everlasting memory for me,” said Krishna, a state committee member of Pashchimbanga Ganatantrik Mahila Samiti, CPM’s women’s wing.

Sengupta, a retired schoolteacher, was associated with the student front of the Left party in college. Later, she joined the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPM. In 1992, when the then West Dinajpur district was divided into North and South Dinajpur, Krishna was assigned the responsibility of the women’s front.

“When I was in the DYFI, I was assigned the task of serving tea and other food to both Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee whenever they came here. Jyoti Basu was of a reserved nature, I would feel a bit hesitant. Buddhada, however, was frank and informal,” said Krishna.

The former chief minister, she said, would ask for tea differently. “Jodi cha khabar ichche hoto, uni bolten, Krishna, Raiganj er lokera ki cha khawa bhule gelo? (Whenever he would feel like drinking tea, he would call me and say whether the people of Raiganj had forgotten to sip tea in a bit jovial manner). I would immediately arrange tea for him,” said the woman CPM leader.

Buddhadeb’s habit of drinking black tea without sugar also made Krishna switch to a similar format of the brew.

“I had once asked him about the tea he enjoys and he had elaborated on it. Seeing him regularly sipping tea, I also developed the habit of having black tea. Today, I was having my first cup of tea when I learned about his demise,” said Krishna.

During one of his trips to North Dinajpur, Krishna mustered the courage to ask him to quit smoking.

“Again, he had jovially said that he had already lit a cigarette and didn’t want to waste it. For years, I didn’t meet him as he was sick. I regret that I didn’t get another opportunity to serve one more cup of the brew to him,” said Krishna.