It was late May and I was in Darjeeling district of West Bengal interviewing tea estate managers and workers about the struggles their world famous industry was facing due to climate change and competition.
On my first day there I had joined protesting activists and workers at Longview tea estate at 7 am for interviews. I thought that would take up most of the day but by 10 am the protest had wrapped up and the workers returned to work.
The day was still young and I was eager to visit more tea estates, so I asked activists from the Hill Plantation Employees Union to recommend a place. They suggested that I visit Ringtong tea estate and meet Sudha Tamang, a member of their executive committee, who was also a tea estate worker.
Google Maps showed that the tea estate was close to Darjeeling city, a 30-kilometre uphill drive from Longview that would take about an hour and a half. I was staying in Silliguri and the driver who had accompanied me from there appeared a little displeased about our new destination, but after bragging about his driving skills on the steep hills we set forth.
About two hours later, passing through misty roads with breathtaking scenery and...
from Scroll.in https://scroll.in/article/1089411/backstory-driving-to-where-no-cars-can-go-in-the-darjeeling-mountains?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public https://sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/article/211193-wwmhgielqf-1766925114.jpeg
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