ジョン・スタンメイヤーさんのインスタグラム写真 - (ジョン・スタンメイヤーInstagram)「Tea is another business often connected to abuse, and gaining ethical access can be difficult. We were at the heart of Indian tea in West Bengal and visited a small shop near a river for a chai meditation. Asking the owner where the nearest tea plantation was, he pointed across the street, “Right there”. As luck would offer, we were in the village of Looksan where two minutes up a little winding road was the aptly named Looksan Tea Planation. The kind chai master made a call (he used to work there), and we were told to drive up after finishing our chai. This was when I met Mr Puman. He welcomed his unannounced guests so nicely and asked us to spend the night in his home at the plantation. @ankitha_rs was given his bedroom, Ram @kewalmauryatravels and I two living room sofas. That evening his wife cooked us dinner, and we discussed tea, labor practices, and life. He knew the abuse of women in the tea plantation and firmly said none of that happens here. Mr Punam Pradhan wasn’t overbearing about his statement, more matter of fact. The next two days I spent with the ladies plucking tea leaves. I asked many how they were treated, going to their homes and villages to meet other tea ladies. All said yes, very well, although the pay could be more, they did receive bonuses. The ladies also knew the abuse at other plantations, but all said not here. Punam kept in touch with me since those two days in early 2019, messaging every month or so on WhatsApp if I was well. On Sunday, I received a message from Mr Pradhan, but it was not written by him. His daughter wrote, telling me that her father had just passed, and said he would want me to know. I was melancholic much of that day, remembering how kind he was to me, Ankitha, Ram, and how all the ladies I spoke with felt the same. The tea universe has lost a gentle soul. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ India’s Daunting Challenge: There’s Water Everywhere, And Nowhere - Chapter 8 of the @outofedenwalk, my latest story in the August 2020 issue of @natgeo magazine. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @natgeo @outofedenwalk #walkingindia #edenwalk #india #westbengal #teaplantation #tea #chai #remembering」8月13日 12時45分