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Squaddie leads snappers to Gurkha gardens in tribal India...

posted on Monday, July 21, 2008 12:57 AM

Author: Allegra O'Neil, Dublin

Just when we thought Lady Lucky had vomited on our faces - again! We were saved; by the discovery of Terence Browne.

Terry, a visual communications specialist, will act as expedition team leader and technical adviser to the planned filming for the IndiaOrganix project.

The India photo shoot trip, organised and managed by Thomas Murphy, will cover organic spice gardens in West Bengal, Tripura and Assam; tribal wildcrafting in Kerala, and ancient herb plantations in South and NE India originally planted by the East India Company in 1701.

The photographic images collected will be built into an in-house Asian image bank to be used by Sanjay Kumar and the MIKA PR team in Brighton for marketing the IndiaOrganix food brand and publishing purposes.

Terry joins the MIKA/TMA team having served in The Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. He decieded in his early teens to follow family tradition and opted for a military career after school. His grandparents served in the British Army in Madras (Chennai), Burma, and under Lord 'Dickie' Mountbatten Sri Lanka.

Having served in various technical and advisory roles in NATO HQ, and the Middle East, Terry brings to MIKA hands-on technical and IT communications skills, as well as orientation and field skills.

Terry’s fascination with South Asia began with his secondment to the Queen's Gurkha Signals.

As a soldier of the Queen's Gurkha Signals Terry served in Germany, Brunei, Nepal, in the 2 Gurkha infantry battalions and also at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Famed for their loyalty, discipline and courage in battle, Nepali Gurkhas have been recruited into the British Army since 1817.

Competition is fierce and last year more than 15,000 people tried out for 230 places.

The British Army currently has around 3,400 Gurkhas serving in countries including Iraq and Afghanistan; while the Indian Army has over 90,000 in its ranks.

Tens of thousands of family members depend entirely on Gurkha salaries and pensions, providing income that would be otherwise unobtainable.

Among the plantations that Terry and the IndiaOrganix film crew will visit are the famed spice gardens maintained by the Gurkha Hill Council in West Bengal since 1902.

ENDS

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