Udalguri, Nov. 27: It could have been a scene from any cemetery - a lady placing a bunch of fresh flowers in front of a tombstone on a misty winter morning.

Except that the tombstone was of Caesar, Chumki Bhattacharrya's pet golden retriever, who died in April. Chumki pays floral tribute to Caesar every morning.

Before Caesar there were Bonjo, Goofy and some others, long gone but whose fond memories still mingle with the history of the more than 100-year-old manager's bungalow at Hatigarh Tea Estate, one of the gardens owned by the Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited, formerly Tata Tea here.

A well-maintained corner near the swimming pool of this palatial building located amidst lush green tea bushes has a row of tombstones which were constructed by the owners of these dogs who were once their pets.

"Dogs have been an integral part of the tea garden executives' lives. These animals are good company in these bungalows which are far from the hustle bustle of city life and we treat them like family members," Chumki, wife of the Hatigarh Tea Estate manager, told The Telegraph.

The Hatigarh Tea Estate manager's bungalow was built in 1891 and has about 10 tombstones in memory of the pet dogs. "We make it a point to keep this place clean. The first two tombstones were built when the bungalow was occupied by British officers," Chumki said.

The last tombstone is that of Caesar's.

"Caesar was our first pet for nearly 10 years. We still cherish each and every memory that we shared with him," Chumki said.

The Bhattacharryas adopted another pet, also named Bonjo, a labrador, recently.

Paran Jyoti Das, manager of Nonaipara Tea Estate, a garden owned by Goodricke and located near Hatigarh Tea Estate, said it has become some kind of a habit for the planters to keep pets, be it dogs, rabbits, pigeons or ducks.

"These animals and birds keep good company in the solitude of the gardens and we treat them like our family members," he said.

The Dasses are proud owners of Bolt, a labrador.

He said it's not only at Hatigarh Tea Estate but managers' bungalows in many tea gardens, especially those built during the British era, have tombstones for their pet dogs. "Our love for them remains even after death," he said.

Barpatra Tea Estate in Sivasagar district, another tea estate of the company, where Das held the post of manager earlier, has a large number of tombstones for the garden's pet dogs.

He said earlier garden executives used to keep horses and the company would give an allowances for their maintenance.

"There were hardly any roads in tea gardens earlier and horses were a good mode for transportation," he said.

B. Joshi, senior manager of Barchapori Tea Estate near Numaligarh refinery, said many tea garden executives are like environmentalists and make it a point to protect the animals and birds, be it wild or domestic.

Joshi, on his part, has created a forest inside his tea garden for elephants.