Wellington (Ooty)- My #DreamTrail

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!”