NK

ColourSeries

Bhadrachalam

Last month, I visited ITC’s Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division (PSPD) at Bhadrachalam, capturing glimpses of its sustainable paper and packaging-board production and impactful CSR initiatives.

From eucalyptus, casuarina and bamboo plantations to modern nurseries producing high-yield, disease-resistant clones for farm forestry, the journey from tree to paper is fascinating. Walking through the nursery and mill—from debarking and bleaching to pressing and drying—felt like stepping into a real-life “Pulp Fiction” story, surrounded by intense steam and heat.

Sharing a few glimpses from the modern nursery for now.

P.S. Bhadrachalam is also steeped in Ramayana lore. The nearby Parnasala, about 35 km away, is traditionally believed to be where Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent part of their exile, and where Sita was abducted by Ravana.

Four people in green hats and pale shirts stand among rows of low green plants beneath a bright translucent mesh roof, two holding bunches of leafy cuttings
A woman in a green brimmed hat and striped shirt gazes to one side, with others in matching green hats softly blurred behind her.
Two women in green hats sit cutting leafy stems with scissors, blue tubs of green cuttings in front of them and a green mesh screen behind.
A hand with a red-painted nail and a sequinned green sleeve holds slender stems while scissors trim them over a blue tub of foliage.
Wide view under a white mesh roof of about a dozen people in green hats tending long raised concrete beds filled with young plants.
A woman in a green hat and patterned scarf stands among rows of small green plants, looking down at a bunch of leafy cuttings in her hands.
A plastic basin heaped with leafy cuttings sits on a dirt path between two raised concrete beds of young plants.
A woman in a striped shirt and patterned skirt walks along a paved path balancing a basin of leafy cuttings on her head, others following behind.
Women in green hats sit on plastic chairs in a shaded open-sided space, trimming green cuttings into colourful tubs with scissors.
A hand wearing gold and green bangles holds a leafy stem as scissors cut it, above a bright turquoise tub heaped with green leaves.
A woman in a green hat and striped shirt stands between rows of young plants under a mesh roof, holding a bunch of leafy cuttings and small secateurs.
A line of people in matching caps and pale shirts walk along a paved path beside a pond, carrying tubs of green plants on their heads.
A seated woman in a green brimmed hat trims leafy green stems with scissors over a blue tub, beneath a roofed space with blue pillars.
Two hands in blue gloves hold up a white and blue foil packet printed with a lightning-bolt graphic, against a striped shirt.
About a dozen people in green hats and pale shirts stand under trees beside a row of colourful tubs filled with green cuttings.
A woman in a green hat and striped shirt, seen from the side, draws back a catapult with yellow bands among rows of young plants.
A group of women in green hats sit on plastic chairs under a mesh-roofed shelter, sorting green cuttings into tubs and basins.
A hand presses soil around a young seedling in a tray of grey plastic cells, with rows of green shoots in soft focus behind.
Two people in green hats, yellow face masks and black gloves lift stacks of grey tubular trays in a shed with blue steel pillars.
A woman in a green hat and striped shirt sits at a black sewing machine on a red-rimmed table, looking towards the camera with a slight smile.
A woman in a green hat and blue face mask reaches over rows of trays filled with dark soil on wire benches under a long blue-pillared roof.
A hand with purple bangles reaches in among rows of small green and red-tinged seedlings growing in trays of dark soil.
A woman in a purple shirt and green hat sprays water from a hand-held nozzle over rows of young plants with pink-tinged leaves in bright sunlight.
Three women in green hats hold leafy cuttings over black trays of soil beneath an open-sided roofed structure.
Hands with red bangles hold a leafy cutting, stem down, over a small red cup of white powder set among trays of cuttings.
Two women in green hats wheel a metal trolley of seedling trays along a concrete path beside a long low building and palm trees.
Close profile of a woman in a green brimmed hat and striped collared shirt, her expression calm, with figures blurred in the background.
A woman in a green hat carries a black tray of seedlings while another sorts plants at a bench against a white wall.
Long raised benches of green seedlings in trays stretch beneath a white mesh roof inside a greenhouse-like structure.
A woman in a green hat holds up a small leafy cutting, framed by blurred green leaves against a pale wall.
Three people, two in green hats, stand at either end of a trolley of seedlings, framed by a doorway with long rows of plants beyond.
Two hands wearing thin bangles hold a bunch of small leafy plants above trays of dark soil, with a striped sleeve behind.
Two women in green hats carry tubs of green cuttings on their heads along a path between raised seedling beds under a white mesh roof.
Two people in green hats push a wheeled trolley of seedling trays along a wet floor under a mesh-roofed structure.
A woman in a white cap and checked headscarf sprays water from a hose over young red-tinged plants, with another person behind her.
Four people in green hats and pale shirts wheel a trolley of seedling trays across a wet floor in front of a bright doorway.
Several women in green hats sit around low tables of colourful tubs under a green shade net, cutting green stems with scissors.
A woman in a green wide-brimmed hat and black gloves inspects a young plant among rows of pink-tinged seedlings outdoors.
A woman in a green hat balances a tub of seedlings on her head, leading a line of people along a fenced path beside a pond.
Two people in green hats guide a trolley loaded with seedling trays past raised benches of young plants on a wet floor.
Four people in green hats pause with a wheeled trolley of seedling trays on a wet floor beneath a translucent roof.
Rows of young seedlings with pink-tinged leaves stretch across a field while sprinklers send arcs of water over them, with trees and a building beyond.
Two women in green hats lean over a raised concrete bed of young plants, each holding a plastic basin, beneath a white mesh roof.
A man in a white shirt and glasses hugs the slender pale trunk of a tall tree and gazes upward among rows of similar trees on dry leaf-strewn ground.

End of the series · 44 photographs