Cloud (Blog) Nine

On the occasion of completing nine years in blogging, I am glad to announce that my blog was selected as one of the Directory of Best Indian Blogs 2013 - 2014. June 20 marks the birth anniversary of my blog, when I composed my first blog post in year 2005 and blogging became a track changing in my life that let me touched from every corners of this world.

I was nothing to do in this world, rather watching television and gaming in computer before started to blog; it was the habit of reading newspaper and magazine through which I was introduced to blogs. I had no idea about blogs initially, but I was looking forward to own a space on internet such as creating a website for myself and thus my (Jeevan’s) world exits. Today I have come across a long distance in blog and what it has taught me was lot and sharing is one significant reason that doesn't want me to leave this place.

Each passing year I am getting away from the wonder feeling of turning a year around and I don’t get into a mood of triumph something, for which I guess perhaps the way of looking at blogs has changed and sharing has become my main course which kept away my counting overall. Today many social networks has emerged but I still strongly believe in blogs and nothing gives me content like writing a blog and the worth of sharing it gives was not even the real life recognized.  Blog influenced a lot shaping my personality and changing my perspective and what I go through now is quite different from beginning.

Thank you all! J

Plums (ripe and unripe)

During my recent visit to Ooty I haven’t seen anyone selling plums or popularly called as Ooty apple, which is one of my favorite fruit of sweet and sometime sour. Later I heard this year the season failed to produce much plum, which has been demand on market. Last year when I vacationing in Kodaikanal at this time, I got to see plums tree in the cottage we stayed and the fruits were quite unripe to pluck and eat.  The only thing I could do was to make a picture out of it.

The unripe plums have tight, shiny skin and are green or very light in color, but as they ripen the skin becomes less taught, slightly thicker and the fruit becomes pliable when pressed. A Good plum feels heavy for its size and free of bruises and large dark spots.

Plums are an important temperate fruits which is used both as fresh and in preserved form. Among the two types of plum (European and Japanese) introduce in India during 1870 in Himachal Pradesh, only Japanese plum has been recommended for commercial cultivation. Apart the Himalayan ranges - the primary producers of plums, the Nilgiris of south India also grows plums on a limited basis. Though India is not a market for temperate fruit, the country grows approximately 12 varieties from the Prunus Salicina species.

The Plum season is ranged from late April through June.

Simply Love

image courtesy: google

Love is an essence
enhances the relationship
between any living species;
love emphasis
the importance of life
sometime a tool of destruction.

Love is an inherent
nurtured by a mother
shaping him/her to sharing;
using variety of notes
love composes an environment
enrich in peace and harmony.

A brief account on my vacation (to Ooty and Valparai)

I skipped last week’s intense summer heat by going on chill vacation to Ooty and nature’s paradise Valparai. I was in need of a break from the routine, as well for a change (since a year I traveled anywhere long) and as an alternate route to keep away the misery haunted lifelong; the hot weather wants me to drive somewhere to keep sometime cool enough. Ooty wasn’t so cold and surprisingly it had a best climate I ever experienced there and the sun was shining so bright over the Blue Mountains, enhances the spirit rather being laze inside the clouded atmosphere.

First time I took a night travel to Ooty from Chennai and it is also the first time for me to take an overnight travel to any other destination. I hesitated when my parents decided to take night ride to avoid traveling in day hot weather and to adjust room rent, but later convinced to take since it is first time for me, I decided to experience it. I doesn't find any difficult during the journey and we traveled at limited speed covering Vellor, Krishnagiri, Mettur and Mettupalayam and the dawn was really enchanting with warm sunlight embracing the cold morning.

Even though it was comfort during the night journey, I felt fainting and sleepiest the whole day getting down in Ooty. Glad we haven’t planned anything that day, and stayed at the cottage and had delicious Biriyani and watching TV and cherished the pleasant cold weather. I was disappointed with few things anticipated over there and one among them was the cottage we stayed in. I looked for cottages in Ooty at Olx.com and few other websites related to Ooty and found a home which would be suitable for 12 of us to stay and esp. a ground floor for my convenience.

Avalanche Lake (click pic for enlarge)

Being a peak season time, getting a suite is also not easy and prices a lot. So we had no other option rather booking the cottage and what I saw on the net weren't we stayed, but it was another one somewhat compact and enough for only 8 members and others were stayed at another place, which they used only for sleeping at night. The cottage was little away from the city center, so it was calm to stay at somehow peace and even it was a little home, looked pretty neat and painted in vibrant yellow and green. Each room had a TV, which is nothing but the free TV sets distributed by govt.

Another disappointment came in different form and for that I can’t blame anybody rather myself, because I put it into a casual mode since I heard or those conveyed me made certain that we need no permission to visit Parson Valley. ‘Just making a note at the forest check post before entering is enough.’  We were close to the Parson Valley Lake or about 1.5 km from the site, the forest officers stopped us denied permitting inside and also warned that coming such long itself need permission. The road to the valley is quite rough and we traveled in two cars, and our SUV has no issue with such roads, but uncle’s Hyundai Accent with bad tyres made a great attempt surviving the road… it feels sad taking such a path with nothing to hold back.

Making it as a more special vacation, I met my dearest friend Andrew who was also on a trip to Ooty while we were. Couple of day before leaving, I casually asked him seeing his photos taken in Ooty at Facebook and he told he’s boarding flight tomorrow to reach there and I also conveyed my visit and we both felt happy and made sure meeting each other. He was staying at his friend’s place that was very close to where we accommodate, and he made a leisure walk to our cottage the next morning, making it more refreshing and cheerful day.  He brought me warmth hug and sweet embrace making quite delight and I really enjoyed the moment even it was brief.

Valparai (click pic for enlarge)

We spent just two days in Ooty and moved to Valparai. Since my uncle and aunt hadn’t been with us during our last two trips to Valparai, we decided to give them a chance to visit. We haven’t really planned to visit Valparai and it was a decision taken only after reaching Ooty and it wasn't the best time of the year to visit Valparai (I always want to be there only at post monsoon when the entire landscape shimmers in green and full-fledged water bodies). Being a month of summer, Valparai was little busy unlike ever, perhaps because both our early visits were during winter.

I have covered almost places in Valparai in my previous visits and this time just revisited few places where people usually go as tourist reaching Valparai. I hear few tourists saying there’s nothing to see in Valparai, but I only thought that they need to develop their mind to grasp the beauty of nature dumped over everywhere there. Valparai isn’t quite a tourist oriented place, but there’s a lot to perceive and it is a place that geographically significant and everyone need to travel with consciousness preserving the   large biodiversity exhibits there.

Valparai is also an engineering marvel with number of water bodies interconnected through tunnels and contour canal, setting an example how rivers could be connected. We traveled to Sholayar Dam, Nirar and Balaji Temple, but I wasn't content with the sights this time except for the visible of wild elephants, Indian Gaurs, Lion-tailed macaque and barking deer. I was excited to encounter these wild animals and riding thought the winding Ghats of Valparai is quite another pleasure I enjoyed through the leisure drive this time.  I had a wonderful time with my family at both the destinations, make quite lovely despite passing various phases of frustrate and surprise. 

Elephant Feeding @ Top Slip

During my visit to Top Slip, a tourist spot inside the Aanamalai Tiger Reserve (a part of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park) I happened to take a wildlife safari which led me to an elephant camp inside the forest.  Called as Kozhikamuthi, the elephant camp is home to number of best trained elephants or kumkis which are used for taming elephants and to transport timber. The Top Slip derives its name from the process of wooden logs used to be slipped down from the top of the hills to the plains.

Kozhikamuthi elephant camp is a small hamlet or settlement of tribes exclusively converted for elephants to keep trained and housed under the Malisar tribes, who belong to the elephant handler’s caste and skilled to work with Asian elephants. It was evening when we made to this camp and it seems feeding elephants in front of the visitors is a regular activity there. There were very few elephants standing behind the wood barriers, amuse when mahout feeds them mouthful (kavalam) of vitamin balls, one of the vital ingredient on their daily intake.

Situated at the bank of a river, the elephant camp has natural surroundings of green and woods but been a dry season then, many elephants were sent to another camp deep inside the forest which is restricted for pubic.