CHENNAI: In the verdant hills of the Western Ghats, where mist clings on to the rolling tea plantations of Mancholai, life has been a delicate balance between the beauty of nature and the harsh realities of labour. For generations, the people here have worked hard in the tea estates, plucking leaves from dawn till dusk, their lives intertwined with the rhythm of the land and the regularity of a government bus that connects them to the outside world. This bus is not just a means of transportation, it is a symbol of unity of a community that has weathered decades of hardship.
But now, the very fabric of this life is under threat. With the 99-year lease period of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd set to end in 2028, the workers of Mancholai face the unsettling reality of eviction. The company has already begun offering voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) as a precursor to displacing these workers from the only home they have ever known.
In a place where mobile networks barely function and the connection to the wider world is tenuous at best, the government bus becomes the thread that holds their existence together. This is the backdrop against which the documentary ‘Mancholai’ unfolds. Directed by Samuvel Arputharaj, known as Sam, ‘Mancholai’ is an exploration of the lives of these tea plantation workers, their struggles, and the community’s emotional connection to the government bus.
“My grandfather’s father was the first to go to Mancholai. My relatives ar.