Assam

[laughs]

So the, the, the tea plants were brought to India, to Assam.

And the funny thing is the tea that he stole from China are, were largely green tea because they're from southeastern China.

And when they harvested the tea in Assam, it became black tea.

And the only-

Yeah

No, no.

Of course, for our listeners outside the UK, the RHS is the Royal Horticultural Society.

In today's chat, Ritaraj explains why it is important to inspire young people and leaders to tackle the deeper causes of climate change.

How does his approach resonate with you? Ritiraj, in 2022, you gave an eye-opening presentation to the Climate Coaching Alliance political pod on the life-changing impacts of climate change in Assam, where you live, in northeast India, and the resilience of the people living in this region.

I was impressed by how the climate justice you champion involves listening to and learning from how Indigenous peoples adapt to shifting weather conditions to maintain balance and and harmony in their local vegetation and wildlife.

What have you been working on since we spoke in 2022?

So I think that is what I am doing.

We have set up an organization called the Mahabahu Climate Forum.

And with that, we have been reaching out to educational institutions, especially in the rural areas across Assam and other parts of Northeast India, and enabling people to take ownership of the climate justice movement is how I would put it very precisely.

That sounds like a wonderful way of getting more traction for more people in your area.

the equivalent or the closest to it.

So it's Gold Tips Assam.

Assam.

I wonder if Assam means imperial.

Maybe.

It's black tea.

I love, like, a creamer and sugar.

Creamer and sugar.

And my other comment about this song, one of the things I like about it is that we love harmonizing, but we're always trying to figure out what's the right approach to harmony on a particular song or a particular verse.

And in a previous song, we really came up with this idea that Amrita would sing and I would do a kind of humming, which actually is, I didn't know this until you told me, but it's a kind of school of vocal performance in Assam, which is a northeastern state in India.

Assamese humming.

And we got into it in a previous song.

when she was singing lyrics, I can't even remember now which language you were in, but not English.

And I did the Assamese humming rather than trying to come in and harmonize in Bengali, I guess.

But this time...

We wanted to have harmonies, but Amrita sang in English and I did the humming over an English line and it just sounded great.