Bagfuls of freshly picked tea

I believe the building at the top of the little hill is where they processed tea leaves at the Bharat Cameron Plantations. From a distance, I can see white smoke billowing up from the chimney. Clearly, some activity is going on there, although I could hardly see any workers outside the building. And since it was late afternoon, there was also no sign of anyone picking tea-leaves or for that matter, any single soul out there in the fields.

I took a walk down the winding road leading towards the direction of the above-mentioned building. I wanted to feel what it's like walking among the rolling bushes of tea, to feel the glossy leaves and to smell the fragrance up close.

Strangely, the heady fragrance of tea leaves that greeted me uphill where the Tea Shop is located is not so obvious down in the valley itself. Could it be that my senses have already been dulled by the onslaught which overwhelmed me in the first instance?

Nevertheless, it is wonderful to walk along the gravel path and admire the neat rows upon rows of tea bushes, its dark precious leaves gleaming in the afternoon sun amidst lighter shades of young shoots pushing up from the dark green mass.

As I came towards the bottom of the pathway, there lying beside the road are bagfuls of freshly picked leaves waiting to be taken away for processing. The white gunny sacks are tightly packed and tied up, in all probability the fruits of the day's labour.

No one seems to be around. At a distance away stood the building, smoke still billowing out from its chimney. A deserted lorry was parked nearby. It was amazingly quiet, and standing there surrounded by all those tea bushes evoked a very surreal feeling - almost zen like. All I felt was peace, and wonder at the beauty of nature blessed by God's loving touch.