Gulmohar

At end of May the tree stands bare without leaves and I was worried looked at either shrubs bloomed in flame of red. But in its development as a tree, against my home, I was pleased by its first appearance of blossom in mid June. I once wondered would this shrub relive after the total destruction by a bulldozer on behalf construction and to my surprise it began to grow more than enough to give shadow and wind. I thanked whatever stopped the land owners to go further into there plan and I could say this shrub is also one of my source of energy, and I see often in morning or evening the koel chirp sweet as it is belong to its own species sitting on this tree. The squirrels run and play on its branches and left stand to few water birds, and its home to a lonely jangle crow, which sleep all nights on this tree.

Now the tree has bloomed in flame of red, and I see Gulmohar adorn our resident and complete with gesture that detained these days. Getting into some detail about this tree and flower, it was discovered in early 19th century in its native island country Madagascar, by botanist Wensel Bojer and it named as Delonix regia. Gulmohar is a flamboyant tree bloom with flowers for several weeks in spring and summer, and being pretty it is viewed as world’s most colorful tree. The trees fern-like leaves are composed of small individual leaflets and fold up at the onset of dusk. Looked like stretched feathers it also known as peacock flowers.

Naadodigal my view

I went to drive-in at weekend and saw a wonderful Tamil movie Naadodigal (nomads). It’s a movie about friendship, where we get to see some of the best and worst in friendship. They have shown a group of friends to do whatever to there friendship and kept strong the promise that a ‘friend’s friend is also a friend’, as the title note says. It begins like a usual movie of friends being free birds and does things unemployed do. But the difference is the way of understanding between friends and interesting screenplay that turns over there lives, in need of helping a friend to get his lover.

Sasi Kumar of ‘Subramaniapuram’ led the movie with his matured thoughts as Karuna and the way he conveyed his expressions, want us to look into more. Being a hero he never displayed unbelievable talent and did what he can; with two other main characters played by Kalloori fame Bharani and Vasanth Vijay shows success being unfamiliar, and it’s what the kind with every character plays of real life characters make the movie live. The style of language spoken by Bharani as Pandi is easy to remind and whatever he does mix with humor. His silent expressions are woven into suspense and merry emotions. The new faces act as Karuna’s sister and sweetheart are beautiful whatever aspects they do, and Ananya(heroine) has a bright visage in acting, with her pranks and next door looks.

Though the movie gives a feel of gilly, this was based on friendship and it was something rare to come across friends, who see the relationship as more than anything in the world. There suffer are tough touching when rescuing the lovers and burst out when came to know their sacrifices are no means, exists well into flame. The background scoring was excellent and it increases the furious on screen esp. on chasing scenes it’s remarkable with ‘sambo siva samba’ vent aloud and camera captured the namakkal sequence well. In a line I like to say Nadodogal, oodivanthu uthavum nanbargal (normads, are friends who run to help).

Based on this subject, I watch a program ‘Neeya nana’ on Sunday night and it was about what friendship means and what’s the boundary of it? The chief guest of the program was the director of Naadodigal ‘Samuthirakani’ and what he says is friendship has no boundary and any relationship would fail to succeed friendship. the other side of the team argues that friendship has a limit and few said I will allow my friend only up to my gateway and set of friends until hall. And in my view what I see boundary is in understanding and if there was the thing understanding, none need to draw a line, because they will know better how one would feel extending certain limits. Sometime I also think how would be the countries like India and Pakistan if there was good understand and love among our people, and the fence and armies are removed where the line of control under understanding.

# Current one is a festival song from Naadodigal. See video song at right!

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.