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Kodanadu View Point, Kotagiri (Ooty) Nilgiri Omnibus Part 3 |
Although bus terminates at Kodanadu View Point and then starts from here but we will rather walk to the shack cum restaurant where we had dosas.
Some ladies were picking up the tea and they try to speak with my wife Vimla but due to language difference talk did not go very well. Only thing that I make out of the failed conversation is that they were telling to my wife that she looks like a certain South Indian Film Heroine.
It was barely 1 kilometer from View Point to here but it takes us more than an hour.
Why?
Because of these captivating views.
Kodanad Estate area, just after Keradamuttam
On the way I pluck some wild growing tea leaves and lemon grass leaves from the curb.
Nilgiris Mountains are full of tea estates but also tea plants have escaped the cultivation so grow all over as wild. Unfortunately drinking green tea is not popular in India but Chinese people drink mostly green tea. One of my friends in USA is suffering from chronic arthritis and suddenly he had no pain in his knees and he wandered about how this could happen. Then he discovered that whenever he drinks green tea his pain goes away. Then I studied more about green tea and it is indeed useful in rheumatic pains.
Bison roaming in a tea estate.
The tea we buy is roasted. You can visit a tea factory and watch yourself. Tea is first crushed (in such a way to retain its juice) then it is roasted. That is the tea we drink. If you just boil tea leaves; it won’t work this way and won’t give you any flavor. Even to make green tea, leaves must be crushed and then dried in such a way that juice retains. Many times in Ooty, I ask for just hot water at tea shops and there I crush some wild tea leaves in my hand and add it in the water to make green tea. New studies also indicate that adding milk also kills all good character of the tea.
Views from the restaurant where we had tea
Lemon Grass, I love lemon grass tea. The main benefit of Lemon grass is that it gives the smell of lemon but without any sourness in it. In India it has no culinary value but it is a major ingredient in Thai cooking. Some leaves of it in any curry makes it yummier. It is considered antifungal. Once I added a leaf of it in the bottle of Pepsi and drink came to sudden boil and then tasted amazing. So whenever I drink soda I add some leaves in my drink (anyway I am not a fan of cola but on my very long walks sometimes I drink coke etc.) In Nilgiris, oil is extracted from Lemon grass and this oil is much used in rheumatic massage oils and also in perfume industry. I learned that when two fragrances are added, hence makes a third fragrance that feel entire different from its parents ingredients. People began growing it in the shady places in Punjab because it adds to the taste to homemade liquor that they distill illegally.
Toda Tribal village
Again I got drifted from what I was saying. So I have some wild tea leaves and some lemon grass in my pockets. We arrive at that same restaurant or rather shack. I ask the lady to crush all leaves and make us tea. She is confused but due to language barrier she does not ask much but makes us the tea. She brings 3 cups two we take and third one is for herself. She takes a cautious sip and her face explodes into smile. In Tamil she says that this is the most tasteful tea she ever had. Another woman comes and she offers her some of this tea and now we got two more admirers of this milk-less green lemon tea. If you add a pinch of kala-namak into it and then you will see the further wonder.
Around Kodanadu
Some words about Nilgiri villages. All villages are scenic here; these are not haphazard maze of streets and homes above each other but are neatly planned.
Village in Nilgiris
Since these are mountain villages so stairs at each block go above and then straight streets intersect these stairs. All houses are whitewashed; roofs are interlocked roofing tiles of orange color.
Nilgiri Village
Each village shares water taps arranged in such way to provide accessibility to each home. Water is usually picked from some virgin water source from high about the mountains, it is brought in the small concrete tanks and from there it is distributed to the village by gravity. The reason the villages are made in the planed way is that most of the villages fall under the ownership of some Tea Estate and at least one person in each household works in that tea estate.
Nilgiri Village
Women are mainly breadwinners of the family whereas working men are a rare commodity in the mountains. Men can be seen lined up at liquor shops at day or night. Liquor is very expansive in Tamilnadu.
Tea Estate
Each village has a temple near the road. Temples are very colorful and very neat. Within the perimeter of each temple is a small nine planets temple (open or roofed).
Village Temple
Deities of all grahas are arranged around the supreme planet Sun God. This concept is never seen in North India. New generations of Shani temples are coming around in each locality and people visit there in worship there belief that Shani Devta is the cause of their all troubles.
Village Temple
But in South Indian nav-graha temples area, Shani Devta is already incorporated within each that temple hence no need for separate Shani temnple.
View from the road that we walked
Gautheria (Wintergreen) This plant has also escaped cultivation and grows wild in Nilgiris; a very aromatic plant. Once you learn to identify it then it becomes a god gift. You just want to keep smelling it. A little bit of it can be chewed but it is bitter. Wintergreen oil is sold in Ooty. It is also a main ingredient in rheumatic pain balms.
If you visit Ooty, never forget to purchase following oils:
1. Eucalyptus Oil
2. Wintergreen Oil
3. Lemon Grass Oil (Cetronella Oil).
4. Clove oil.
Take just any thin edible oil (like canola oil), mix all these above oils into it.
70% Canola Oil, 10% Eucalyptus Oil, 10% Wintergreen Oil, 5% Lemon grass oil, 5% Clove oil. Now you get the super oil for rheumatic pains. This will just beat up any other oil sold in the market and will only cost you a fraction of the price. You can make a balm of it if you heat up some wax (just enough that it melts) and add some of this super oil.
Nilgiri area near Kotagiri
Another plant that is being cultivated in the gardens and also it is escaping cultivation now. This is an extremely beautiful plant; Beautyberry. First time when I saw this plant, I was spellbound. I didn’t believe if this is a plant or someone threw colored porcelain beaded necklace on some shrub. I was in the bus to Kodanadu view point. From there I walked just to meet this plant. I found it and plucked some of its berries and to my amazement it was the fruit of this plant.
Beautyberries in Nilgiris
I was unable to find the name of this plant and this year when I visited North Carolina Arboretum, in the Smokey Mountains, near Ashville. There I found its name. Callicarpa is the botanical name and beautyberry is the folk name.
Beautyberries in Nilgiris
Beautiberry plant originates from America. Local natives in USA and Mexico use its leaves as insect and mosquito repellent. In 2006, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, Miss., found that extracts from beautyberry leaves indeed repel mosquitoes.
Eucalyptus Globulus, Oil is extracted from its leaves.
Eucalyptus trees in both pictures are Eucalyptus Globulus, came from Tasmania (Australia). Leaves are filled with aromatic oil. This eucalyptus oil is the base of many famous brand-named perfumes. It is also an essential base of almost all rheumatic-pain balms and ointments. Local people drink the tea of its leaves on the onset of cold and sore throats. Eucalyptus oil is also used in Vicks, Iodex and many sore throat lozenges and drops.
Eucalyptus Trees in fog
In this and previous post, there is a waterfall crashing down from the vicinity of Ranganatha Pillars. The brook that forms this waterfall passes through the village of Illada that comes in our way from Kotagiri to Kodanadu views point. Some times I begin my walk from Illada and some times from Keradamuttam. This brook then goes towards Curzen Tea estates and then at the edge of Nilgiris it makes that spectacular waterfall.
Cascading brook at Ellada village. This brook becomes a huge waterfall after Curzon estate. This waterfall is visible from Kodanadu view point
Another handsome tree that we see in Nilgiris in the tea estates is Copper Beech Tree. Some collector brought this tree from Japan and then more trees were planted with grafting. These trees becomes huge and can be seen from far away.
Copper beech tree
Since tea plantations need shade in the heat of summer so trees are planted withing the tea gardens. Same trees provide the wood for fuel that is also required in plenty to roast the tea in the factories.
Copper beech tree
Really enjoying the sojourn through Nilgiris with you, Praveen. Some of the scenes remind me of the Araku valley. However, tea is not grown there, only coffee.
There is so much we can learn from you. Like the method for making a balm for rheumatic pains. That the layout of the terraced villages is due to the fact that they are owned by tea estates. Also loved the picture of the Toda dwellings. They look so beautiful.
When you talked of adding kaala-namak to chai, I was reminded of the Kashmiris who like their tea salty. I like my tea with both black and green tea bags simultaneously. Is it okay or does it effect the medicinal value?
Wow, what a beautiful and informative post. Thanks for sharing
Abheeruchi, Thanks for you hearty comments.
Praveen tks for telling about Nilgiri in a unique way, specially the facts abt tea. Pahari males are same everywhere even in Garhwal they do the same.
(why dont you reply to comments..?? it is not nice)
Thanks D. L. Saab
About the tea, I only go with the taste regardless of the medicinal value. Of-course when one is sick then everything matters and also then nothing works at all.
When milk is added tea breaks down and in half hour it gets sour. Chinese people boil their green tea in the morning and keep drinking it for whole day. It was a yahoo headline news that milk added to tea, kills its all usefulness.
SS Ji
I apologize to all for not replying to their comments. Nandan and Vibha also mentioned this. However when it comes to reply, I have no talent for it. Very few words come from my head. Well, this talent may develop if I keep trying.
Yes, all Pahari makes are the same … unfortunately. That’s the reason liquor is highely restricted in Uttranchal due to the very strong “Mahila lobby”
My words have exhausted Praveen jee now . From now onwards I will notify you that I have gone through your post.
Some times I begin my walk from Illada and some times from Keradamuttam.
it seems that you have been walking here from your previous many births, I have not even seen this place .
Vishal Ji
We (I you and all) all are doing our best to bring the best of the best. We all are advertising that this earth is still very beautiful.
And about comments, I am thankful that you take time to write few words. Not many are needed but just an acknowledgement that you visited be enough.
Dear praveen sir
nice description .. beautiful pics..your way of writing the post and way of ghumakkdii is really fantastic..
Thanks Rakesh Saab.
Ghumakkar is fortunate to have you Praveen saab in its team. You are an adventure traveller, nutritionist, Botanical expert, culinary expert all rolled into one. In these three posts, I have learnt more about Ooty and its surroundings than any other travel blog. Superb photos as usual. Kodanad is on my must-visit list this summer.
Dear Praveen Wadhwa,
Thank you for enriching our lives with your unique posts. The first thing I do with your posts is to bookmark them. For this particular post, I simply copy-pasted into NotePad so that I may take a print out for my wife to read and use in her kitchen. She is very fond of tea and kills it while boiling it for a minute or so. Recently, upon my insistence, she started making green tea for her once every day after her coaching is over (no milk, a little bit of sugar and two-three drops of lemon juice). We didn’t know that it could be the reason but she does feel a lot of relief in her knee pain.
Since Almighty has blessed you with so muchh interest and knowledge in the field of herbs and their therapeutic uses, here is a personal request. I have been suffering from Meniere’s Syndrome which permanently affected my hearing. For the last few years there is no vertigo, ringing in the ears, vomitting etc., which are tell-tale symptoms of Meniere’s. Only the after-effect in the form of partial loss of hearing is there. Modern medicine doesn’t know any cause of it and there is no known cure also except that they have given it a distinct name – Meniere’s syndrome. If there is some herbs in your collection which could benefit me….. please do let me know. It will be specially useful to whoever wants to converse with me but occasionally gets frustrated. Hope you got an idea of what I am referring to. :)
Dear Praveenji, Although you have never replied to my comments but I always felt writing on your post because they are always unique and the way you try to depict them is again different. Your series on this particular route seems to be exploring more n more natural herbs and sharing the valuable inputs with the readers. I am sure lots of people must have got benefited with these informations. Apart from a great traveller you have been an ardent explorer of the beauty n bounty provided by mother earth. Thanks and keep exploring the things you love the most. God bless you
Dear Biswajit Ji
I am extremely sorry for not replying to any comments. Recently I have begin replying. The reason I was not replying is that I have no talent to reply. When I come to reply then my mind goes blank but may be after practice this thing develops.
Thanks for your comments always.
Hi Praveen,
The Nilgiri posts keep getting better.
Hope you have some remedy for Sushantji.
Love these mist shrouded hills.
Thank Praveen for the tips around joint-pains. I am fwding this to a close friend, since his wife might benefit form it. I would request him to share his experience incase they get to try some bit of it.
Regarding Green tea, I think we must learn from our Cheeni bhais. I was at Beijing for few days in late 2011 and I would see that people would take a large bottle, put a lot of leaves and then would keep filling it with warm water through the day. I did buy a LOT of tea hoping to make use of them. It happened for some time but then later lost the steam. After your post, I guess I am going to try again.
Needless to say, I have the solo ownership of all the tea at my place, how so over hard the winter might be.