Shrishti Reborn

Chapter 36. Monastery and the Tea Estate

Day four of the vacation began with a long drive to a monastery. After two hours of drive, they reached the place around twelve in the noon. They had a guide who took them all around while telling them the history of the place. Shrishti was enamoured by how remote the monastery was and how mountains loomed all around it. Once again, she became photographer for the day and kept taking photos from every angle. But for once, her friends and Pappa were not the models. No, she kept taking photos of the place. Her focus was on the Monastery with the mountains in the background.

After an hour of looking around, they were taken to a nearby small restaurant where they had momos and some other Darjeeling specialties. From then on, it was another long drive back home.

'Enjoyed the trip?', Raghav whispered from behind her. Megha was asleep next to Shrishti.

Shrishti nodded. 'It was fun. The view was beautiful. Very peaceful too.'

Raghav hummed before questioning, 'We will reach by Four. So there is nothing else planned by Uncle for the day. Want to have tea with me at the restaurant?'

Her eyes lit up. 'With books?'

'Of course.'

She turned and grinned at him before nodding eagerly.

An hour later, Shrishti and Raghav were seated in the restaurant, sipping on tea while reading their books. It was nice end to the day, Shrishti mused as she turned the page before grabbing the tea and taking a sip.

Next day, everyone was shocked when Pappa told them plan for the day.

'Tea estate?' Shrishti grinned excitedly.

'Toy train?', Arpit shouted at the top of his voice.

Pappa chuckled. 'Yes, we are going to tea estate first, then come back and have lunch and then leave around three for Batasia Loop. Once we reach there, we will have a short history lesson given by our guide before the train arrives. The toy train will begin at four thirty and it will last for two hours. It will go to Ghum Station and back.'

Megha and Arpit cheered loudly while Raghav smiled. Shrishti grinned brightly while she clapped with the other two.

The quintet left for to visit to a tea estate nearby. Soon they were parking the van and getting out and Shrishti's eyes widened. She had seen tea estates in movies for years. But it was something else to see it with her own eyes. There was nothing but green hills around her, all having tea plants the height that reached her hips. Her eyes lit up when she saw people still working in the gardens. Ladies were wearing the basket on their backs, picking tea leaves to throw into their baskets accurately without looking. It was just like in the movies!

They were led to a tea stall on the road. Behind the stall was a winding route down the valley. It looked steep and uneven. Their guide gave them a history lesson before taking them down the route. Pappa refrained from coming. It was too steep for him, he said. Megha eagerly followed the guide holding Arpit's hand. She was ordered not to let go as the valley was pretty steep and slipping even a single step could lead to serious injuries. Raghav followed Arpit and behind Raghav was Shrishti.

Shrishti was able to get down few steps easily but after few steps, she began to struggle to get down without having something to hold on to.

'I think I will go back.', she murmured softly. Raghav turned to look at her at that. He took one look at her struggles and placed his hand in front of her. Her eyes took in his assuring expression and she placed her hand in his. His fingers folded around her hand and the grip was loose and yet firm. With his help, she began to get down slowly. They reached the guide who was standing on a small plateau. He talked to them about the place, how many acres it was and how the first flush and second flush was actually imported and was very expensive. Shrishti was fascinated by all of it and listened to it with wide eyes. The guide went into details and Shrishti could see Megha and Arpit getting bored. But Raghav was as interested as she and both listened quietly. After having the usual tea sessions for two days, Shrishti had a special interest in it now and was now eager to try different types of tea and their various flushes to see, taste and smell and learn how different they could be.