Ooty: Oozing with old-world charm

By Mohan Bhatt

IN these days of crowded malls and bazaars, congested roads and the hustle-bustle of towns and cities, along with their modern contraptions, one would like to spend a few days at a place which has not been saturated with human life and where the roads are clear of the honking of vehicles and where one can have long, leisurely walks undisturbed by traffic. Where can one find such a place?

Among the hill stations that can vie for this coveted honour is Ooty (short for Ootacamaund). Lying on the junction between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats on what has come to be called the Nilgiris or blue hills (owing to the blue haze that enveloped the hills), Ooty (2268 m above sea level), also called Udhagamandalam in the local language (or Udhagai in its shortened form), has still retained its charm despite the passage of time. Names like Dolphin’s Nose, Tiger Hills, Lamb’s Rock or Lovedale conjure up an image of a place that has yet to shed its old-world charm; a place that has still to shed its colonial past. No doubt, most of these names are a legacy of the British Raj but the fact that these are still in vogue, speaks volumes about their choice.

Attractions on mild slopes that offer a vast undulating landscape such as Bishop’s Downs or Wenlock Downs (which has an 18-hole golf course) have withstood the ravages of time and even 50 years after British rule, these have not fallen prey to being renamed in a burst of jingoism.

To understand the hills, one has to live there and partake the joys and sorrows of the hillfolk. But in the case of Ooty, the original indigenous people, the Todas, have been driven out and have been confined to settlements outside the town which are few and far between. The Todas are dark brown in complexion and are generally taller and sturdier than other tribesmen or people of the lower hills. They basically tend buffaloes, and eke out a living from the sale of dairy products, besides cane and bamboo goods. Though living in the high hills, the Todas are vegetarians and the high consumption of dairy products accounts for their height and sturdy physique.

The Todas’ mainstay is selling milk and butter to other tribes. In exchange they get grain from the Badagas, predominantly farmers, and wood (for fuel) from the Kurumbas, who conduct services at their social functions and at funerals as well. They get their tools and pottery from the Kotas, who are artisans as well as musicians. The Irulas or hunters, who trap rats and snakes, provide them bamboo flutes and other musical instruments. Todas perform rituals before every dairy activity — whether milking the buffaloes, feeding the herds, churning the butter from milk or even rebuilding dairies.

The population of this pastoral tribe is fast dwindling — it was just 875 in the 1981 census. Though these people speak a Dravidian dialect, they are said to be proto-Aryans. Their two main groups are Toroas and Towfily. They worship Tokisy, god of the dairies and Towoit, god of the mountains. Their most revered temples are those of Mariamman, Karamadai and Murugan, all around Ooty. With buffalo herds diminishing, the lifestyle of the Todas is being threatened. A number of them owing to the influence of missionaries were converted to Christianity.

Ooty has got its share of hills — Elk Hill, Fern Hill, Club Hill, Missionary Hill etc — and its meandering roads. Its city centre at the trijunction of Mysore Road, Coonoor Road and Commercial Road is called Charing Cross — after its well-known cousin, a suburban rail terminal in London.

One noticeable feature in this "little England" of South India is that its main shopping centre, particularly Commercial Road and Charing Cross, has got an array of confectionery shops selling all sorts of pastries, cakes and chocolates (most of them made by the hill populace). This prompts one to describe the hill station as a bakers’ paradise. The vast variety of cakes and pastries makes one wonder, if this is a cottage industry borrowed from the British!

Ooty has a racecourse but it seems to have fallen on bad days with the track covered by shrubs and wild grass. It seems a shadow of its former prosperous, glorious past when burra sahibs used to throng it to gamble on horses.

Some of the places worth seeing are the Botanical Gardens with a large assortment of plants, flowers and shrubs. It was set up in 1847 by the Marquis of Tweedale and expanded twice. In 1995, in the centenary year of the Summer Flower Show, held here annually, it was expanded and an Italian garden laid. The garden has a fossil of a tree trunk dating to several thousand years.

On the south-western side is Ooty Lake, an artificial lake set up in 1824 by John Sullivan, then Collector of Coimbatore. The lake is famous for its variety of boats and attracts tourists. It has also got a mini-train whose track is laid on one side of the lake (it is to be expanded all round the lake in the next phase). A Rose Garden has come up on one side of Missionary Hill and from there one can get a bird’s eye view of the hill resort. It is one of the most developed gardens with roses of over several hundred varieties planted in a short time of three years since its inception. Surprisingly there are only a few pine trees in Ooty, these are found on the Pykara route.

Doddabetta, meaning large hill in Kanarese, is the highest peak in the Nilgiris (2648 m) and is 10 km away from Ooty and perhaps the highest point accessible to tourists in South India. It has a modern Telescope House where one can get a panoramic view of the Nilgiris, besides towns like Mettupalayam and Gudalur (on the Kerala border). On a clear day one can even see Mysore, 160 km away.

The route taken by film-shooters, known as "Filmi Chakkar", is on the way to Doddabetta. The vast open meadows on the Mysore Road are ideal for a sylvan retreat, away from the hustle and bustle of cities. Little wonder that this route is the favourite haunt of Madras and Bombay film producers. On the other side of the meadow one can see a Toda settlement. On the way, there is Kamarajar Dam, which has a reservoir with clear blue water. Many a film scene is shot here.

Pykara Dam, 21 km from Ooty, just off the Mysore road, is the biggest attraction for tourists and film producers. It has a huge reservoir, where boating is popular. For wildlife, one has to visit Mukurthi National Park as the bigger one — Mudumalai — has been closed to tourists owing to the menace of the sandal- wood smuggler, Veerappan.

On the way is Kalhatty Falls, where water cascades from a height of about 100 ft. The falls attracts all sorts of animals like panthers, spotted deer and bisons who come to drink water in the early hours of the day and at night. Elk Hill and Fern Hill are two high points on the southern and south-western parts of Ooty. The former is a leisurely hour-long walk from the town and offers a clear view of the slopes leading to Mettupalayam as well as the quaint Lovedale, where there is a famous school. From the latter, one can see the thickly-wooded resort of Avalanchi and Upper Bhavani which abounds in wild game. This hill has one of the most exclusive hotels in the town.

Just 20 km south of Ooty is Nilgiris, second largest hill resort of Coonoor (1856 m) with its vast parks and tourist marts. Passing through the verdant tea estates, one reaches Lamb’s Rock, a huge rock several hundred metres long that juts out into the open countryside. From there one can see the vast forest stretch and further down to the mid-hills of Mettupalayam.

Dolphin’s Nose, 12 km from Coonoor, provides a view of the hydel project at Bhavani Sagar which leads to the virgin forests of the Silent Valley. One can also see St Catherine Falls with its lush green surroundings — truly a feast for the eyes! Sim’s Park, set up in 1874 is a vast park which has rare shrubs and plants not found at the Botanical Gardens. Coonoor’s flower show is held in this park every May.

Kotagiri(1984 m ), 35 km to the north-east of Ooty, is a station founded a good decade before Ooty by the British. Its advantage over Ooty is that there are no crowds here and the scenery is breathtaking, particularly the Nilgiri slopes. The small town is a centre of tea estates and boasts of its own flavour of tea. It is drier during the monsoon because Doddabetta peak shields it from rain-bearing winds.

In a nutshell, one looking for a change, particularly from the searing heat and dust of the plains, cannot afford to overlook Ooty, a hill resort where time has more or less stood still since the sun set on the Raj.