Yelagiri -A welcome change

It is a well known fact that Kerala is popularly and rightfully called ‘GOD’S OWN COUNTRY’.  God has really bestowed on her natural resources in abundance.  While travelling through Kerala one can come across many lakes, beaches, coastal towns, paddyfields, coconut groves and small hamlets in between and there is hardly any long stretch of land without habitation.  In fact on exploration of other parts of South India, especially Karnataka and Tamilnadu, many such places can be found.  One such place is Yelagiri, about twenty km from Jolarpet in Tamilnadu.  It is famous for herbal plantation and a suitable place to chill out and unwind oneself after a hectic and stressful work schedule.

        After many days of research on the internet over possible locations —no less than planning a trip overseas -- my cousin/friend and I finally decided to explore Yelagiri .  All these precautions and preparations were made mainly because we were, for the first time, venturing upon a holiday out of hometown without a male escort.  You can imagine how it was -- we, now in our seventies, were brought up in a highly protective manner, not being  allowed  to go out alone after dusk, or to go to any nearby picnic spot along with college friends, studying in an all girls college, and so on.  So both of us were simply thrilled at the prospect of our going on a long trip[!!!!] on our own.

          Thus one fine morning we set forth on a trip to Yelagiri.  After many years of comfortable journeys, we had the unique experience of travelling in a reserved but crowded compartment from Chennai to Jolarpet.  I say   ‘unique’ because   earlier, only passengers with due advance booking were allowed in the reserved compartment.  Now the situation is not so.  But then as the duration of our journey was less than three hours, we didn’t bother about the crowd. Moreover  our seats were intact.  In fact we had great fun watching and studying our co passengers.

            One girl, probably in her teens and I think travelling alone, was deep in slumber throughout her journey with her mouth wide open, oblivious to what was happening around her.  And then there was one family --  a  gentleman his wife, daughter and a kid.  Poor man, right from the time the family boarded the train at Arakonam, he had time only to arrange the umpteen number of bags they were carrying, trying to squeeze them under the seats, or placing them on the corridor, thus creating a barricade for passengers who were going up and down aimlessly, possibly to attract the attention of the girls who were also travelling.  The gentleman had to also manage the baby who was getting restless due to lack of space to play around.  The mother and daughter were engaged in some serious gossip.  Another girl who occupied the seat opposite to us stretched her legs comfortably between us oldies and was talking sweet nothings to someone over her mobile phone for hours, smiling at times.  The list thus goes on and on. 

       We  reached Jolarpet at about 9am.   The resort where we had arranged for our accommodation had sent a cab to the railway station for our onward journey to Yelagiri.  It was a spacious Qualis, just for the two of us thus compensating for the cramped seating we had had thus far during the train journey. Since the ride was up-hill it took about 45 minutes to reach the resort. 

          Once we reached there, the serene beauty of the place was so amazing that  we got just carried away and forgot our age.  We wanted to roam about the whole place.  Unlike most other tourist spots, there were no vendors, shops or groups of people here.  No vehicles on the road and even pedestrians were very few.  We could see only one or two persons at an interval of 10 to 15 minutes.  One other remarkable thing about the place was that though the roads were deserted most of the  time, there had been absolutely no report of any crime, chain snatching or abuse of women having taken place there.  So we could walk freely without any fear even late in the evening.

           The resort was very nice and there was a garden adjoining the main entrance.  When we went there, our childhood memories lingered in our minds and we wanted to relive those days when we used to play ‘Paandi’, ‘Sat’ or even   Cricket with coconut stem as bat and stumps in the courtyard  of our ancestral home.  But cut to the present, we had to satisfy ourselves with a few games of cards!  The mention of Cricket reminds me of how sweetly we cousins maintained our relationship and friendship.  Though we used to quarrel a lot during our playtime, as is common among  children, we were very much attached to each other.  The annual ‘Vishu’ day was the only occasion when the elders gave us some coins -- no pocket  money for children those days.  That was our only source of income, half of which would go to the shopkeeper nearby in exchange for some Malabar chocolates and sherbeth for girls and cigarettes for boys.  The boys were quite certain that their secret was safe with us girls and that we would not expose their secret endeavour to the elders for fear of the beatings they would get from the latter.  So they used to enjoy their puffs.  After our small party we were unable to save enough money to buy a Cricket kit and had to be content with coconut bat and stumps.

         Coming back to Yelagiri and present reality, for people who wish to combine their sight-seeing interest with religious inclination, there are two  ancient temples here, one of Lord Murugan and the other of Lord Vishnu.  Both were recently renovated.  The Murugan temple is situated on top of a rock and the view of the valley from above is magnificent.  It is a very quiet place neatly maintained and a good place to meditate.  The ‘Perumal’ temple and the premise were a little more active with a few worshippers at the time of our visit. 

          For funlovers there is also a lake for boating and a Nature Garden where herbal plants are grown.  In the Resort there was bonfire, games of Thumbola followed by a nice and delicious  buffet dinner.      

            Special mention should be made about the hospitality of an old lady who was running a teashop about a furlong from the resort.  On the day of our leaving Yelagiri, she opened her shop at 5am just for our sake and welcomed us with steaming hot, aromatic filter coffee.

              Well, my friend-cousin and I had plenty of time to talk about the good and bad experiences in our lives and discuss general topics related to books, sports, movies etc. 

                 From Yelagiri we drove to Vellore, visited a Siva temple there and proceeded to Katpadi to catch the Lalbagh Express to Chennai.  We reached Chennai at about 12 noon, spent the day together and then went back to our respective places the next morning.

               On the whole, the trip was a morale booster.  For people who live in densely populated Metros and other Cities and who spend most of their time in crowded office or residential complexes, Yelagiri will significantly be a welcome change of environment and an ideal sojourn.

      The entire trip had been organized by my friend.  But since I don’t wish to be very formal with her,  no “thank you” business.  What say you my friend?     

 Meena Renganathan