The bus trip from Bangalore to Kotagiri every weekend means lucky me gets to travel through Masinagudi, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Mudhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Since commercial vehicles aren’t permitted inside the forests between 9 PM-6 AM, my KSRTC overnight bus from Bangalore would normally reach Bandipur check post at 3 AM. Then would follow the long wait along with other buses, trucks and private cars, till 6 AM when the gates would finally open.
And waking up with the sunrise, I’d be greeted with the sight of foraging spotted deer, bisons, elephants, lion-tailed macaws, common rhesus monkeys, peacocks and wild boar, roaming the hitherto undisturbed forest glades (apologises for having forgotten till date to take my DSLR along). The very first visit — when Indra accompanied me — we were lucky enough to spot a mommy and baby elephant. And there began her enchantment with the Nilgris, and an often-voiced intention never to come back to Bangalore or Madras.
And what we couldn’t see we made up for in imagination. For this was the Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling lore — the home of the never-to-be-spotted tigers, the even more elusive leopards and black panthers, the Nilgris Gaur, mongooses, Malabar giant squirrels, Gray langurs and Nilgiri tahrs.
And as the bus rolls into Gudalur, Ooty and Coonoor it’s the sight of acres of tea estates, pine forests and eucalyptus trees that greet you. Ooty is about 7,500 feet above sea level, so on clear days — when the hills aren’t shrouded by mist one can see for miles around, including the plains of Salem, Mettupalayam and Coimbatore.
Breakfast has to be accompanied by one of Ooty’s famed tea varieties- masala tea, cardamom tea, chocolate tea or orange pekoe. While the place is dotted with tea stalls, one can also choose to have fresh-as-mint tea at the shops attached to the tea factory. Black tea unlaced by sugar or milk, white tea with pine needles or green tea with generous bits of chamomile, kashmiri kahwa — the variety is extensive and there’s a difference in the depth, texture of black tea from the different estates.
I’m yet to visit the tea estates of my MCC college seniors – who have promised me a tour of their premises, a lecture in fannings vs broken pekoe and visits to tea factories. I’m also yet to meet fellow journalists, working in the best of ambiences. Every road, every turn, every acquaintance seems to bring with it the promise of an unforgettable experience!
And there’s also the constant reminders of man-animal conflict in the district to keep your teeth on edge — the electric fences at honey-production units to keep out sun bears; the chained-mesh kennels for dogs to prevent them being eaten up by adventurous leopards (apparently they prove tasty fare); and my intense astonishment when a bison ambled past us at the Ketti bus stop and everyone else’s complacence. So yes, in Nilgris its never about the destination, but the journey!
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