Meet the first woman manager of Assam tea estate, Manju Baruah. Since the British set up tea estates in the region in the 1830s, there have always been ‘bada sahebs’ who have headed the Assam’s tea estates.
43-year-old Baruah, in a conversation with TOI, shares, “I am often addressed as ‘bada madam’. It is the alternative to ‘bada saheb’, the way the boss in a tea garden is traditionally addressed. Sometimes, the workers call me ‘Sir’. I rather enjoy it.”
Manju rides a motorbike across the 633-hectare tea estate to carry out her duties every day.
She shares that the tea estate has more women workers than men but the work requires an equal amount of strength from both. “There are more women workers than men here. The tea industry is labour intensive, so I think the challenge is the same for both men and women,” she said.
There have been women senior assistants managers, but no woman was appointed as a manager until Baruah was promoted in August.
Image Source: Guwahati Plus
H/T: TOI