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There is something special about Ooty. The lush
vegetation and the lavender blue sheen of the mountains offer a
promise of a summer of peace
Way back in the late
forties and early fifties, an absurd but haunting story echoed in the
corridors of the then prestigious Queen Mary’s College in
Madras. Amongst the many who were there to see, or hear of the
Nilgiris man , was this author’s mother! Dressed in a blue suit,
replete with hat, a man would walk about the hostel at night, simply
kneeling at girls bedsides, folding his hands and saying namaste,
Nilgiris. A favourit story of my childhood, the strong images
remained and surfaced everytime I traversed those gorgeous blue
mountains of southern India.
Ana do it was when I
alighted from the bus at Ooty’s Chellaram’s crossing into
the overwhelming presence of the Nilgiris and of course, that
Nilgiris man. I was there on a mission of sorts, trying to discover
for myself that special something about this erstwhile British
township which draws tourists, adventure sports enthusiasts,
honeymooners and the film industry like bees to nectar. Sure there
are many wise travelers who believe that Ooty is a dumpyard, a
degraded, over-rated hill station and so on. But the wiser one will
see how Ooty can soothe strung-up nerves and become the backdrop for
an absolutely wondrous holiday.
Ooty nestles in an
amphitheatre created by four majestic huills-Doddabetta, Snowdon, Elk
Hill and Club Hill. These hills are part of the Nilgiris ranges which
are really the meeting point for the western and the eastern ghats.
But why the blue mountains one would naturally wonder at the name. Do
rest assured, when the lavender-blue flowers of the famous
Strobilanthes cover the hills in floral profusion, it would
be time to stop wondering, for it is these funnel-shaped blossoms
that are the reason for the name.
Already fortified with
this knowledge I proceeded to my place of stay, only to be out in a
jiffy again, determined to get Ooty inside my system. Though
signboards all around screamed and begged to make people call this 36
square kilometer hill resort udhagamandalam, their pleas obviously
fell on deaf ears. Ooty will always be Ooty to everyone. As the blaze
of the afternoon sun gave way to a nippy evening, I made my way
towards the lake which I knew was somewhere close by. Reaching there,
I was amazed to find a great number of children trotting about on
ponies, all over the carriage-way that winds around the lake. I am
told that this part of ooty was once a huge bog with a west-flowing
stream. In 1824, the lower part of the stream was converted into a
lake. Though the lake seemed ordinary enough, what really got me all
excited was the warmth and buzz of tourist activity around me, some
were really having a good time. There was a boat house where
row-boats and motor-boats could be had on hire. This Tamil Nadu
Tourism Development Corporation venture that remains open from 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. seemed to be doing brisk business. Sitting at the edge of
the lake and watching the sun dipping down to herald darkness, I felt
good, to put it lightly. And what a great night’s sleep I had!
The morning was bright
and I knew it in my bones that I would head for the Botanical
Gardens. I had heard and read enough about this milestone of Ooty,
which is what it really is. Reaching the sprawling maze of greens and
blooms, up north-east of the township, my first thought was of the
incredible influence of British rule in India. And these images,
reminiscent of the Raj, were all over Ooty. Not surprising,
considering that the hill resort as we know it now was founded by the
British, in the early 1800s, to serve as the Madras Government’s
summer headquarters. The Botanical Gardens of Ooty established in
1847 are much like the typical, manicured and planned gardens one
sees so often, not really my cup of tea. But the real beauty of the
place is its plants-an amazingly diverse array with trees, shrubs and
herbs of a mind boggling number of species. And the flowers were
really something to write home about. Was it the altitude-Ooty
nestles at 2240 metres above sea level- and the rarefied air, or the
lack of polluted air that gave these flowers an added shine and
gloss? They smiled from everywhere as oil spent my day ambling about
the lovely, spread-out profusion. I was told how the fossile tree
trunk that I saw was 20 million years old! and how the Annual Ooty
Flower Show here waw an antidote for many ailments. One day is
certainly not enough at these rich gardens, specially for the likes
of me who could spend hours watching mute plants.
Walking back from the
Gardens I passed the Assembly Rooms Theatre where my cine-crazy
cousin from Coonoor had spent many a joyous afternoon wrapped up in
the charm of celliliod! I remembered because the name was so
distinctive. Of course, most names in Ooty are, again, British
reminders. There’s even a Charing Cross, believe it or not.
The great charm of Ooty
to me was not so much the specific tourist destination as it was the
long lovely walks it afforded. Anywhere I went, the serenity of the
Nilgiris was all around me. Specially the strategic points from where
I could either see Ooty or the view all around, like Snowdon, Ketty
Valley, the Wenlock Downs and of course Doddabetta and further, one
could hire a horse either near the Boat house or at the Savoy-for a
slightly more exhilarating excursion in and around town.
I discovered how Ooty was
a haven for the seeker of sports, adventure or otherwise. From hiking
and riding to fishing for trout and playing tennis and snooker. Then
of course there was the gorgeously scenic golf course tucked away in
the northwest almost straight across town from the Gardens. Many avid
golfers believe that the links of the Ooty Gymkhana club are amongst
the best in the world. Then there is the Race Course, in the heart of
town. Today, Ooty has shot up on the demand charts of the Bombay film
industry, and with the southern filmmakers already there, the resort
faces quite a glut of starry stuff. With a large number of popular
hill stations of the Himalayas snuffed out or made inaccessible by
violence and political upheaval, Ooty is now a hot-spot for the film
wallah. So you mustn’t be rattled to find your peaceful walks
punctuted by sudden crowds and an outlandishlyattired couple running
around a grove of eucalyptus tree.
Ah, the eucalyptus are
quite a part of the Ooty landscape. They even fuel a small oil
industry, so it is common to find eucalyptus oil in the shops at
Ooty. These tall, lancy trees seemed much at home on the slopes
around. Many a traveler ahs exclaimed to me how Ooty and the Nilgiris
lack the awe, mystique and drama of the Himalyas. After my sojourn to
this lovely little place tucked away along the western border of
Tamil Nadu I was only sorry for the cynical traveler who failed to
catch the pulse of Ooty’s charm. More so the nilgiris. For the
lush green serenity of these southern hills of India would be
difficult to find anywhere else. A summer of peace and uncluttered,
cool days is what the Nilgiris offer, with their resonant echoes of a
rich and tangible Dravidian culture.
A CUP OF CAMELLIA
All along the hill slopes
in the Nilgiri mountains you will find that omnipresent, glossy,
stout bush with fragrant white or pink flowers and a melodious name
Camellia Tea, brought to the Nilgiris in the 1860s is amongst India’s
most prominent plantation crops, what with the country being the
world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of black tea.
Which is perhaps why the slopes of the Nilgiris, all round Ooty,
Coonoor and the like, seems to have tea bushes almost like a second
skin.
Processed tender leaves
and leaf buds compose the tea of commerce. This agro-industry
flourishes on the hill-sides of Nilgiris and experts say that tea
growing at a higher elevation would have a flavour superior to that
growing at lower heights. This flavour and distinctive character of
the popular beverage is from essential oils and alkaloids present in
the plant. But then all this is after a long manufacturing process
which is carried out in industrial units on the plantation itself or
nearby. From harvesting to curing, rolling and fementation, to
drying and grading the process id delicate and tedious. There are
minor variations depending on the kind of tea being produced. The
delicacy of the job of picking two leaves and a bud is perhaps
testified by the fact that pickers are always women or children.
And so it is the Camellia
bushes, with their sheen and gloss, that green the blue mountains,
providing raw material for a huge industry and employment for many in
the land of the Strobialanthes.
AROUND OOTY
Ooty, I was to find, had
the singular distinction of having a great many places around that
were worthy of a visit, or sometimes even a halt. As a result, I was
often busy packing a day’s food and haring off in some direction
or the other.
Heading east from the
southeast of Ooty found me in Coonoor and Wellington, two of the
prettiest townships I had ever seen. Coonoor, though small, had much
to boast of Sim's park, Lamb’s Rock, Dolphine’s Nose and
generally pretty landscape. Wellington of course is a typical army
township, clean and smart. Coonoor may easily charm one enough to
stay longer, with its lush, teabush slopes and attractive British
houses. Even Sim’s Park was, to my unusual taste, much more
appealing than the more glamorous Ooty gardens.
About 28 kilometres from
Ooty, towards the east again, is the 26 square kilometre Kotagiri,
incredibly picturesque, amongst the first townships of the British
and a great place to visit. The small and rather quaint garden in
Kotagiri got me rather smitten, as did the scenery all around me.
From Kotagiri one can even proceed to the Kodanad view, Catherine
Falls or Rangaswamy Peak, all famous for their natural beauty.
The famous Mudumalai
wildlife sanctuary, 67 kilometres from ooty, stretches over 321
square kilometers. Traveling to Ooty from Mysore and Bangalore, I
passed the sanctuary with its dense vegetation crowding the banks of
the lovely Mayar river. Lying as id does at the borders of Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the same forest in the latter states is
called Wyabad Bandipur. My days at madumalai were memorable because
of the sheer power of nature and wildlife. Herds of wild elephants,
or lone tuskers, a great variety of birds, cats these cool, dark
jungles of the Nilgiris.
I traveled 10 kilometres
out of Ooty to see the great Doddabetta peak, the highest in the
Nilgiri chain of mountains. Doddabetta stands at 2623 metres and if
your trip is made on a clear day visible all around you will be
Coonoor, Wellington, Mettupalayam, and Coimbatore. If its an
exceptionally crisp day, you might even see Mysore. As for me,
reaching Doddabetta was timed with a thick mist rolling in all over
and though one could hardly see anything it was a beautiful and
unforgettable experience.
Avalanche, Upper Bhavani,
Mukurti and Pykara are all places which are near Ooty and must be
seen for their scenery. He reservoirs at Avalanche and Upper Bhavani
are excellent waters for angling with the rainbow trout in particular
abundance. All these places have an attractive mixed landscape of
forests, shoal-grasslands and tea-filled slopes.
Finally, for the
scientifically curious en route to Avalanche from Ooty is India’s
largest radio-telescope. So also the Hindustan Photo Films in the
Wenlock Downs, the only factory of its kind in India, manufacturing
sensitized photographic materials.
So you would see how
traveling around Ooty can be quite a great experience.
THE NARROW TRAIL
This is a journey nobody
should miss. A journey where you jostle with unimaginable crowds and
squeeze into tiny coaches, a journey where you feel you can actually
reach out and touch the elusive Nilgiris. It starts at Mettupalayam,
46 km southeast of Ooty, where you board the Blue Mountain Express
which gets pushed by an engine instead of being pulled!
When you hear frequent
references to the Ooty mountain train, you would somehow conjure up
Lilliputian images of people sitting in orderly, storybook fashion,
small people. That’s sure mistake, for this small train of the
Nilgiris couldn’t be more full, with human forms oozing from
every pore! And if you still harbor rosy images, try clambering on
from Coonoor where it stops enroute to mettupalyam. We nearly gave up
the struggle, then we were told of the enterprising, old legendary
porter who is known for his ability to find you and your luggage a
place on that overcrowded toy. And this is a precious travel tip,
mind you.
But once you’re on,
its heaven. The overpowering Nilgiri landscape has the ability to
make you oblivious of the human ocean around you and the greenery is
bliss. It’s a memorable 4 to 5 hours journey, so don’t miss
it for anything.
IN THE WILD
Once the Nilgiris have
been seen, no traveler will be surprise to find the region a treasure
of wildlife, with some animals even native to these southern mountain
ranges. There is that deep-voiced Nilgiri langur Presbytis johnii
with its shiny black body and yellow-brown crown. The Nilgiri langur
happens to be one of the five langur species found in India and Sri
Lanka. These langurs of the Nilgiris are often found in the Sholas,
which are amongst their favourite haunts. Its in the Sholas that you
can also see the lion-tailed macaque.
The shy, timid and hard
to spot Nilgiri tahr also ahs its home in these blue mountains. This
animal has pride of place in being the only wild goat to inhabit any
region south of the Himalayas Hemitragus hylocrius, as it is
scientifically called, has a short coat, dark yellow brown in colour,
and prefers to inhabit craggy regions above forest level. The
Nilgiris are home to a great variety of carnivorous animals like
tigers, panthers, jackals and hyenas, elephants, wildcats, civet
cats, giant squirrels and mongoose are also part of Nilgiri fauna.
The Nilgiri marten, night-jar hill mynah, and golden oriole are some
of the region’s avifauna. In essence, this range of mountains
harbors a massive diversity of animal life.
VISITING OOTY
GETTING THERE
By Air
Coimbator 105
kilometres from Ooty, is the nearest airport Indian Airlines has
flight to Coimbatore from Bangalore, Cochin and Madras.
By Rail
The Blue Mountain Express
to Ooty is from Mettupalayam (47 kilometres). Mettupalayam can be
reached from Coimbatore by the Tea Garden Express.
By Road
All important towns of
Tamil Nadu, so also Kerala and Karnataka are connected to Ooty.
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