I often dream of being in Wellington-a heaven nestled near
Ooty (now Udhagamandalam) and Conoor. I
was there over two decades ago and a visit to that paradise heads my bucket
list. Having been there for 11 months, my treasure-trove of memories has to be revisited
before I kick the bucket (how trite!). The bounties of nature were mesmerizing-
the tall stately eucalyptus trees lining the narrow roads, filling the air with
their wonderful pepperminty fragrance, their trunks exposing myriad hues from
fawn to pistachio green and all shades of russet to fawn. Rivaling them were
the low hilly slopes covered with a carpet of flowers, the hedges brilliant with
the poinsettias in full bloom, adding just the right tempering to the pastel
palette adorned with the muted silvery green of the silver pines, the differing
hues of green, of the surrounding tea gardens, the soft browns of the glossy
pine cones which my little daughter would gleefully run and gather in her tiny
arms!
(A sunset I will always want to relive at Pykara Lake- Photo credit my husband and his 25 year old Minolta!!!)
Wellington to me was the jewel in the crown of the Nilgiris
but the surrounding areas were no less- the Pykara Lake with its placid waters,
the tea estates like Glen Morgan to which you went up in a thrilling winch
ride, the thick gooseberry forests where we picked the ripe amlas (
gooseberries ) straight from the trees, the steep ride down to Mettupalayam the
nearest connected railway station, the toy train to Ooty chugging at such a leisurely pace that you
could hop off the train, pick some flowers from the grassy glades and hop on
again. Also the clouds wafting into the house during winters, the exhilarating
windy rainy days during the north-easterly monsoons, all these are embedded in
my memory. Ooty with its meticulously maintained Botanical Gardens and
places with names like Charing Cross felt quaintly olde world and very British.
It had already been renamed Udhagamandalam when we left Wellington, but it would be no surprise if politics has
taken its toll and Charing Cross has been rechristened after some politician. The tribal Toda huts above the botanical
gardens gave an insight into the lives and weaving art of the original
aborigines of the area.
(My daughter 20 years ago pretending to be a butterfly at the botanical gardens-Photo credit my husband and his 25 year old Minolta!!!)
Wonder what changes have been wrought in the food we ate, since
we were there. At that time the food was uniquely wellingtonish- the Chinese
food at the Gymkhana Club was flavoured with, believe it or not, curry leaves
and mustard seeds instead of ajinomoto! The
crisp, long banana fritters jackfruit chips and Murukku you could buy at the
Conoor market was worth killing for! Surely all this would have sadly made way
for the ubiquitous fast food burger and pizza joints now. Hopefully the milk with freshly-
mown-grass-flavour which was supplied by the local milkmaid would have remained
the same, unless that too has been replaced by the “Avin”pasteurized milk. The
freshly brewed tea which we consumed gallons of, at the tea stalls dotting the
hillsides of the surrounding undulating tea gardens, had the very appropriate
brand name of “Non-Such” tea! Till date we have not found such tea anywhere
else! Truly it was non such!
(My cutest picture of father and daughter bonding- Picture credit yours truly with you know what, our 25 year old Minolta!!!)
Wellington also offered umpteen opportunities to travel to
some of the best wildlife sanctuaries of our country- Bandipur and Madumalai.
Spending a few days there, travelling
through the thick forests, being accosted by a herd of elephants or being
surrounded by a gorgeous herd of endearingly charming and friendly deer in the
forest guesthouse at night, is an experience anyone would want to relive.
Besides the
wildlife sanctuaries, Wellington is not too far off from Mysore (now Mysuru)
where you can appreciate the beauty and grandeur of the Mysore palace, the
lovely Brindavan Gardens with their magical, musical fountains, the goddess Chamudeshwari’s
temple with the imposing Nandi bull
statue facing it. St. Philomena’s church
with its admirable Neo Gothic style and architecture
inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany would be worth visiting again.
(My daughter having the time of her life with both parents looking on- Priceless memory captured by doting parents- witness then priceless now useless Minolta)
Being in Wellington or a place near it
would give wings to my dreams to revisit places like Raja Ravi Verma’s art
gallery in Thiruvanantapuram, pray at the Padmanabhaswamy temple, explore
Thekaddy once again and live on a houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala. If
only I had a Club Mahindra membership to make these dreams come true! Because I
still don’t have a Club Mahindra membership,
“I am blogging about my
dreams and passions for the Club Mahindra #DreamTrails activity at BlogAdda.
You can get a Club Mahindra Membership to own your holidays!”
