Nuddea Plantations Ltd.

Life at Tota Para, near the Banarghat post office in Jalpaiguri, revolves around the land. Nuddea Plantations Ltd. isn't something you can describe with fancy words. It’s just a lot of acreage and a lot of tea bushes that need constant attention. The weather in Jalpaiguri dictates everything we do. If it rains too much, we’re stuck; if it’s too dry, we worry. We spend our days out in the fields or in the processing sheds where the air is thick with the smell of fermentation. The equipment we use is older, but we know how to fix it when it breaks, which happens more often than we’d like. It’s a rural life, and the nearest town isn't exactly next door. We rely on each other to get the work done, especially during the peak seasons when the plucking has to happen fast. We live and work in the same general area, so the line between the two gets blurry. There’s no corporate ladder here, just people who know how to handle tea leaves and manage the soil. It’s dirty, tiring work, and your shoes are always covered in mud, but there’s a certain rhythm to it that you get used to after a few years. It gets quiet at night, except for the bugs, and you just get ready to do it all over again when the sun comes up.