Hope and aspiration in Darjeeling’s tea gardens

Reported from Mim tea estate in December 2015; Nirvan’s schooling and circumstances are as they were at the time.

Nirvan Subba was collecting grass for his cattle when we met him. He lives on Mim tea estate, where his father works. Nirvan is in the 10th standard and goes to the local school. His day begins at 5 a.m. and he helps with the family chores before leaving for school at 8 a.m. Nirvan said his favorite subject in school was science, and that he would like to become a doctor. Why, we asked. “We have to travel 20 km to see a doctor now,” he said. And Nirvan thinks he should do something about it.

Photograph by Gautam Virprashad

Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on December 5, 2015. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026.