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Munnar is a small town in Kerala at the confluence of the mountain streams Muthirappuzha, Chanduvarai and Kundala,

like the name itself says - three rivers, surrounded by wild jungles, wet and cool for most of the season.

Most of the working people are labourers in tea estates.

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Tea HarvestMunnar

No, you can't say 'tea picking' as you can see it is not done by bare hands

anymore and I believe it is far harder to hold up these big scissors with the sack. (You can compare by cutting your hedge straight on top

with shears).Indeed it is only the top leaves

reaped in the morning that has the most flavour but these girls are

working from 8 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon as you can see in the

full sun.

Many of the tea-gardens in Munnar are not cultivated anymore as they suffer from a fungous disease and

those that are still healthy have to be sprinkled with chemicals.

This harvest is only the start of a long process that it has to undergo before it can be used for tea.

So ... Tea from her to you. 15

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Trinity October 2009

177/27/2009