Friday, April 03, 2015

A brief on my early vacation come travel to Thandikudi and Cloud Mountain!

Usually we go for vacation in midsummer to keep ourselves away from hot weather and chill sometime in pretty cool mountains/hill stations while visiting places in and around the destination. Although I have visited almost hill stations/mountains within the state of Tamil Nadu, I still believe there is a lot to be explored and experienced. Each time I plan to visit mountains or any other place, I look forward to go beyond tourism and take roads that less traveled and places explored at least.  This time too, though, went to the places that I have been already, I tried to explore things that missed last time and observing more the nature and environment and experience things leisurely.

After a gap of two years, I visited the mountains of Kodaikanal and stayed at Thandikudi followed by Cloud Mountain’s – which are a part of Western Ghats, from March 20-25. I was looking forward for a break/change from regular life since it’s been nearly a year I had vacation (in Ooty-Valparai) or traveled long, I decided to be earlier mainly to prevent the season’s crowd and easy accommodation at less fare/tariff. Being a month ahead to midsummer, it’s already terrific hot here and as we began the journey the sun was almost up in the sky shimmering bright, which is one of unusual with this travel as we always begin our journey early morning so that could easily get out of the city before it get congested and lesser heat.

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One of the cottage we stayed at Thandikudi
Our drive from home till the foothill of Thandikudi/Kodaikanal was under scorching sun, which we felt heavily on the national highways in lack of trees and the A/C in the car also went frozen to block the blowers. The heat was able to make feel even driving upon the mountains and being unseasoned to rain there wasn't a piece of cloud to hold umbrella. The coldness on the mountains was also not so high and bearable with plain blankets at night and only in the morning the chillness is felt. We had booked rooms in the Panchayat Union’s Narumana Kudil (fragrant hut/cottage), which we early stayed and it is one of the very few accommodates available at Thandikudi apart couple of high fee resorts.

And it is a wonderful place to stay and watch birds alongside. But this time it wasn't fair enough to allow me to wander its premises, encompassed by coffee plantations and canopy of trees, because of lack of maintenance and unclean of fallen leaves gives a strange look across to move around. Moreover I didn't get the room I was looking for, which would ease my access through wheelchair so that I could come in and out of the room without much difficult. While booking in, itself we stressed for that particular room but those communicated hadn't conveyed it clearly to the management who had rented the room to some other. So I had to be transferred to a chair before getting in and out of the room to overcome a huge step and then back to wheelchair/car to move around.

The beauty of kodai, illuminates in eventide sunlight
The beauty of Kodaikanal Lake, illuminates in eventide sunlight
I expected to spent much time outside the room looking for birds i.e. it is a bird paradise in itself with many distinct bird species, even though I listen to their chirrups in various tones, I find only few birds with capable to shoot while others were tiny ones which treats me with sweet tweets.  We stayed there for three nights and two days, which was spent mostly on drive and discovering new places/routes that I wanted to do for some time – will write more about it in detail later. I hope my future visits/stay at Thandikudi would be fine due to my uncle’s (mom’s sister husband) construction of guesthouse there, beside the coffee and orange plantations he bought two years back.

During my stay, I visited Kodaikanal only for a brief moment and took a leisure ride around the lake while capturing some photos and having a cup of coffee, we head back to room by late evening after purchasing some homemade chocolates. We haven’t planned to visit Kodaikanal that day as we are intended to stay there later; it was our car that forced us to check the princess of hills as it refused to start suddenly we are either to go to Vathalagundu (at the foothill) or Kodaikanal to rectify, we chose Kodai so that we don’t need to get down the hills. While the day went like that and the other spent on exploring some Ghats sections, the real excitement of the entire vacation was the chance to visit Cloud Mountain aka Megamalai!

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The place where we stayed in backdrop of Highwavys dam at Cloud Mountain
I have been to this part of Western Ghats Mountains in 2009, but I haven’t done a post or write a piece on the pristine mountains that guard the Cumbum Valley from the east. It is one of the few places where nature exists at its best/pristine stage and human intervention is at least. I avoided writing about this place and posting pictures then to do a bit on preserving and preventing exposure as I never want it to be seen as another spoiled hill station. I think it is a place not for tourist activities but to admire and experience nature. At about 1500 meter, the cloud mountain is dedicated to tea plantations and it comes under the High Wavy Township which is one among the three major tea estates who leased the land for 99 years.

Getting there is not an easy task and one really needs a high ground clearance vehicle to venture the road that almost an off-road journey. One can drive up to High Wavy (there is also bus service) somehow, but trying to go beyond is painful. We haven’t planned to visit Cloud Mountain but it came as an offer from my cousin brother, whom we sought for booking rooms in Kodaikanal, and upon our willingness he booked rooms for us in the High Ways IB (inspection bungalow). I was telling to my dad, very lately, that we should go to Cloud Mountain once again, a place I visited as a day travel in 2009, I couldn't say no when someone offered such an opportunity. I was quite delighted to spend two days stood between dense forest, tea gardens and dams/lake in front and rear.

More for later... 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A (Asian) toad in bucket

Last year during this time we received a surprise guest (toad) in the bucket that left outside the home, in our earlier resident opposite to Sishya School. Seeing a toad or frog is not a surprise thing but the condition of the weather could make I guess. Summer in Chennai usually pick up in March, although it sense earlier this year, it was approximately same last year when we found a toad lonely floating in a bucked with least water left at the bottom.

Toad in a bucket
I was in wonder where the toad would have come from since the weather was very hot and wasn’t wet anywhere near and though I guess it must be a great survivor to come to quench the thirst and couldn’t leap out because of less water at bottom. The toad was floating in the water, leisurely stretching all the limbs and eyelids kept closed and open causes a sense of sleepiness. The toad spotted in black has beautiful texture/traces in brownish and yellowish and nice black curves around eyelids.

Floating alive
The toad commonly called as Asian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) and also known as black-spectacled, common Sunda and Javanese toad, is probably a complex of more than once toad species that is widely distributed in South and Southeast Asia.  The amphibian is a lethargic timid animal that moves about with deliberate hops from place to another, comes out after sunset and frequents mostly the human habitations (where it gather under street lamps) to feed on photopilic insects.

A toad afloat

(source of info: wiki)

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe - A Novel Script

I usually write on movies only that I watched in theatre, but Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe (which means “come close, do not kiss”) is a 2014 road movie in Tamil that I watched last weekend in a Tamil channel. I was looking forward to watch this movie as downloaded, but glad I come to know the movie being relayed 2 hours early to watch and it was interesting and gives a new experience.

The actress-turned-director, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan - who's popular with her mother characters, has written the story (that based on a road journey and background as petrol/diesel crisis) and screenplay in a novel way i.e. each character has been depicted in brief, that encounters along the journey, makes it more interesting watch. The movie drove from three different paths/situations has intertwined so well, leading all the way towards ending, the ride has been kept at thrill with anticipation of what come next.

Chandru is a lorry driver, although he the son of a petrol bunk owner, he choose his life to be like that and who drive trucks and Lorries for thrill, decides to smuggle 2000 litre of diesel for the same amidst fuel crisis. On the other hand, a runaway couple joins him for life whose love has been opposed by the relatives for being different religion/caste and a girl from wealthy family, going through distress and misunderstanding with her mother for not telling who he father is. But once understand her father as an injustice to her mom, the girl tries to reach her and fall into accident.

At one phase and in unexpected situations, all boards the lorry to get down at their destination and how Chandru comes out of the crises for smuggling diesel that could sentence him at national level. The movie settles for a light-hearted entertainment and taking a serious issue in hand, where the price and demand for petrol/diesel has been at rise to protest, ‘Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe’ has utilised it well and also got closer but didn’t strike a chord!

The new comer Shabeer (Chandru) has a look needed for a lorry driver and also being adamant he quite understands later. But however upright, a driver could not drive straight forwardly. Lol! The pretty Piaa as Maya has been left with a face of confusion and anguish almost the movie, is enough describe her mindset and as her mother, Viji Chandrashekar, has recorded a bold statement that being odd is nothing wrong. As a young (runaway) couple in love they represent a familiar identity yet strongly

‘Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe’ is a phrase I myself have seen on a lorry back, is perhaps the inspiration for the director and being a woman, has set a theme/trend which is pretty new, creative and ideology to inspire other. There aren’t many songs and also haven’t taken separate scenes for songs, which go along the subject.  Although I am content with the technical background, I wish I was watching this film in theatre to appreciate quite overall. NVM is must watch if you want a change in watching pattern and novel way of storytelling! 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Divider in poles

MG Road, Bangalore

The couple of photos here (from the archives) were shot years back into one early morning in Bangalore and road was MG road! I think it is a road comparative to Mt. Rd/Anna Salai in Chennai with many commercial, shopping and official buildings to keep it busy throughout the year. Couple of my friends from Bangalore expressed surprise looking at these photos said, they never seen MG road such empty.   

Crowdless MG Road in Bangalore

And I find the elastic pole dividers dividing the MG road were interesting to post/link with Good Fence at Run a Round Ranch.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Colorful Villea

Bougainvillea @ ECR

Following the gates on Pvt. Beach lanes off ECR, I was captivated by the colorful blossoms of bougainvillea bloomed outside a bungalow, while leaving one of the by-lanes of ECR. I have seen bougainvilleas bloomed in eye-catching colors of white, yellow, red and purple among the by-lanes many time and I have also grown watching the bougainvillea in a house garden opposite to our native home sometime until we shifted or cut-off by the owner. I always have a nostalgic feel towards this flowering shrub! Hope you like the photos

Bougainvillea @ ECR