A Postcard from Darjeeling

Reported from Goomtee in May 2015; roles are as they were at the time.

More from our wanderings around Darjeeling’s famous Goomtee tea estate…

The other day we met Manju didi, as everyone here calls her. As supervisor, she has a very important job. Twice a day, the pluckers come with their pickings of the leaves. Each bag is weighed and Manju didi meticulously records the weight in her “plucking log book.” The women are paid according to how much they have plucked, so this is an all-important job.

Manju didi has been working at Goomtee for eight years now. Because she was “12th pass,” as one who has completed the school leaving certificate is referred to, she could get a clerical job in the office rather than work in the gardens. In her time here, Manju didi has gone from being a clerk to supervisor.

Photograph by Gautam Virprashad

Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on May 7, 2015. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026. Explore our single-estate Darjeeling teas.