Travel: Mist covers the mountain tops

Last week I was at Peermade again. This quite little hill station along National Highway 220 in Kerala was once the summer retreat of the Travancore Royal Family. It is famous for its pleasant climate all through the year, beautiful scenery and flowers.

Peermade is also a place of many childhood memories for me – the grass covered hills against the backdrop of the mountains, clusters of guava trees that grew wild, trucks of the Motor Transport Company carrying supplies to the plantations scattered over the area, trekking paths, waterfalls ands lakes. It has not changed much over the decades.

At 1000ms above sea level, Peermade is still an ideal holiday destination. Go for long walks in the tea estates and mountain tracks, picnics, climb the mist covered Amritamedu the second highest peak in South India. Take a dip in 'Madamma (White Lady) Kulam' ( (pond) north of the peak; that was a favorite pastime with the wives of British planters. There is a story that sometimes Amrit, the elixir of life, floats down to the pool with the waterfall that fills it.

Golf if you like, at the Peermade Club. Visit the 18c church that stands proudly amidst cypress trees at Pallikunnu; history lies buried in the graveyard that is the final resting place of several Englishmen. Pay respects at the tomb of the Sufi saint, Peer Mohammed from whom the place has derived its name.

One can drive to Panchalimedu where, according to legend, the Pandavas lived for a while during their exile. Today the area has a monastery and a few convents. The view from there is stunning. The famous Christian Ashram at Wagamon is one hour drive in another direction. Next to it, the British architect Laurie Baker who did commendable work in low cost housing had established a hospital for hill tribes five decades back. (See: Laurie Baker - A Tribute.) The Perriyar Wildlife Sanctuary is 45kms away.

What I love to do best at Peermade is to sit quietly and watch the shifting mist. The thin woolly veil drifts in with the breeze, lingers for a while covering the superb view, and floats away gently, unraveling again the mountains and the valleys and the stream far below.

Peermade is not a bustling tourist spot. It is a quiet get away place where you can be with nature. The climate is never too hot, never too cold. Hotel and resort accommodation is available. But there is a new experience. Several of the plantation bungalows have been converted to homestays. Live like the sahibs did a century back, but with adjustments to suit modern times.

Ends.

(Photos (copyright reserved) taken by me from the erstwhile palace of the late Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bhai. It is now the residence of the leading planter and philanthropist Michael A. Kallivayalil.)

Also see: Kerala plantations: The bed tea ceremony that was

Reproductive tourism & other matters

I have heard of all kinds of tourism but learned a new phrase today when I stumbled upon Doctor hails 'reproductive tourism' as Indians make outsourced babies ... in Middle East Times. The dateline of the AFP story by Paul Peachey is March 29, 2006, ANAND, India. It is all about professional surrogate mothers and makes interesting reading.

Nostalgia: A clock of time

Responding to a query from me, an expert, Mr. Thomas has been kind enough to send me a clarification. His website http://www.tronico.fi/OH6NT/clocksF.htm is quite interesting and I recommend a visit. The relevant portion of his message reads,

“You have a nice clock. But it is not made in Great Britain, it is made
in USA by Waterbury Clock Co., in Connecticut, between 1857-1944 when
this factory was active.”

Well, our clock has been with us at least from the 1910s. My grandfather died in 1919.

Kerosene fans

Reader Anup has left the following comment on the ‘clock’ post

“Kerosene operated fans? That's something I had not heard of, maybe you could explain that to interested people like me, would be nice to now about such technology that existed those days. I remember seeing old clocks such as the one that you mention, in my grand father's house back in the seventies. I am not sure what happened to it because years later, no one is clear about where it went. I love these old clocks, even if they work erratically.”

I am not competent to explain the technology except to say that kerosene is a fuel that produces energy and energy runs motors. In remote places, some who could afford, had kerosene operated fans and refrigerators. I have seen those even from my young days. These products, I believe, are still being manufactured.

Ends.

Also see:

An antique washing machine

God's own dream

The phrase ‘God’s own country’ was originally used for the United States of America. Today, at least in the tourism field, it means Kerala, one of the top destinations in the world.

But have you heard of ‘God’s own dream’? The words in the image on left read ‘Olavipe, God’s own dream, www.olavipe.com’. It is an advertisement on the outer back cover of the book “Padavarambu’ (see: Autobiography of a School). Recently, my brother Jacob (the incumbent at Thekkanattu Parayil) who coined the phrase, and I had a discussion about it.

The dialogue went something like this. God did not directly create Olavipe; the name means ‘made by the waves’. While taking rest on the seventh day of creation, God reviewed his handiwork and was satisfied. But there was a nagging feeling that something was amiss. Suddenly he realized that Adam had been given the best place on Planet Earth, and with his inner eye foresaw that it would be Paradise Lost. There was no destination if he wanted a short break from all the singing and harping and adulation in heaven. He had to have a place.

And he dreamt of one – Olavipe.

But he was in no mood to get back to creation. He assigned the job to nature. The sun worked on the Arabian Sea and there was wind, which generated waves. They rolled in incessantly carrying sand and silt and seashells and Olavipe began taking shape. It was a slow process. So God gave it a push by triggering off a geological phenomenon in 1341 A.D. that closed the ancient Muzuris port which handled commerce from many parts of the world, opened up Cochin harbor and accelerated the formation of Olavipe.

It was then a barren, sandy stretch of land. A few coconuts floated in with the tides and took root. So did ball-nuts. The birds carried the seeds of jackfruit, mangoes and other trees and dropped them on the soil and they germinated. The Olavipe Lake teemed with aqua life – pearl spots, marals, shrimps, scampi, clams, crabs and others. There were still unfilled places on the land - ponds, and canals and low lying areas. But God liked it that way. He told nature to leave the rest to man.

And the humans came. We don’t know from where. They cultivated paddy, and plants that provided edible produce. They were rather lazy as well in the laid back atmosphere. But God was indulgent about that.

When the trees grew the wind was on them and the leaves hummed. And the wind was on the rice fields too, and there was music in the air. Song of the waves of Olavipe Lake was set to that tune.

It took me nearly five-hundred words to say: if God were to dream of a place just for himself it could very well be Olavipe!

Ends.

Photo: ©Thekkanattu Parayil. Click to enlarge.

Also see: OLAVIPE: Gift of the waves to Kerala, God's Own Country.