I invite you to join me aboard the Darjeeling Limited. The steam engine belches out swirls of white smoke, its whistle echoes around the valley, and in a few moments it will set off in the direction of 2013.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
I don’t have reindeer or a sleigh to offer you from the countries I travel around so frequently. However, in terms of a sack, I do have something for you.
I wish you much happiness, and some lovely surprises beneath the tree.
This charming Nepalese tea plucker is setting off with her basket to harvest the young shoots of the tea bushes.
She reminds me of you all who, at this festive time of year, are out looking for things that will make your loved-ones happy.
The buildings in which tea is processed are full of smells. Wilting produces the most pronounced aromas, while it is taking place, giving off vegetal, floral bouquets. The smell is so powerful, it literally transports you.
However, if you visit a tea factory outside the production season, like here at the Palampur Co-operative (India), other aromas are more dominant. You find yourself shutting your eyes to better appreciate the powerful smell of straw and horse hair.
This morning I took off for India.
I’m not yet travelling on a prayer mat or on one of these flags fluttering in the wind, but that doesn’t mean I am not unmoved by the intense mystique of this country, its poetry.
These materials you see here symbolise the sky, the earth, water, fire and air, depending on their colour. On each of these flags are printed prayers that are carried off by the wind.
While the sky is often overcast in Darjeeling during the summer months, it is often clear from the end of October.
It is then possible to admire the view of the Kanchenjunga range from the promenade that starts at Chowrasta, in the centre of the city.
Life is about meeting people, about trajectories that follow one another or cross paths. Life is a path.
I dedicate this photo to Emilie who has looked after my blog since it started. I record my thoughts, but it is Emilie who presents them so beautifully. She gives them titles. She also searches through my many photos, sometimes cropping one for better effect. And she gives my writing a second life on the social networks.
Emilie is now taking another path, and I’ll miss her. I’d also like to thank her for the quality of her work. I hope she enjoys the road ahead. And I hope it is as beautiful as this one, which winds its way between the tea plants towards Darjeeling.
When I meet tea producers we always exchange small gifts. It’s a nice way of expressing our pleasure at working together.
One of our Japanese suppliers with whom I’ve just spent the day has given me these delightful ceramic figures. I photographed them in the morning light, before making them an offering of a Gyokuro. Looking at them fills me with a sense of calm and wellbeing.
The little train of Darjeeling is a familiar sight on my blog. It comes and goes whenever it pleases, without so much as a by-your-leave. And it doesn’t just do this on my pages either: look how casually it makes use of the road when it fancies! Other vehicles have to watch out when this train is about.
With many of you currently heading out of town, I dedicate this photo to you, and hope you enjoy your holidays. As for me, I’m surrounded by nature all year round in the tea fields, and I’ll continue to bring you news throughout the summer. The tea plants won’t stop growing while you’re at the seaside. And don’t forget to prepare a flask of your favourite iced tea to keep you cool on the beach!
