Monsoon Sweep

As the monsoon flirts with the Himalaya, the women of Kumaon prepare for the rice fields.This are of Kumaon is famous for the high altitude Girias tea.

Exported mostly to Korea, the tea is said to reduce cholesterol and have other health benefits, it is the King of the green tea commanding high prices. Tea sold to the Korean market is hand picked, dried and rolled in a special process that earns the tea a high price.
The monsoon clouds are fast approaching, two kids on the way home have been fishing.

 The driver stops the car and negotiates a price with them; they agree that ten rupees is a fair price for an eel and whatever that little fish is. “Meat tonight,” smiles the driver.
In a teashop, a new bride on a family trip paints her Mother In Law’s nails with polish bought at one of the stalls that sell such indulgences to local tourists. She keeps sneaking glances at her new husband, it seems like a happy arrangement.
A woman in a tree cutting food for the cattle, her friend either keeping company at the bottom or waiting to way lay a local boy on his way from here to there.
The monsoon is the time for fertility, for flooded rice paddies and rest for the hard working mothers of the earth. It’s a time for long periods of absence and the sweet soft sighs of love.