It was that particular time, around the summer vacations that my cousins decided to get together at my house in Chennai. It was a massive army of cousins, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews and my grandparents, that landed at our home. Taking into account the two little local angels (my brother’s), it made a total star cast of 25.
Staying at home was farthest from their minds, as I soon discovered. My cousins from Delhi said, “Where can we go? South doesn’t even have a hill station.” My young niece immediately reacted, “Chitappa (uncle), you’ve forgotten Ooty.” I knew what was coming next.
Sure enough, we were on the road to Ooty in two days time. The two days were spent trying to master the Tamil pronunciation of Ooty (Ootacamund) – Udagamandalam. Just for the sake of it. Udagamandalam – at a height of 2,268 m is in the beautiful Nilgiri (blue) Mountain.
The Toy Train to Ooty [Illustration by Anup Singh]
We practically occupied the bus bound for Ooty. Surprisingly, the grandparents and grandchildren insisted on taking the bus. The five other passengers looked distinctly uncomfortable at this taking over of the bus, especially when they had to deal with boisterous games like ‘Antakshari’ and dumb charades, when we were not collectively munching loud enough to deafen the others.
Ooty is accessible by road and rail only. The nearest airport is at Coimbatore, approximately 100 kms away, which also provides the rail link to Mettupalayam, the base station of Ooty. There are regular state and private bus services from Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore, to this hill station that gained its gilt-edged reputation during the time of the British.
Ooty by toy train
The excitement of Ooty begins even before reaching there. On arriving at Mettupalayam, the bus emptied out in a jiffy as we boarded the toy train that covers the 45 km distance to the top in about four hours – just like the toy train running from Kalka to Shimla. And this winding, train ride is one of the high points of the visit to Ooty for all.
The children mobbed the guard who had alighted the train along with us. “How does the train manage to climb such a steep hill?” they asked him. Flattered to have such an eager audience he replied that the train runs on the ‘rack-rail principle’, and then proceeded to explain.
“Since the gradient is too steep, a second pair of cylinders is attached to a toothed rail in the middle to give the engine an extra push!” All of us adults tried to look knowledgeable, but in reality our ears were straining to catch every word the guard uttered.
The Ooty High
Once in Ooty, the kids seemed to be on a roll. From the manager at the lodge and the local ice cream vendor they had got the names of all the places worth visiting: Catherine falls, Kalhatti falls, Dolphin nose and Dodabetta Peak, they did not want to miss a single location.
After a grace period of two hours that the children gave us to “freshen up and rest”, we all went to the Ooty Lake – a 2.5 km long lake with paddleboats and rowing boats. This was more rejuvenating than the desperate nap we had attempted a while ago.
Train by the lakeside
A cute toy train running around the lake was the main attraction amongst the younger children. The elder ones, though, tried to prove they were the tough guys on ponies and the short treks that we devised in an impromptu manner.
A niece who thought she had spotted a beautiful flower somewhere high up was responsible for a short trek as we all rustled along mountain trails trying to find it for her. But how enjoyable it proved to be!
In the evening it was destination Ootacamund Club to fix up a few rounds of golf the next day.
The second morning, we all decided to visit the St Stephen’s Church and the Botanical Gardens. With its sprawling lawns, ponds with lilies and many varieties of flowers and trees, including 30 varieties of eucalyptus, it became yet another discovery trail for all of us.
The afternoon was reserved for the market. Everyone went with the purpose of looking for something special. Some looked for handicrafts and exquisitely jewellery crafted by the Toda tribals of the Nilgiris. Those interested in foodstuffs went around sniffing for mountain honey and cheese, while the smokers furtively looked for hand-rolled cigars without wanting to attract the attention of the youngsters who would collectively say, “Smoking is injurious to health”.
It was a tired but happy group that left for Chennai the morning after. The adults admitted that letting the children plan the holiday was the best decision we had taken in the last two years.
And funnily enough, it was on the journey back that we made a list of things to remember on such trips!
- Keep light woollens handy for any sudden drop in temperature, though the weather in summer is balmy.
- Take preventive medicines for cold, fever and common allergies.
- Take baby backpacks for carrying your infants around.
- Pack plenty of disposable glasses and tissues.
Back in Chennai
Once back in Chennai, the children gave us a slip of paper that read, ‘Places worth visiting near Ooty: Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary, with a large population of elephants and home of the Nilgiri tahr, 65 kms from Ooty. It was an elephant-sized hint for the future.
