In search of tranquility

City dwellers, in search of peace and solitude, keep certain places, closer to nature, identified, where they frequent during the week ends. While at Coimbatore, we were also exploring such avenues when we learnt about a water fall close by at a distance of about 30 kms. It is fondly called "Kovai Kurtalam" because it is said to resemble the famous Kurtalam falls of Tamilnadu, though a little smaller.    Coimbatore is referred to as "Kovai" in the vernacular parlance. The mountain stream culminating into a fall is under the foot hills of the western ghat mountain ranges, surrounded by rain forests. Since we had a full day to invest, we thought of visiting a place known as Isha Foundations Dhyana Linga, more or less on the same route. This centre is claimed to be  offering spiritual inner realisation. They have created a spherical structure with congenial atmosphere for meditation. However our focus was neither spirituality nor meditation but were simply drawn there out of our curiosity for some kind of appreciation of the activities thereat. The locale was quite cherish able. After having our lunch in their canteen, we drove out.

 

Now we were heading towards the "Kovai Kurtalam" water falls. There was an easy and direct approach but we preferred to reach there driving through the countryside, with winding roads, connecting obscure villages. One reason for this was availability of ample time and our own inner desire to understand the hinterland. On our way there were paddy fields becoming ready to be harvested followed by a plantation of Curry Leavs (Sweet Neem), Turmeric, Banana plantations, Areca nut Plantations and so on. It was really enjoyable to have a real feel of these crops growing in that area. We stopped at some places to capture the landscape in our cameras.

While passing through the outskirts of a village we could find an open shrine dedicated to the serpent Gods who are believed to protect the village from epidemics etc.  This is a kind of animal worship (zoolatry)/nature worship prevalent in the pre modern societies all over the world. This still continues notwithstanding the advent of all ‘isms.

 

There was a small town, the end of the habitational area, on the banks of a rivulet formed possibly by the same waterfall we were heading for. We had to cross a bridge beyond which lied the forest area with their check post and barricades. We had to buy our entry passes. 

The journey continued through the forest area with paddy fields in between and the mountains coming closer to us. Shortly we were inside the thickly forested zone and we found that people were required to park their vehicles in an opening created for the purpose.There were separate parking areas for four wheelers and two wheelers. Two wheelers were in much larger numbers.

 

From this point onwards we were required to walk down the distance of about 2 kilometres through the jungle path. Interestingly  the forest department people have created a suspension bridge with the support of the tall trees for quite a good distance. We thought of using it while returning. The walk also provided some beautiful sceneries of mountains and  water gushing down the hills. The wild growth on the pathway was also home to several insects. Some colourful spiders attracted our attention and we could not resist from approaching them for a closer view.

 

At the end of the pathway, to our left was the waters from the mountains making its way through the rocky surface and to cross over it we were to pass through a narrow bridge. Immediately thereafter there were stairs climbing deep down. We went up to a distance and had a glimpse of what could be expected at the end. The water has been made to fall down taking a broader shape for which some man made constructions were visible. We thought not to venture deep down fearing that we would need to exert a lot to come up. 

Instead we settled before the bridge and enjoyed looking at families, boys and girls who had made space for themselves, where ever they found it convenient.There were some monkeys too to keep company with.

 

Around 5.00 PM we thought of returning when my nephew joined us after his explorations. Some of the photographs here are his contributions. While walking down the jungle path we saw a sort of melee at a distance, for some one had thrown a pebble at a beehive and the bees in turn attacked a group. They ran for their lives while we stayed back for about 15 minutes.  When the bees seemed to be at peace we continued and reached the parking place. We drove out and reached Coimbatore after visiting an Emu farm en route.

Anaimalai Tiger Reserve

हिंदी में यहाँ देख सकते हैं 

We had planned to visit Ooty (a hill station in Tamilnadu, India). I was all alone but my brother Sreenivasan was coming along with his wife Sitalakshmi. After we had our breakfast, we readied ourselves and occupied our seats in the car which was to be  driven by my brother. After positioning himself, my brother announced that we shall be returning late at night and will have dinner en route. I was puzzled as we can not do justice to our visit unless we are at Ooty for a minimum of a night and two days. Since there was an urgent meeting the next day, my brother was in a dilemma. He then suggested to visit “Anaimalai Tiger Reserve” which was relatively nearer. I was happy for the alternative placed before me and readily agreed. This was going to be my first ever visit to that place.

Anaimalai (Elephant Hills)  is at a distance of around 60 kilometres south of Coimbatore. At 40 kilometres distance there is a town known as Pollachi  and from there we were to take a right turn for Anaimalai. Incidentally Pollachi boasts of a  whole sale Jaggery Market which is supposed to the largest in Asia. Similarly the Cattle Market over there is the largest in South India.

 

As a matter of fact Anaimalai is a part of the Western Ghat Mountain Ranges and if one goes further down, “Anamudi” is the highest peak in India (South of Himalayas) with a height of 8842 feet. Anaimalai itself is only 8oo feet high but is surrounded by ever green forests. Although, it is a reserve for Tigers,  they are very limited. On the other hand hundreds of Elephants roam around. Anaimalai hills are known for their abundant wildlife. Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary,  and the adjacent The Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in these hills are well known for elephants. Numerous wildlife species can be seen including elephants, gaur, water buffaloes, tigers, panthers, sloth bears, pangolins, Black-headed Orioles, crocodiles, Green Pigeons, civet cats, Dhole, Sambar and 31 groups of endangered lion-tailed macaques., Birds seen include Pied hornbill, Red Whiskered Bulbul and Drongo. The hills are also a trekker’s paradise.

On reaching Pollachi, we took a right turn towards Anamalai which was around 16 kilometres away.  The entire route was dotted with dense Coconut Groves spaced with paddy fields and the mountain ranges smiling at you from  a far distance. After driving a stretch of 7/8 kilometres, we came at a check post with a welcome gate. The sanctuary/reserve starts from here. There was also a hoarding of the “Parambikulam Wild Life Sanctuary” which was on the same way but a little farther from the place we were heading to. Near the check post, a lady was selling some locally produced fruits. We bought some Sapodillas/Cheeku (Manilkara zapota) which were very sweet and tasty. Further journey saw us through some plains followed by winding ghats (Mountainous region) having thick bamboo forests.

Around 12 Noon, we were at “Top Slip”. This place is called so, for the large sloppy ground which  was being used for storing Teak Wood logs and then rolling them  down to reach the bottom of the hill. All private vehicles are supposed to remain parked at this place and for travelling beyond that point, one needs to hire vehicles from the Forest Department. They have a small information centre with a tiny museum for the benefit of tourists. The forest staff have their living quarters built there. They also run a Canteen which serves food and beverages to tourists.

There are two distinct categories of visitors here. The first category consists of people coming here for picnicking and fun. The second category belongs to those who are of serious kind and come here to understand the forests, its flora and fauna and the wild life. Their visits are always pre-planned. They get cottages/vehicles booked in advance for their period of stay. Since we fell under the former category, we started exploring the possibilities of moving around the jungles. We were told at the information centre that a van takes people around but since on that particular day, the number of visitors was too small, the van facility was kept in abeyance. There was, however, an option of taking the Elephant ride. Perforce, we had to settle for it. The Elephants were not immediately available as they were already on their rounds. Nevertheless, we got our tickets booked paying a sum of Rs.400/- and proceeded to fill our bellies at their Canteen.

After replenishing ourselves, we just roamed around. There my brother came across some boars in the backyard of the canteen. When we reached the information centre for the second time, my brother questioned the Ranger over there “Are those pigs, the wild ones”. The Ranger, with all seriousness, replied “Yes, they are wild boars but come down because of easy availability of left over food”. So we were happy to learn that we could at least see some wild life. Thereafter, I wanted to enlarge my own knowledge base and inquired about the kind of wild life found there. We were told that there are around 368 (that’s what I remember) Elephants and 18 Tigers apart from Panthers, Gaurs, Blue Bulls, Lion Tailed Monkeys, Large Mountain Squirrels etc. Further, they have some 100 Elephants in their own farm. They are let loose in the morning to roam about in the jungles and they come back in the evening. If one wants to see them together, one has to be there before 8.00 A.M.

Soon the Elephants were ready to take us for a ride. For all of us, it was going to be our first experience in life. After climbing a platform, we were on the cradle like thing on the Elephant’s back. We proceeded deeper inside. Nothing worthwhile came across except for few Macaque (Lion Tailed) Monkeys and large Squirrels. They vanished from our sight within minutes without affording any opportunity of capturing them in our cameras. The jungle view all around was very pleasing though. After half an hour, the Elephant was turned back and in fact we  very much wished to come back not being in a position to withstand the painful jerks. Soon we were at the platform which saw us boarding the Elephant but only to get down with a sense of relief.

While returning home, it dawned upon me that the month of April was not quite productive for visiting a place like this.

 

Munnar - Very high above the hills

 

During their stay in India, the Britishers, unable to cope up with the harsh summers, found their way up in the hills and exploited  cooler places  congenial for holidaying  thereat. It would be wrong to suggest that they discovered them as all those places were known to our monks and ascetics who had their dwellings in such places for seeking spiritual pleasures. They were required to traverse through the wild.   The infrastructure created by the British only served their own limited purpose. Such places came to be known as Hill Stations. There are several such cooler places in the state of Kerala. However only “Munnar” has the distinction of being a hill station. This place is situated 130 kilometers East of Ernakulam (Kochi – Cochin) on the Western Ghat mountain ranges. The area around Munnar is around 6500 to 8500 above sea level and therefore has cool and salubrious climatic conditions through out the year. Munnar in the local dialect stands for “three rivers”.

The land around Munnar is supposed to be owned by “Punjar” Royal family. Centuries ago, the ‘Pandyan’ dynasty ruling at Madurai, had to flee to avoid persecution at the hands of ‘Cholas’ who conquered their kingdom. The Pandyans finally reached Munnar and lived in peace. The Punjar royal family are descendents of the early Pandyan settlers. One John Daniel Munroe was the Commissioner in the service of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. During 1877 he obtained on lease an area of over 1,36,000 acres from the Punjar Royal Family for the purpose of establishing Coffee plantations. Subsequently the terms of lease were modified to include tea and other crops as well. At the outset Munroe established an Agricultural Society followed by a company “Kannan Devan Hills Plantation Ltd”. In 1976 Tata Finlay acquired the plantations of Munroe. Now that company is known as Tata Tea. A  legal battle is ensuing between the Tata Tea and the Punjar family as the later is striving to get back all its land.

Since one of my sister-in-law was brought up at Munnar, I know that it was a small sleepy town. It is only in the last two decades that it got transformed into a major tourist centre. The environment had to pay a heavy price for the developments that have ensued. A plethora of resorts/hotels have mushroomed for which thousands of trees were felled. The Government of the State belatedly realised the harm being caused to the environment and ordered demolition of many un-authorised structures.

As told earlier, this area was identified and acquired for the development of plantations. Tea and Coffee plantations cover the major portion of the territory. Additionally at Munnar and adjoining rural areas, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Garlic and Black Pepper are extensively cultivated.  There are lakes, streams, a dam and several National Parks within a radius of 20 kilometres of Munnar. The flora and fauna and bio-diversity of the area attracts thousands of tourists annually and a good number being foreigners. One more important event being the blossoming  of Neela Kurinji (Strobilanthus) in the mountains and valleys once in 12 years and some times even once in 7 years. Its said to be blue every where but looks purple or violet.. This flower has medicinal properties and is used as a traditional medicine for several ailments.

Photo:http:// myhappyjourney.com

Around 15 kilometres from Munnar  the Ervakulam National Park is the protectorate of the endangered Nilagiri Tahr (a kind of mountain goat). This particular specie is native to India and is found on the higher edges of the Western Ghat ranges. Initially they were spotted in the Nilagiris (Ooty) and hence the name. Incidentally Nilagiri stands for Blue Mountains and the association is with the flower named above. All over the country the Nilagiri Tahr number a bare 2000 and the largest herd of around 800 are resident at  Ervikulam. Normally they are found in groups and their habitat is 6000 feet above the mountain ranges. They are very strong physically and weigh around 100 kilos. They are also not shy of tourists. They may come nearer to you without any fear and will pose for you unhesitatingly. They are under threat and their population is dwindling. One main reason being the greedy humans who hunt them whenever possible. The second reason being their inbreeding. Because of clusters of human population on the hills, they are unable to keep in touch with their distant folks scattered  on the mountains.

Since exhaustive information is available on Munnar in the wikipedia and the net, I am cutting short. The main motivating factor was to show the Nilgiri Tahr encountered by us during our short visit. 

Photos: PN Sampath Kumar

Pichavaram Mangrove Forest - Second largest in the World

In tropical and sub tropical countries where ever a river meets the sea, back waters and estuaries get created. In certain places there could be swamps as well. These places are ideal grounds for a type of evergreen vegetation known as Mangroves. They have the capacity to sustain in saline waters. They also have a queer root system which partly remain in the air and some penetrate deep in the waters. The roots hanging above the water surface also have the capability of drawing its oxygen directly. Their seeds also have the ability to germinate when they are still on their branches. The water body surrounding the Mangrove Forests, affords a conducive climate for a variety of marine life, including various species of fish and prawns.

World’s largest Mangrove Forest formations are found in the Indian Sub Continent. They are the “Sundarbans”, 60% of which is in Bangladesh and 40% in India, the home of the famous Bengal Tigers. The second largest Mangrove Forest is also in India known as “Pichavaram” created at the confluence of Vellar and Coleroon rivers on the Bay of Bengal. This is spread over an area of 2800 acres (11 square kilometres).

The availability of different habitat types such as channels, creeks, gullies, mud flats and sand flats and adjacent sea shore offers ideal habitat for different species of birds. There are at least 177 species of birds inhabiting 

the area. Amongst others, one can view birds like Watersnips, Cormorants, Egrets, Storks, Herons, Spoonbills and Pelicans. The season between November to January is considered to be most fascinating for bird watchers as during that period the bird population is maximum, inclusive of  migratory birds from different countries. Apart from the eco-diversity of this forest, the mangroves were  instrumental in protecting the hinterland during the devastating Tsunami in the recent past.

Traversing through hundreds of channels leading to the sea is an experience which can not be simply explained in words. The Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation has a boat house at the spot offering boat rides through the groves. It is preferable to opt for the slow moving boats instead of the mechanised ones. The sea front is equally beautiful. The sea water creates fascinating patterns on the sands more akin to modern art.

 

Pichavaram is reachable from Chennai via Chidambaram (Railway Station). From Chidambaram Pichavaram is at a distance of 16 kilometres. Although accommodation is available at Pichavaram as well, but it is better to make Chidambaram the base for one can have the option of different types of accommodation as well as food.  

Home Making - Weaver Birds

Recently I came across a video of the Weaver Birds 
building their nests. It is really enjoyable

Vishnois of Rajasthan (India)

हिंदी में यहाँ देखें 

There is a small group of elders here and we meet regularly. Once in a month we also arrange for an outing to some worthwhile secluded place. I used to consider myself an Environmentalist and used to pick up all the garbage left behind by picnickers. Truly speaking this act of mine is probably driven by an instinct  for recognition and not out of any real concern. This awakening came to me very recently.

There is a  conservative community referred to as Vishnois living in an otherwise arid state of Rajasthan in India. Their dedication to nature is well known and I wanted to delve  upon them in one of my posts. It was a mere coincidence that I was going through a Hindi blog, a travelogue on  the City of Patna  (in Hindi) which was devoid of any pictures. The kind of language used was itself  picturesque and in fact the words explained everything. Then there was a comment by one Mr. Gourav Ghosh who although appreciated the presentation but was underlining the need for supplementing with photographs. In my own comments, I lent my support to him in a veiled manner. Thereafter I tried to locate him  and landed up at his own site  which had a picture of a Vishnoi women breast feeding a Chinkara   fawn. The photograph was taken by Mr. Vijay Bedi at great pains. Here it dawned upon me that I need not write anything about the Vishnois. No words need to be used. The photograph could speak volumes.

It stirred me up and in my curiosity I searched the web and found yet another photograph taken by Mr. Himanshu Ghosh, a photo journalist working with Hindusthan Times.

Continuing with Nisha's argument that the mother and the child and chinkara being the same in the two photos, thereby making us wonder if they were two different poses,  a third one above  "Ashes"  could google up.

A blogger friend Mr. Ratan Singh Shekhawat, who hails from Rajasthan, sent in a link to the Youtube video. This animation video depicts the sacrifices made by the community. 

Wayanad (Kerala), worth visiting

Guest Post by my brother

P.N. Sampath Kumar,

Cochin Shipyard, Kochi.

Our family outing is normally during our son’s vacations for Onam, Christmas and summer holidays. We had originally scheduled a trip to Colombo and Kandy but could not make it as we had only 4 days available, which we thought will not be sufficient for a proper trip through Sri Lanka.

Wayanad came to our mind as it is a mixture of nature and history. Biodiversity is the richest.  From Ernakulam (Kochi), we had two options to travel, either via Nilambur by own car or via Kozhikode (Calicut) by a combination of Train and Bus. We chose the Calicut route and decided against driving own car considering difficult weather and unknown terrains. We booked a room in a budget Resort called Haritagiri, located at Kalpetta as we had a  reasonably good feedback.

The Tali temple

We took an afternoon train to reach Calicut by evening. We had only one night to spend and hence decided to limit our visit to the beach (not the one Vasco-da-gama once landed, which is called Kappad Beach) and the Tali Temple. Calicut has a good beach, plenty of mosques and a very famous temple called “Tali”. Tali probably means a place where the kings used to take decisions on issues. Moreover Tali temple used to be the venue for scholarly debates in the olden  days. “Uddanda Shastrigal” from Tanjavur has once won the title by defeating others in Tarka Shastra (Logics) which used to be the test of knowledge those days. This Temple was built by Swami Thirumulpad (Zamorin) within his palace complex in the 14th century.  

There are only few choices for hard core veggies in Calicut; one such restaurant is “Dakshin” where we tried some Dosas.

There are plenty of buses operating between Calicut and Wayanad. The journey took 2.30 hrs through the mountains called Tamarassery Pass to reach Kalpetta. The Tamarassery pass has nine hairpin bends (our son counted all of them) and most of the time it will be foggy. It was really an enjoyable experience traveling through the wild.

Wayanad borders both Karnataka and Tamilnadu. There are three major towns in Wayanad which are are Kalpetta, Mananthavady and Sultan Battery. Majority of land is in the form of forest and the rest are either plantations or paddy fields. Coffee is abundantly cultivated. Wayanad ginger, Turmeric, lemongrass and honey are very famous in Kerala for their quality and flavour. Weather is cool round the year. Majority population are migrated farmers from elsewhere in search of fortune. It is said that the local tribals with their archery skills and guerilla warfare techniques supported Pazhassi Raja who fought the British in the 17^th century. Pazhassi Raja’s tomb is situated at Mananthavady.

Haritagiri Resort

 Haritagiri is a good resort having a small swimming pool, bar, restaurant and an ayurvedic spa. Veggies will find it difficult to have a lunch in that restaurant as most of the cuisines are non vegetarian. There are resorts catering to the needs of different food habits. But we tried to explore small time eateries who serve proper vegetarian food. There are a couple of vegetarian messes run at Kalpetta. We tried one Swami’s mess in Kalpetta town run by an old Tamil Brahmin couple where we had a very good lunch with traditional north Kerala Brahimn recipes. One of the curries was made of dried jackfruit nut.

It is better to hire a tourist taxi to visit the spots in and around Wayanad. We hired a Tata Indica for 1½ days and they charged Rs.2700/-. For trips covering 4-5 KMs, etc.,It’s  better to hire an autorikshaw which we found to be very cheap here. I have never paid more than Rs.10/- for a trip here. People are very friendly and so are the drivers.

The must visit places in Wayanad (according to tourist operators there) are Kuruva Dweep (which was closed then due to heavy rain), Chembra peak, Pookode lake, Muthanga Wild life sanctuary, Thirunelli, Pakshi pathalam, soochipara water falls, etc. But in consultation with our driver cum guide, we chalked out our own plan. He took us to take half way through the Chembra peak (6900 feet above sea level) up to where it is navigable by road. There is a watch tower up to which we went. The sight of the valleys of tea and coffee estates as also the  view of Kalpetta from a distance was enchanting. Our son was happy for having been kissed by the clouds and was busy collecting pieces of clouds and put them in his shirt pocket.

The Chembra Peak

Towards Chembra Peak

Half way through Chembra Peak

It takes at least half a day to finish this if you want to trek to the top. Ideally you need to have a small like minded group of 7-8 people, equipped with safety gadgets, water, food, etc. Half way further to the top, they say there is a heart shaped lake on the bank of which people take rest, drink water and have food before they climb further upto the peak.All these reminded me of the great Mana Sarovar and Kailash. We have consigned  it for  the next time
.

Our next destination was Edakkal caves, they are two natural caves located 1000 metres high on Ambukutty Mala (Hill) 25 km from Kalpetta  on the way to  Sultan Battery. They lie on an ancient trade route connecting the high mountains of Mysore to the Malabar coast ports. These  caves were discovered by  Fred- Fawcett, the then superintendent of police of the Malabar District, who was on  a hunting trip to Wayanad in 1890. Our travel was through village roads and took an hour to reach the spot.

Way to the caves

A beautiful Petroglyph

The cave is on top of a hill and one has to trek about 200 -250 meters steep to the top which requires a bit of mountaineering skill. We saw plenty of tourists visiting this place without much taste or understanding of history. There are carvings considered to be of BC 2000-6000 period (Neolithic i.e.stone age). The Kerala Archeological department maintains it and charges a little fee. Photography is allowed inside the cave. There are few pictures and some scripts engraved on the walls (Petroglyphs) of the cave. The pictures that we could make out were of a deer like creature and a human face with ornaments of possibly a tribal chief.  It took us about 2 hours to finish. Short Tamil Brahmi inscriptions datable to around 3rd Century CE have also been discovered in these caves, the fifth one reading "Sri Vazhumi" is the latest discovery by M.R. Raghava Varier, retired Professor of Epigraphy, Calicut University (February 2012 update).

Photo by: Mohammed A

The nearest town to Edakkal Caves site is Sultan Battery. Further from the town towards the Boarder of Karnataka situates the Muttanga wild life sanctuary. Like all sanctuaries the best time to visit the park is early morning. There are four wheel jeeps available on hire with a guide inside the sanctuary. We reached the place in the evening and could sight few deers and peacocks. In the morning elephants and bisons are sighted more often and if you are very lucky, even tigers could be encountered. The sanctuary borders both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The pookode lake is the most beautiful lake that we have ever seen in Kerala; resembles Nainital. This is located near a place called Vythiri. It is a natural lake in the midst of hills. Boating in the lake or walking around the lake is the major activity here.

Kanthanpara falls, the safe one.

Kanthanpara fall

We avoided Suchipara falls because of the  distance and chose a nearby fall called Kanthan para (lesser known to outside world) as suggested by our guide. It is a small fall in two stages. The first one is safer as it forms a pond where even children can safely play. Wayanad has a number of such un-spoilt spots.

At Kanthanpara

Next day, we took a bus to travel to Tirunelli and Papanasam fall. One need to take a bus to Mananthavadi first and then to Tirunelli. Overall it takes 2 ½ hours to reach the temple. The route was exciting with views of the wild and occasional housing colonies of the tribal community beside the paddy fields. The road is through the proposed Elephant corridor. Not to mention, elephants are often sighted here on the road / road side. We found few deers.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu is surrounded by mountains and looks like Sabarimala temple. The temple looks very old. They say that there are mentions about this temple in the 10^th century literatures. Tirunelli used to be an important town till 16^th Century, along with Kodungallur and Mangalapuram. The temple is not architecturally very beautiful. When we visited, the inner side of the temple was getting renovated with teak wood roofs.The only interesting part I could notice is the plumbing arrangement made of granite stones to provide water to the temple from a distant mountain.

Tirunelli temple and the aquaduct

People visit Tirunelli for two reasons; one to take a dip in the nereby stream called Papanasam and two, to consult tribal physicians practicing tribal medicine. In Papanasam pond (which is called brahma theertham), we found a carved stone in the middle depicting Sankhu, Chakra and Gada of the Loard Vishnu, where some poojas are offered. This also looked to be very old.

Papanasam (Where sins are washed away)

Symbolic representation of Lord Vishnu

We returned to Ernakulam the third day via Calicut. Wayanad has a lot to offer for someone who is ready to walk and trek a lot. Good people blessed with good weather and nature.