Imagine you are on a long bus journey, sitting by the window, when you spot a green heaven. Acres and acres of land brightened up by the fragrance of fresh tea leaves growing in the warmth of sunshine and the care of humans. This is what Nia Patel, a travel influencer, stumbled upon.
Patel, who is popular on Instagram as 'patelontheplanet,' recently shared a video captioned with an eye-catching line: "Part of India No One Shows You." She was walking through the tea gardens in Assam and captured the vastness of the plantations, offering a serene and powerful landscape.
"Look at this, I am walking in the tea. It's kind of like walking through a maze, but you can't get lost. I feel like that's really fun," she said in the video.
Reflecting on the experience, Patel wrote in the caption: "I was on the bus for hours driving past all of the tea.. A few days later I got to meet the ladies who hand-pluck the tea. Probably one of the most amazing experiences ever."
A few days later, she took to the app again to share a series of images with the female tea pluckers in the Majuli and Jorhat areas of Assam. "This IS the definition of STRONG women. Most humbling day of my life," she wrote in the caption.
Patel went on to reveal that Assam produces over 50% of India's tea and roughly one-seventh of the world's tea. However, the industry heavily relies on the women tea pickers who make up the majority of the workforce and lift bags as heavy as 16kg every day.
"Behind so many of the cups we drink every day are women working through heat, weight, and endless fields with a strength I honestly can't even pretend to match," she added.
In the images, Patel could be seen plucking tea leaves with the women while also appreciating them with a namaste.
Numerous social media users appreciated Patel's exploration of the famed tea gardens of Assam. Many welcomed her to Assam while others suggested she visit other states like Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
"India itself is tea, it has everything," wrote one user.
"We north easterners preserve everything," added another.
"India is beautiful," one wrote.
