Ode to Masinagudi
The forests are brimming with life
I can tell from the way
The birds and bees play
Their eternal game
Buzz buzz says the wasp
As he whizzes past me
In verdant green
At the foothills of the Nilagiris
I observe in awe, this majestic glen
It is early morning
And the dawn sky
Breaks into unending hues
I can see purples, pinks blues and grays
The children cry
As they pick forest flowers
From the makeshift garden
That is around the cottages
A cup of tea I ask gently
And as I sip the hot brew
And inhale the crisp mountain air
The scene is broken
By a troop of monkeys
Scampering in and around
The jacarandas
Showers of lavender flowers
Scatter on the ground
A carpet of blossoms
That covers the ant-hills
Crafted by the teeming hundreds
Ahoy there Jimmy hollers
Some more tea
Another cup and I should be done
I reply
There are some biscuits too
In the pantry
You should try some, homemade and delicious
Crunch goes my mouth
And savours the flavour of the cookie
Washed down by second flush
A hike is just what the doctor ordered
But is it any dangerous
The animals won’t bother you
If you keep at a distance
They know we’re around
I’ll ask Raja to accompany you
He’s one of our best guides
Uphill and downhill
Through the wood and into the valley
Where the clear brook runs
I take a sip of the water
And find it refreshing
To taste
A quail’s nest, Raja cries out
Unhatched eggs and a little one
That cries out for food
While Mama quail has flown
Away
To pick morsels for her young
We climb a hillock
And by golly
It’s a panorama
Of the valley that we left behind
A circular route
One that leads us back
To where we started
Perspiring and tired
We rest
On chairs
And sip the cool water
Of the brook that gurgled
After our morning repast
We relax in the verdant meadow
That forms part of the frontage
A pack of spotted deer
Graze silently
Click clickety click goes the camera
And the children bracket exposures
A snapshot in an album
That will be oft seen and remembered
As the sun ascends the eastern sky
Cirrus dominates
And provides the perfect foreground
For light to filter through
And fill every nook and cranny
Of this beautiful place
Late afternoon is a good time
Jimmy says
For catching wildlife
As they come to the watering holes
To drink their fill
So we wait with eager anticipation
Not to be disappointed
The aft’noon begins
With a bunch of city dwellers
In an old Willys
Driven deep into the forest
Swerving and jolted
Down the oft-trodden path
Beside a stream
That is now a rivulet
Parched by the hot sun
Engines switched off we wait
Pachyderms, the children yell
Hush, hush Raja whispers
A mother and a baby
Coming to quench their thirst
The baby nestled between
The parent’s legs
Walks unsteadily
Then comes the Bull
Trumpeting noisily
Walking across hurriedly
And joining his family
For their afternoon drink
Where’s the herd?
Asks Atreyi
Deeper into the glade
Where there’s a spring
To drink from
We return to Jungle Hut
Tired but happy
At the sighting
Jimmy is there
To welcome us
An elephant family of three
You’re lucky
The lack of water
Drives wildlife deeper
Into Tamizh Nadu
The night is spent
Under the stars
Their dining area
Actually a large Baraamda
The finest of Scotch
The best of wines
On offer
With the children in bed
We let the spirits go to our head
And go off to sleep
With the cicadas humming
Their strange tune
Through the night
At daybreak
We are awoken by Selvam
The housekeeping boy
Who also brings us hot tea
Kanan Devan Estate lendhu kondu vandhirrkom
And the tea tastes fresh and sweet
To the morning mouth
It’s time to rise and shine
A shrine dedicated to Mariamman
Is where you will be taken to
Down on the valley floor
At a clearing in the forest
There stands a small structure
Painted with whitewash
Aloof and assured
The idol is of blackstone
Mined from a quarry nearby
The Devi dressed in a blue-green saree
Radiates attachment to the scores
Of devotees who care to visit her
Verappan pathi theriyumaa
The priest asks of us
We answer in the affirmative
When the police were on the lookout
For him
At the peak of his notoriety
He visited this shrine in disguise
During the festival time
Celebrated once every year
A few flowers and some kumkum
Is the Prasad that we leave with
And the anecdote
That keeps coming back to us
From time to time
On our way back
A few miles enroute
We encounter the Gaur
A full grown male bull
Standing by the wayside
At least fifteen feet in length
And a girth that would put
A full grown tree to shame
He nods his head
As we pass him by
As if to acknowledge our visit
To his territory
As we pack our bags and leave
Masanigudi
We bow our heads
To Shri Ram
Who walked
These paths
Millennia ago
Jimmy cries out and says
I’ve packed a small meal for you
To relish on the way
As the road curves through the Satyamangalam Ghats
We chat and recount our experiences
And as we head back home
We think of the solace
That we found
For two days
Masinagudi will forever reside in our hearts
Manager at Deloitte Consulting, CSPO Certified, Focus on Process streamlining and Automation. Love to Experiment.
5 年It's a beautiful place. My sister in law is from Gudalur and this place is a must visit for our yearly vacation.
open to work
5 年Very nice sir