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