Sunday, 24 Dec 2006: Disaster at Pollachi!

The 6628 Chennai – Mangalore West Coast Express snaked into Cannanore at midnight. Got ourselves seats in a first class coupe, as AC and sleeper classes were full. We reached Podanur Junction in the wee hours of morning. Had to change trains and board the metre gauge passenger that would take us from Podanur to Palani. A hundred people gathered around the station building to board this train and the railway authorities held back the train by over 20 minutes to allow everybody to entrain.

Meanwhile I requested the driver of the metre gauge passenger if I could take a snap of the train, only to be flatly refused. We got ourselves first class seats on the passenger train which was headed by a Ponmalai-based (ex-Golden Rock, Trichy) YDM4 which turned out to be a mother of a smoker. Both I and my buddy hung out of the train snapping up the scenery – a million hues of green! We soon made a grand entry into Pollachi Junction. Devoured the yummy vadas (rice cakes) sold on the platform. Ventured to take snaps of an incoming passenger train.

Was promptly booked by the duty station master, who was joined by the driver of our passenger train who complained that I still took pics in spite of being warned by him. The duty SMR turned a shade red when he asked me if I was a terrorist… I tried to bask in the glory. He finally asked me to show him my ID. He cooled down once he saw my innocent mug shot in my passport. Forget about causing terror, he must have made out that I can’t even kill a fly properly. For all the uninitiated rail fans out there, it’s illegal to shoot trains in India, especially on railway premises. You can get booked / get your camera confiscated / or cool your heels behind bars, if you get caught by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). And rail fans still continue taking snaps of trains on Indian Railways. Just visit http://www.irfca.org/ to see for yourself.
Got back into the train and winked at my friend who was busy munching dal vada. We were soon on the ‘rails’ snapping up windmills on the way. Reminded me of Netherlands… the weather was amazing with fog and sunlight playing hide n’ seek.

We reached Palani around 11am. Got to the bus stand and found that the next bus to Kodaikanal from Palani was hours away and that the ride on the government bus was guaranteed to be uncomfortable. Dindigul or Madurai is a better place to get to Kodai than Palani, as it offers you more connections via bus. But as our luck would have it, we soon ran into a couple and an Israeli tourist and teamed up with them and engaged a taxi. If there’s one car that can take six individuals and tons of luggage up to Kodai on a trot, that’s the hardy Hindustan Motors’ Ambassador. The ride on the Palani Hills was pretty exciting as we climbed up the gradient to get to Kodai. The mercury plummeted and fog descended on us. We reached Kodaikanal around 3pm and enlisted the help of a guide to get a room in MYH Green Mountain Lodge. Owing to Christmas & New Year, rooms were very difficult to get in Kodaikanal. We signed up for a full day guided tour of Kodaikanal the next day, followed by a forest tour the day after. We went for a walk around the Kodaikanal Lake, and then took a horse ride.

My steed acted like he would throw me into the lake any minute. My friend got an amazing beast, a 10 month old stallion named Rahul, who was so friendly and docile. Posed for pics with Rahul and then walked the entire perimeter of Kodai Lake which is around 5kms. Went to bed early. The chilly climate did its best to keep us quite awake.

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Monday, 25 Dec 2006: Santa visits Kodaikanal

Merry Christmas! I donned the Santa cap, for the big day. Took a walk around the lake before proceeding on our tour of Kodaikanal. Had vadas for breakfast at Sami’s stall, posed for pics with him and the ‘amma’ (mother) selling pan parag next shop. Went chasing a herd of goats, one of them took a fancy for me, and was soon rubbing its head on my leg. May be it was just getting ready to butt me! Got into our tour bus, our tour guide was an engineering student named, of all the people, Saddam. Saddam was joined by Prince and Karthi (Karthik). We set out exploring the sights of Kodaikanal. We first went visiting Silver Falls at Kodaikanal. Met a group of Engineering students from Shastra Engg. College in Trichy. I slipped and fell twice at the falls. Was drenched, but thanked my stars that nothing untoward happened. Wondered about the time I slipped and fell while descending the hills on my trek to Job’s Well in Salalah almost a decade ago. Went on an amazing trek in the hilly forests enveloped in fog and mist.

Posed for pics with the world-renowned Strobilanthus or kurunji flowers which bloom only once every 12 years. Saw Dolphin’s Nose, got the gang of engineering dudes to pose for a monkey train on a nearby cliff. Asked them who their favourite Tamil heroine was. The unanimous reply was – Asin, though somebody described Nayantara as ‘luscious’; a term commonly used to describe ripe mangoes. Ate bread fried in omelette from a ‘shack like restaurant’ on our way. Loved the way it was prepared. Fell in love with a mutt that hung around the bench I was sitting. We covered other famous sightseeing spots before taking a round around the Kodai Lake.

My friend got me a keychain with my name inscribed on a single grain of rice. Gawked at people (read babes), while munching corn on cob. Watched a drunken 4WD driver plunge his Scorpio into a Honda City, then a shop selling curios made of seashells, and then a Toyota Qualis, before running over someone’s feet – all in less than 30 seconds, creating mayhem in the crowded Lake street. Went to the Kodaikanal Boat & Rowing Club and took a shikara ride in Kodai Lake. Saw Santa row a shikara. Learnt that his name was Murugan. Waved to him… Our Shikara-man, who name is akin to a famous American president, stopped the boat in the middle of the lake, and hiked his fare. Justifying his hike, he took our snaps in the shikara in various poses… all of which turned out to be… bad… :(

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Tuesday, 26 Dec 2006: Adventure in the Kodai Forests

Today was our last day in Kodai. Our efficient guide got me a bus ticket from Kodai to Madurai and then from there to Kollam by train. (Just for a charge of 10 Rs!) My friend was travelling from Kodai to Coimbatore and from there to Cannanore. We visited Sami’s stall for breakfast. It was vadas for me again. Took some snaps with Kodaikanal Lake and the Kodai Hills in background. Thank God for the feature called ‘auto click’ in cameras. I lost my jacket, while posing with a ‘monkey’. My buddy went back there in the evening and got it back, apparently the watchman had preserved it for us! Went for our Kodaikanal Forest Tour. Visited Coaker’s Walk and then saw the magnificent Kodai Lake at a height from a view point, quite naturally called, Lake View.

Passed by the Kodaikanal Golf Club. The guide told the tourists: We are passing by the Kodaikanal Golf Club. To which a tourist from Mumbai promptly replied: If we are not stopping here, why the hell are you telling us that this is the Golf club? To which the guide replied: The club is closed to tourists as they used to have lunch on the greens and litter it. India for you. Took a trek through the rows of pine trees and deciduous shola trees where playful monkeys flitted around as people were shrouded in clouds of mist. These forests have been a shooting location for many movies. Had a group of local village women, who were returning from the forest after gathering wood to pose for a snap with their bundles of twigs. Couldn’t catch a glimpse of the famed Pillar Rocks as fog played havoc. Saw the ‘in’famous Guna cave aka Devil’s Kitchen, which was a shooting location for the famous Tamil film ‘Guna’. Apparently the cave is off limits to tourists, as 12 people have fell into the depths of the cave and they haven’t yet discovered their bodies. I guess that’s where my buddy lost his mobile phone trying to perform acrobatics with monkeys. Also got to see the famous ‘suicide point’ which is now called Green Valley. Couldn’t see anything beyond the edge of the cliff, but managed to a few click amazing snaps.

Even saw a flower merchant selling flowers that are said to last at least 20 years without wilting. Visited the striking 133-year old blue and white Lady of La Salette Church built in gothic style, Kurinji Andavar temple and Chettiar Park before getting dropped at the bus stand to take my 4.30pm bus to Madurai. The drive to Madurai was fun. Watched the bus descend the hills covered by dense forests, through the very narrow, winding road. We occasionally stopped to give way to vehicles making the ascent to Kodai. Even captured a massive fight between some rowdies on the road on video. Once we reached the plains, the bus picked up speed and we soon cruised past Dindigul, overtaking luxury coaches as well as bullock carts.

Reached Madurai Railway Station around 8pm. Shopped for dhotis and was told that Sree Sabaris was the best veg joint in town. Managed to get a seat in the jam-packed eatery. Splurged on paneer omelette, and masala dosa? Deposited my backpack at the railway station cloak room. Got to a Satyam Broadband Internet shop. Got back to the station, gawked at the trains and babes. Drooled. Saw an MLA being escorted by his entourage to a waiting train. Watched at least four super fast trains enter and exit Madurai Junction’s platform no. 1, enjoyed watching the loco pilots do their custom checks and start off their trains. A particular senior driver named J. Periaswamy made a lasting impression. And so did the dozen odd mosquitoes that gave me unwanted attention.

The 727 Madurai – Kollam Passenger rolled into a very crowded platform no. 3 for departure. The station staff did not turn the lights on in the train. A Canadian couple led the way to passengers in my coach with a flashlight. Yours truly impressed himself by turning the lights on from the coach electrical switchboard. As the train slowly trundled out of Madurai, I plugged into my music player…

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