Giddapahar Tea Estate

The fog rolls in early here in Kurseong, sometimes before we’ve even had our first cup of tea. We spend most of our time out on the slopes or checking the factory floor. It’s not a fancy setup, just how things have always been done at Giddapahar Tea Estate. Most of us grew up in these hills, seeing the seasons change and the bushes grow. The post office is just down the road. Some days the main path is blocked by a small mudslide after the rain, but that’s just a normal part of life for us. We don’t change much. The tea grows, we pick it, and that is the day. You can hear the toy train whistle if the wind is blowing the right way. It is a quiet life for the most part. We deal with the weather and the tea plants. There is always a fence to fix or a roof leak when the monsoon hits hard. People know where to find us. We have been at this address in Kurseong for a long time. It gets very cold in the winter, so we drink a lot of our own tea to stay warm while we work. The garden looks different every month. Right now, it is very green and lush. We just keep going, day after day, making sure the bins are full and the leaves are handled right. It is hard work, but it is what we know.