By PragyanSharma Polavarapu
MY DIARY DATED 3-3-04—WE WERE IN OOTY- THE CLIMATE AND VEGETATION WERE DIFFERENT
PART TWO
(1)OOTY’S CLIMATE IS SO DIFFERENT
Everywhere we could see green undulating meadows . The up and down expanses had smooth slopes . We were now in a top mountainous area with highlands with sloping green carpet like meadows. There were tea estates on the distant mountain slopes on other side of some valleys. We could see small clusters of tiled houses in green meadows. We saw also small villages on the opposite hill sides. The roads there were seen at higher level than our road for some time and were seen at lower level after some time! Even on our side, we saw below us the road sections which we travelled earlier .The houses ther which we passed by half an hour ago looked like toy houses.We entered Ooty town at about 12 noon . We thought that Ooty consisted of only small sized picturesque houses. But as our bus travelled further in to the city we saw quite wide streets with old tiled bungalows exuding colonial age charm and resembling the tiled mansions in England . Our van slowly moved for a while after entering the main street. The street was not too busy and people appeared to move in a leisurely way . The reason perhaps is that most people go there to spend time leisurely forgetting life’s worries. Ooty was summer retreat for British European officials to escape the heat in towns and cities in India in hot summer months. Some modern looking like piled concrete boxes lacked the charm of the old bungalows.
(2)
INTERLUDE DATED 25-7-26
Ooty in Tamilnad is a world famous hill station and is called Queen of Indian hill stations.It has many nice hotels and is the headquarters i.e. the “capital” of Nilgiris district of Tamilnada state. The Nilgiri hills are part of the western ghats of India .Ooty is near western extreme of central Tamilnad and is 90 kilometers away from Coimbatore city. After India gained independence Ooty became a most popular tourist resort. There are big hotels and costly residential schools.The pleasant green grasslands and meadows and cool weather of high mountains make Ooty very attractive to tourists.In the mountain valleys there are vast forests .For many centuries it was just a high altitude grass land area where tribal people lived . In 1860s the English colonial rulers recognized its use for European people as a summer resort to escape the heat of Indian plains. They built roads and constructed big residences for their stay in summer months .The cool weather in the area resembled the cool weather in England. Good all weather roads were constructed to Coimbatore and other places. It was made into a municipality in 1860s for the convenience of the British rulers. Nilgiri district was created in 1880s and Ooty was was made the district headquarters town . Neat roads and drainage system and gardens etc were constructed in Ooty .Big churches were constructed.It became summer capital for Madras Presidency in British ruled India.
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There is a picturesque narrow gage railway service Mettupalayam-Coonur-Ooty called Neelgiri Mountain Express. The railway track is only 1.7 meters wide and uses only steam locomotives as in British days. The small train has just two or three bogies . In the mountainous area it has to move up on rail tracks a little raised in one direction. So a very strong powerful “rack and pinion” mechanism helps the engine and the bogies to move in a perfectly safe way. This rack and pinion system was used right from the British days . The trains have just two or three bogeys and resemble trams and are called by local people as toy trains.The mountain express is meant mainly for enjoyment of tourists visiting Ooty.
The Mountain Express daily travels only about 50 kms distance at a slow speed of about 9 kmph . Up journey takes about 4-1/2 hours and down journey takes about 3-1/2 hours.It is linked to the main Indian railway system at Mettupalayam station with another train the Nilgiri express going upto Chennai city (530 kilometers away) capital of Tamilnadu.
(3)
SIGHTSEEING IN OOTY
For European people of colonial times the cool weather of Nilgiris district was like the weather in England. There was another town of colonial time fame near by. It is Coonoor, a town about 20 miles from Ooty by road and at a lower level than Ooty. At both places there were British colonial offices and European style residences .The mood of travellers to Ooty ,like us coming from the hot plains, is of surprise and wonder and amusement seeing such entirely different scenery. We just leisurely roamed or sat on the cool tree filled green meadow land and chatted wondering at the strange scenery.We stopped near the Ooty lake quite near to the shore. The driver/guide said we can go on a small boat ride if we wanted . He said that all members of our group going sightseeing, shopping in the bazaars etc should return and assemble and reach the van by 2-30 to go for lunch.
We wanted to take a boat ride. It was very cold weather for us .We put on our sweaters.In the motor boat there were two other passengers. The boat ride lasting 30 minutes was very pleasant. The boat moved slowly along the coast of the large lake taking us very near to the grasslands near the shores of the lake. The sun was shining brightly in the sky but the weather was very cold! As we moved around in the lake we also saw many long pole- like trees with branches full of thick clumps of leaves towards the top but pointing downwards.
After enjoying the boat ride we walked for kilometer and sat under a big tree . We sat for perhaps a full hour . The environment here so different from the environment in our towns on the hot plains and plateu lands in Hyderabad area quite overwhelmed us. We talked to people in English or Hindi inquiring about the towns from which they came . My daughter clicked many photos of the Ooty scenes. When we checked the time it was nearing 2-30 pm.
The guide/driver took our van to a nice hotel. It was a long building in long compound and the entire front verandah was covered with sheet glass screens fixed in strong sliding frames and long thick curtains now pulled aside .The hotel was situated on a picturesque street on a high green meadow. other nearby streets(or wide foot paths) were situated some at a higher level and some at a lower level adding to the picturesqueness of the place.The inner rooms six in a row were nice ,each sufficient for a small family group . There was a huge mirror in each suite filling a whole wall. In the long verandah were sofas and glass topped tables with nice flower vases . The service was modern and costly. We had an unconventional meal --- masala rice with lots of cut raw vegetables,tasty curries, tomato ketchup and fruit jam.
After our meal we were taken in the van to another nice place. It was the famous Botanical Gardens with many species of European cold weather plants. The guide advised us that we should all reassemble by 4-30 pm sharp as our return journey would start at that time. We saw exquisite plants and brightly coloured flowers in the botanical garden . My younger daughter was busy taking photos. The weather was getting colder and we got a feeling that it is time to start on the return journey.
The students of a local convent school were assembling at the bus stop in front of their school and some were walking to their homes/hostels. Many local people, perhaps working in the fields and tea gardens, were also returning. All were wearing woollens for protection from the cold. We saw some European people also in the crowds .
We went to the main street to make some purchases. My daughters purchased hand bags and some little black wood artwork. By 4-30 we returned to the van. We found that the two European ladies and the two couples from Kerala and Gujarat who travelled with us from Mysore did not turn up . Perhaps they were stopping at Ooty. Other passengers came in minutes for journeying to Mysore and the van soon filled.
(4)
WE LEFT OOTY AND ENTERED THE FOREST REGIONS
In the downward direction it was again a four and half hour journey The van started travelling through the winding sloping roads at steady speed. We saw on the way two old fashioned British style tiled bungalows with spacious compounds. There were two or three big trees .What a beautiful sight I thought. We saw another wonderful unbelievable sight .In the distance on the hill side the picturesque colourful Nilgiri Mountain Express was gliding slowly majestically. We missed riding in it because of our tight travel program. Again the very big valleys which we passed on our upward journey now appeared as we were coming down from the mountainous area.The van was moving steadily and carefully as it was a mountainous region with many hairpin bends on the roads . The drivers are experts used to driving on these routes. Now I was seeing a cluster of poor people’s houses. Such poor people’s homes also exist in Ooty ! Again the hair pin bends started. Now all these hair pin bends in the road were pointed downward . By travelling each bend we were going down hill. And there were about 35 such bends. As the van changed direction abruptly while turning around a bend our bodies too were being tossed a little this side and that. The children and even elders enjoyed the tossing motion and would laugh aloud.The driver most expertly negotiated the bends in an easy manner. The journey was frightening too.
The cold became less. After an hour or so the heavy cold completely disappeared and weather became normal. In the downward journey the van took a slightly different route and we passed through the Mudumalai forest sanctuary . A good number of wild animals were coming out from the depths of forest and coming into view. We saw a group of small spotted deer, the large bodied sambhar deer, a small group of three elephants ,large number of monkeys etc .The bird chatter too was loud now and then. we travelled for almost an hour through Mudumalai forest . We travelled through a small area of adjoining Bandipura sanctuary also. Here too we saw small groups of wild animals coming out in the cool evenings . We saw elephants, peacocks ,antelopes and monkeys . Here too we travelled for about one hour and finally came out of the hilly and forest areas entirely and reached the roads in the plains.
We came into the ordinary world where life moved at normal pace. The weather was a little hot. What an unbelievable change from the shivering cold in the highest regions of Ooty to the hot weather in the plains within hours same day !
(5)
WE ENDED A MOST WODERFUL JOURNEY TO THE HIGH HILLS
The big red disc of evening sun was visible. All around there were the familiar agricultural fields and villages and the coconut groves . We travelled for almost two hours through these rural scenes! We saw from our van several temples in the villages and towns through which we passed. For our tired minds the sight of temples gave great peace of mind and great spiritual joy. The villages and towns here resembled the villages and towns in our state. The same type of rural folks and similar houses and huts . only the huge coconut groves as seen here in every town and village would not be seen but a solitary coconut tree here and there.At about 7-30 pm the van stopped at a way side town for us to take tea. Around 9pm we entered Mysore city and after travelling through many streets reached our hotel at 9-30 pm. I thanked the driver/guide for his patient and helpful way and for his expert driving.
We got meals delivered to our hotel room . Our program schedule was prefixed and has to be followed. We switched on the TV discussing next day’s program. Tomorrow we were to visit Brindavan gardens and visit some famous art emporia. We decided that we should rise at 4am tomorrow as the famous Brindavan gardens was in outskirts of Mysore and was about 20 kilometers from Mysore bus stand. We would do some shopping in Mysore city in the famous emporia . But we were too tired and fell asleep early.
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