Mannavanur – beautiful landscape

Mannavanur is a beautiful landscape, situated at a distance about 35km from kodaikanal, is surrounded by grasslands. I heard about this place for very long time and got the opportunity only now after missing couple of times in past. The Mannavanur Lake is the heart of the place, which could be sighted as soon we enter the huge landscape route. It’s a wonderful view of grass mounds across the valley and water as its center of attraction and surrounded by hills, and little blue sky gives way to picturesque shots. Mannavanur is also a village, mainly depends on terrace farming and agriculture alike Poombarai and holds a sheep research center. And mannavanur is also called as Bison valley.

On the way we could see a group of sheep grazing at distance and wished I could be there, but as we moved further the sight disappears and we came across the village and farm lands, particularly an oval shape field looked like a playground stadium, where rows of steps lead to ground. Various vegetables are cultivated here including broccoli, French and butter beans, and the village also provides home made dish to those approach them, even rabbit meat is cooked if requested. There is no particularly place to attract tourist, but if someone is interested like us can go up to the lake leisurely through meadow path, coming across grazing sheeps and rabbit form.

I had a wonderful time wandering at meadow, getting near sheeps and stream that flows from lake, to the vegetable fields nearby. The mounds of green and chill climate never want me to leave the place, but few members of my family left in hunger drive us to vehicle and the gateway to lake doesn’t seem welcoming in debris and miry. But lake area seems untouched and undisturbed, which is a source of drinking water to the people live less than 100 meters elevation. We moved further away from the place and after the lunch I climbed some distance on wheels along the road lead to kavunji, another village in this region.

I found it was quite silent except the vibration of spraying medicine at fields and the compound of green brown terrace just caught up the eyes. The clouds gathered around the place turned the moment into perhaps rain and so we left before evening. On our way back we stopped somewhere in between pine forest and looked for a falls we found in past, but we’re at wrong indication and even warned by the one who guide us, few of them get down and stick with leeches and unless reaching room none could find it was sucking blood. I was bored to get down into cottage, so we went to the lake bank and spent sometime watching the reflections of light and went around the lake in car which was 6-7km in length.

Poombarai

The place we decided to travel first after arriving kodaikanal was, Poombarai. It’s a beautiful village, with an hour drive or 18km from kodaikanal on the way to Mannavanur. It turned noon when we were moving around with couple of restaurants to get our lunch parcels to only get a replay of no after making delay, and the places we like to go further have no provision of food, so we just gone with bread and jam to stop some more delay. The route we went take us through pine forest, where woods laid nearer in order by nature or whoever, stands tall in almost wet surface, just makes cool like anything and ever green. The fallen woods that remain after removal from way are tuned to live within nature simply getting to ruin to feed nature and they say these woods are banned to remove from here and this one reason helps nature to bounce within at least.

We had nothing to do with the village Poombarai, but it does everything with its pretty views I have ever seen that make impress with the pattern it provides. Parked beside a curve road that gives a clean sight of the valley, we saw the beautiful village surrounded by different shapes and size of lands that carved like steps on the slope of hills and it was well known as terrace farming. One part of the fields in different soil colors, gives a wonderful pattern and few terraces are traced by ploughed and harvested, with remaining terraces into the progress of developing cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, potatoes and hill garlic, which is noted here.

Almost with tiles roof, the houses seem even at distinct. The valley that exist other side of the village is wide open to an excellent view of Palani hills where Poombarai situated as its heart, a mountain range in Western Ghats. There’s a wooden view point adjoin to the road side, to climb at our own risk and there’s a small hill top with shrine, where one could enjoy the cool mist and breeze that moves into peace and pleasure looking over the village. At far distance there was a falls flowing like a silver line and as far we move, the view continues along the way; and it was interesting with fresh green vegetation fields. The irrigation was done through a small canal where the spring water collected from nearby areas passes through and wonder how water supplied to the higher terrace when rain fail to visit.

And back in evening, it was another splendid view of mist covering the valley and slowly caresses the village. I wonder how the people would feel being under blanket of mist and just being hidden from the world view for sometime to clear.

The village exists like an untouched beauty as its core attraction, with petal like hills surrounded. It was nice to see them farming even on no flat surface and creating something to progress their lives, and not like those people who sell there well growing lands to more money and turn it to concrete floors in name of development. We come across many farming lands, but this was simple marvel. The village is connected with buses from kodai and it was a remote village with no clear signal of mobiles, and it holds a Murugan temple with history of three thousands years and once a year they celebrate cart festival after Thai Poosam that comes in Jan-feb.

A pet tag

Dear Anya tagged me just for a play. She is someone very sweet to tag me into this game and she has a beautiful cat named Kareltje, and her blog is almost about her pet and none can beat her in receiving awards from friends. Anya had brought her pet Kareltje’s picture on her tag post, so I thought to break the rules so that similarly I can also post our pet maya’s picture.

Thought the rules are to open your photo folder and select the 6th folder, and then select the 6th photo in that folder and post that photo along with the story behind it on your blog and tag 5 people.

The picture above is maya. The time I shoot this picture was about 8pm on a rainy day and u may think what her position stands for?

One thing I haven’t said before was, maya was a superb hunter of ants. Now u may know for what she is waiting near the door. Sometime ants used to enter our home in-between the gap of door and she would wait for them to arrive to catch and eat. One day a leech entered through the gap and maya seen it and started to bark aloud and before she catch we drew her away. From then on, she used to keep her face down near the door, so that she could catch anything that comes. But something opposite to that happened to her recently and what it was a leech had been biting her leg for sometime when we were in kodai and we only saw it later bleeding. Even couple of our family members got sucked by the leeches when we visited a pine forest.

Lodged with princess of hills

The day dawns very early receiving rays of sunlight into my room, and I wake up in aware to see the beautiful princess of hills (kodaikanal) through the open windows, in between the disturbing concrete structures immerge the beauty. First I felt like a prisoner seeing the princess from behind the cages, as the window bars looks like that and it was more enough for someone living within city developers, whom dismissing the beauty as untouchable fruit! The homes and buildings are prisons; we build for ourselves to live with no life, and like released in parole ones or twice a year, we go in search of pleasure that nature gives.

Unlike we keen for shadow on a sunny day, I wished for sunshine morning to make me out of shiver, the cold night gave. I stretched out of home, as I find the place interesting the previews nightfall, I stroll on my wheels around the front yard and it was a simple cottage with roof tiles, and portico with its kind to gossip moments and a swing to move in comfort. It was a lonely cottage to get on our wish, with garden of pears in backyard with sliding lawn and tiny flowers in mini pots. Interestingly there was a Jeep and being a big fan of 4x4 I often get noticed by the vehicle, and it was modified like a hunter jeep and it was the first thing attracts me getting down there.

I could not forget this place so easily, more than for what it was; I had an accident with my wheel, while trying to climb a steep path to fall backward along with wheels. It was a great time that I escaped with unharmed! Everyone was really scared about this incident and special attention had been given to me then and I acknowledged it’s truly my mistake. I was very careful then, the mistake never repeats and disturbs our pleasure. What all I had been enjoying stays for a brief time, as we had decided to shift our cottage in lack of some facilities and in meantime we stoned some pears and took pictures around the cottage, that I don’t want to leave.

Later I felt the move is also for good and better, and it also has some other story to share later. The places we stayed where 2km away from the center of kodai, and the new cottage had a kitchen to cook dish on our wish, and whatever cooked there tastes sweet. On our first day, aunt made ven pongal and every time it comes with a distinct flavor, and the thing is said to be the water provide the hills make the dish very special.

Highways and Clouds

The highways that laid down these days and across in process, is connecting well the main cities and towns are gift to travelers, who loves smooth and quick access to there destinations. We know roads are stretched to development to make easy the transportation and stress free travel, but sometime I think against this progress that why do we need highways to be widen by cutting down all roadside trees and destroying identities that stands for long. Especially on sunny days, traveling on highways is anxious without air condition on, which I hate to be and lack of shadows that can’t make chill sometime on long drives and I really feel what the traveling I was looking for doesn’t gives this highways and its simply bored and dry to travel long distances seems indifferent. On other hand I was happy about the quality of roads that could meet international standard, and those frequent on roads could enjoy the comfort which doesn’t fulfilled me.

Last week I visited kodaikanal and few places around Theni district and as usual it’s more than 12 hours of journey. Keeping in mind the heat waves, we began our journey at 5.30am from Chennai and reached kodaikanal before dusk. Its third time in a decade I’m visiting kodai and quite right on route, and people who can’t agree with me caught up with puzzle, wasted time and fuel traveling in-between Vathalagundu and kodai road before finding dad’s friend wait at kodai road junction. The ghat road leads to kodai was quite flowing, thus everyone wonder how quick we reached top and it was a beautiful day of sky watching across land and hills.

The sky was wide open with clouds floating like cotton candies and displays child art similarly. I always wish to watch clouds that we imagine to draw wherever nature needs and it was such delight to watch in light blue backdrop. As we move on hills, the cotton candy clouds just crashes on the hills as mist and split as cold breeze; and when we head the guest house the place was soaked in drizzle. The sky was still opened to reflect lights in-between clump of clouds even nearly 7pm and we goose bump as our feet sense the coldness of earth. It was a pleasant stable that night and the house was really wonderful, and I will make a post separately on that.