A Marvelous Introduction to Munnar—Pearl of South India’s Hill-Stations

Friday, March 1, 2019

Munnar

A Marvelous Introduction to Munnar—Pearl of South India’s Hill-Stations

Namaste from Munnar!

Today was such a mixed kind of day—I had such a variety of experiences that I am not even sure I will be able to recall them in the order in which I had them. Suffice it to say, it was all wonderful!

  Michelle and I awoke in our room at the Lake View Hotel in Munnar at about 7.00 am to discover that the sun was high in the sky already which made us determined to wake up early to morrow to catch the sunrise. We made coffee in our room as I prepared for a shower and as Michelle caught up with her phone.  At about 9.30 am, we went to the dining area in the main Reception part of the hotel for a buffet breakfast which turned out to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that—Indian and Western. I had one utthapam with sambhar and chutney and one poori with bhaji and I 
did indulge in the filter coffee (which, fortunately, did not keep me awake—touch wood!). While eating we watched the surrounding tea estates get touched by the first rays of the new day’s light. It was gorgeous.

Off Sightseeing with Abhijit:

We really lucked out with our driver, Abhijit, who knows the area well and is a very nice man. He is knowledgeable about the region and is able to answer all our questions in very workable English. He had an agenda for our day and we willingly put ourselves in his hands as he told us where he would take us.

Into the Tea Gardens:

Within ten minutes of driving away from our hotel on a lonely, scary, curvy, mountain road, no broader than one lane, we stopped off first at a spa as Michelle is keen to pursue the idea of getting a Keralite Ayurvedic massage which I told her she must experience at least once.
 I had one, about ten years ago, so I am not that keen on repeating the experience—as everyone knows spas and beauty parlors, etc. are not 
 kind of places and I avoid them like the plague, if I can help it. Michelle found out that prices at this Green Spa were much cheaper than those being offered at our hotel—she has every intention of trying one out.

A nother five minutes away, we discovered that we were absolutely surrounded by tea gardens.  This is magnificently landscaped terrain—the slopes of the mountains that surround us are first terraced, i.e. cut into steps. Tea saplings are then planted on these terraces in neat rows. Tea, we discovered, can grow into a tree in its natural state. However, the saplings are constantly trimmed (once they reach a certain height) to keep them no higher than hip height. This allows easy pickings of the tea leaves—hence, because of the constant pruning, the buses appear like superbly-manicured topiaries. 

There are miles and miles of these tea gardens as far as the eye can see. If you stand at certain vantage points—and Abhijit knows them all and took us there—we had this amazing view of the tea estates stretching below us in undulating waves of emerald fields. Punctuating their neatness are tall spires of silver oak trees. Edging the tea gardens are wild poinsettia that I simply could not get enough of—they are also the height of tall bushes and, even at this time of year (long past Christmas), they are blooming gloriously with vivid red flowers that contrast beautifully with the vivid green of t¿
he tea estates. The flora of this region is quite striking indeed and I have been taking a lot of pictures of flowering trees—trees in royal purple, trees in scarlet with showy flowers, trees with bright yellow blossoms. Sadly, I do not know the names of these trees but my pictures will help me find out through Google. 

We can thank the British for terracing these hills throughout India and for going on to put India on the world tea map—although everyone has heard of Assam Tea and Darjeeling Tea is the expensive delicate light tea that connoisseurs (and I) really love, no one has heard of Munnar tea! Yet Abhijit told us that most of these privately-owned tea estates supply leaves to the Tata company that makes world-famous Tetley Tea. Anyway, we paused in the tea gardens to take pictures right below a hotel called Misty Mountain—and then we moved on.

En route we stopped in what my friend Barbara from the UK would call a “bosky place” and there Abhijit pointed a tree that was full of huge honeycombs—there were at least two dozen of them hanging from the branches of this tree. Because we were so far down and they were so high up, however, we could not see the bees actually covering them...but I have little doubt that there were busy at work producing the honey that we find in bottles sold all over this region.

At Madupetty Dam:

We arrived next at Madupetty Dam—a construction over a river that produces hydroelectricity for the region. In fact, I soon discovered that there are many small rivers and many dams scattered throughout the state of Kerala so that the region is completely self-sufficient in power production. We walked across this dam over the artificial lake that is created here—very picturesque and pretty.

At a further bend in the road, the same river forms another artificial lake at a place called Echo Point where people stop to enjoy water sports. We saw someone jet-skiing and we decided that perhaps we should try it. We also saw paddle boats and since it was such a beautiful day, Michelle and I decided that we would take a shot at it. 

Nixing the First Attempt at Paddle Boating at Echo Point:

However, after we paid Rs. 10 each and made our way to the paddle boating jetty, we were required to wear life-jackets—a mandatory precaution (and a very wise one too!). We paid Rs. 300 for half an hour on the boat. However, when the attendant gave me a life jacket to put over my body, I got such a strong whiff of body odor that I simply had to return it and ask for another one as I felt slightly sick. The next one and the one after that were just as bad (I was almost gagging by this point) and I told Michelle that I could not put one of those on my body or have it anywhere near me as the smell was so bad. I apologized to the attendants who then apologized to me and gave me the number of their boss and told me to call him right away to complain as they informed me that so many of their clients have been complaining about the dirty smell—so it was not just me being fussy!

I did speak to the boss who was very nice on the phone. He told me that he would replace all the life jackets right away—the attendants had told me that although they wash them once a week, they are over two years old (which explains why they stink the way they do! Plus once a week is not enough—they ought to be washed daily.). I apologized to Michelle and told her I was sorry that I had jinxed our plans but I simply could not go ahead with them. She was fine with it. Instead, we walked around the area and found magnets for Munnar and then made our way A Marvelous Introduction to Munnar—Pearl of South India’s Hill-Stationsback to the car. 

Paddle Boating at Kundalu Dam and Lake:

Fortunately, our paddle boating excursion was not altogether annulled as we were able to indulge freely in that water sport at our next stop—Kundalu Dam.  This larger dam had water flowing though it. On the artificial lake that is created whenever a dam is constructed, we found more boating possibilities—row boats, paddle boats and even shikaras (with roof top awnings like you find in Kashmir on Dal Lake).  Of course, this was our opportunity to give paddle boating another shot and I suggested to Michelle that we try. In fact, I took one look at these life jackets which looked so much cleaner and newer and I felt they would be okay. And I was right! They did not smell at all.

For Rs. 300, Michelle and I spent the next half hour pedaling around the beautiful calm waters of the lake in the tall shadow of a misty mountain that lurked over us and in the shade of towering eucalyptus trees whose scent softly filled the clear cool mountain air.  What a blast we had! Yes, at times it was very hot (every time we stopped, we could feel the heat envelope us), but when we were pedaling, it was just heavenly and we fully enjoyed the half hour experience. 

Traditional Keralite Thali Lunch:

We told Abhijit then to take us for lunch to a place where we could eat and use a rest room as we badly needed one by that stage—it was about 1. 30 pm. He took us to a lovely place called Noorgiri Hotel and Restaurant which was also perched high up in the mountains overlooking Kundalu Lake upon which we had just boated. 

The lunch was superb—it was a traditional Keralite purely vegetarian thali which offered unlimited helpings of everything—mounds of white rice, sambhar, rasam, curd curry, cabbage thoran, stir-fried yam, raita, papad and pickle. The lovely ladies who were serving us came around repeatedly with pails and ladles filled with each item and kept asking us if we would like anything more. All this for the princely sum of Rs. 100 per Thai (one and a half dollar!). We asked our driver if he would join us for lunch but he told us that he had carried his own. Tomorrow, we shall be sure to include him in all our meals. 

Eating Ice-Apples by the Road-side:

We had passed by a road side vendor selling ice-apples or what we call ‘tadgollas’ in Hindi. I member eating them as a child in India when my mother used to buy them from the bazaar and bring them home for us to eat.  I asked Michelle if she had ever tasted one and she said she had not. I, therefore, told Abhijit to stop at one such stall and he did. For Rs. 30, we had one large coconut-like pod which the vendor sawed off to reveal three ice-apples concealed within—Michelle, driver Abhijit and I shared one pod and I taught Michelle how to peel off the tough rind and get at the ice-like fruit within. I also showed her how to use her pinkie finger to pierce a hole in the top from which she could drink the water (like in a coconut). In fact, ice-apples grow on palm trees and have pods that look every bit like coconuts. Michelle and the two of us enjoyed the treat and then moved on. It was another interesting India experience for us all.

Visiting a Tea Factory:

I suppose you cannot leave Munnar without visiting a tea factory since you are surrounded by thousands of acres of tea estates. Abhijit took us to a tea factory where we would be able to watch the making of tea. We paid Rs. 100 each to take the tour which included a short film in English which told us what is involved in the production of tea. This was followed by a tour through the factory that was conducted by a guide in Hindi. It was a huge factory but not much of it was actually working while we were there. We saw the great machines that sort the leaves, another bit that cuts them, creates a mash out of them by adding water, etc. This mash is then dehydrated to remove the water leaving dust behind. Sorting and other procedures follow until the tea is packed and shipped off. The tour ended at the tea showroom where we could buy Ripple Tea, which, by the way, is the brand name of the tea we watched being made before us. You could also taste the tea for Rs. 10 a glass but nether Michelle nor I were interested.

Visiting the Rose Garden or Floriculture Center:

Abhijit next took us to what he called the ‘Rose Garden’ but which is far more than that. It is, in fact, a place run by the state government of Kerala and is called a Floriculture Center. It is a series of terraced gardens cut away on the hill-slopes growing a vast range of flowers (a lot of them in containers). Of course, I could identify most of the flowers that collectively work to produce a riot of color—fuchsia, hibiscus, gardenia, dahlia, chrysanthemum, cosmos, flox, daisies, asters, etc. Many of these hung from suspended baskets. We then passed through rows of cacti and succulents, another area was devoted to bonsai (I love these miniature trees!), another bit was devoted to ferns. Winding through these well-defined paths were rose bushes—these give the place its name—Rose Garden. I am sure these much be heavy with blooms in the summer—there were a lot of blossoms, but the Rose Garden was not at its best at this time of year.  The place provides many opportunities for enthusiastic photographers and many honeymooners were taking pictures amidst the blooms.  Really nice place to visit.

Witnessing the Classical Dance Form (Kathakali) and Martial Arts (Kalari) of Kerala:                

             Abhijit ended our day with a visit to a place called Kalari Kshetra (Martial Arts Center) where, he told us, we could witness the traditional dance form of Kerala (Kathakali) and the traditional martial arts known as Kalari. I have never seen these art forms in performance, so I was keen to see them. The cost was Rs. 200 for each of them—each performance lasts 1 hour. The Kathakali show began at 5.00 and ended at 6.00 and was followed immediately by the Kalari show that ended at 7.00 pm.

So here’s the thing: Katha means story and kali means art. So we were going to see a story in an art form—this art form was dance. This is a very stylized form of Indian classical dance that goes back centuries and is practiced by both men and women in heavily elaborate costumes and make up—similar to the Japanese Noh theater. Each sequence tells a story and you need to know what that story is to appreciate the dance form which has a heavy emphasis on gesture, facial expression and movement.

     The first half of the show explained a lot to us—a female dancer was on stage with two musicians—drummers—and a vocalist who also played cymbals (which were so deafening as to be uncomfortable in that confined space that was as large as an airlines hangar). She showed us how she manipulates her facial expression to present the story. She also showed us how she used small mincing steps. It is a gentle dance form—not too much running around. Just very classical steps all of which are enhanced by the huge use of costumes and make up.

     This was followed by the actual Dance itself that was performed by two dancers—one male and one female. It told a story which appeared from what we could make of it to be highly chauvinistic with the male looking down with contempt on the female and complaining about her. She took the treatment demurely (or so it appeared). He then began to abuse her by banishing her, then began to literally draw blood by using his sword. It got very uncomfortable for Michelle and me to watch this male dominance on stage. In order to combat the obvious greater power and strength of her male oppressor, the woman used her long hair to create a sort of mustache and beard on her face and with them she confronted the man. But she was no match for him and eventually he threatened to used his sword to cut off her throat and eventually stabbed her in the stomach with it. It was horrible! So I have to tell you that my first experience of Kathakali was not great at all. There was only really ten minutes at the end of what we would call dancing—most of it was tiny movements and very loud vocal music that was provided by a man standing at the mike in a corner with super loud (and very annoying) cymbals in his hand.We were actually happy when it ended.

Next, we had the Kalari or martial arts show to watch. The same procedure was followed. This took place in a pit below us—so we had to bend forward to see what was going in. They demonstrated a lot of movements with shields and swords and what they called “long sticks”. There was a bit of wrestling and a lot of gymnastics thrown into the mixture with pure pyrotechnics at the end which included jumping through blazing hoops and the like. It was fine to watch all this in the beginning but after a while both Michelle and I grew a bit bored with the rather repetitive nature of the proceedings. We were actually quite relieved when it was over and we trooped out of the place (which was also very hot) and into our car for the short drive back to our hotel.

Traditional Keralite Delicacies for Dinner in our Hotel:

We had ordered dinner, the previous evening, in our hotel: Karimeen  Pollichattu which is a traditional Kerala delicacy which means grilled Pearl Fish cooked with roasted traditional spices in a banana leaf. I knew that I would need to order this in advance which we did—it still took them over half an hour to bring it to our table. We also ordered fish curry with steamed rice. Both were absolutely delicious and made up for the long wait.  Michelle and I ate well and got to enjoy some of the best-known dishes of South India that you rarely find on any menu anywhere in the world. Really really good. We ordered fresh lemonade to finish up our meal and ended at the right time—when a noisy family arrived at about 9.30 pm to enjoy the hotel’s buffet dinner.  

Back in our room, at the end of a very long day, we caught up with the affairs of the world on our phones, did a bit of reading and fell asleep after a brilliant time in Munnar.

     Until tomorrow...