Wayanad Welcomes - Day III

      Soojipara Falls :

                        If Meenmutty Falls can be called a ferocious but a handsome king, this Soojipara Falls is like a tender and charming prince.Unlike the king, the prince can be approached easily,walking a distance of about 850 metres through a path, made of levelled steps of stone.For people like us, accustomed to the huge crowds at our Courtallam Falls, taking a bath at this beautiful falls just with our family and a few others was a pleasant surprise.A big congrats to the Kerala Government,especially the forest department,maintaining the sanctity of Nature with the forest guards, sincerely checking the tourists for carrying the plastic bags and bottles.

Pookot Lake :

                          This lake is a perennial fresh water lake couched in the laps of Mother Nature.One can enjoy a refreshing walk around the lake.Both rowing and pedal boating facilities are available.Lavender coloured beautiful lily flowers, floating in the lake were unique, reminding me of the Daffodils of William Wordsworth.An aquarium with coloured fishes, a children's park full of attractive flowers and a handicraft emporium were added attraction.

Kozhicode Beach :

                         Unwilling to leave this most beautiful and lovely hillstation,we bid a good bye to Wayanad,hopefully to come back once again with our son and daughter's  family.While getting down,we had a brief halt at the CHAIN TREE,immortalised by the Nijam program of the Sun TV.
Lucky were we, to have a cordial driver, who also took us to the Kozhicode Beach to enjoy the waves of the Arabian Sea before boarding the train.Several trips might have been taken by us but this was something very special with the beautiful scenes of Nature,flashing in our memory.

               

Wayanad Welcomes - Day II

     Wayanad  Wildlife Sanctuary                         
                      This sanctuary is located at Tholpettah, 59 kms. from Kalpettai.It was a wonderful discovery of the fauna and flora of the lush green jungles with tall trees and groups of bamboo trees, in the jeeps of the forest department,escorted by forest guides.The humming of the insects was pleasant to hear and mountain squirrels were spotted on the trees.Several groups of spotted deer,on hearing the sound of the vehicle would run for a few metres to be safe and then give a look at us. The tigers eluded us but their pug marks were visible on the muddy path.An elephant with its calf seemed to relaxing at a distance.The moving of the bamboo trees in the wind was weird and musical.It was a real retreat into the world of Nature and entirely different and enchanting than the sanctuaries visited earlier.

Kuruwa Island :
               Again simply exotic was this uninhabitated island, either accessible by boat or by crossing the river Kuruwa.This wooded strech of land,thick with green vegetation and bamboo trees is the home to the rare species of birds,herbs and orchids.Walking through the enchanting woods for a distance of nearly a kilometre, we reached the river,where a bath was most refreshing.Inside this island,amazing was another island, to be reached by boat or by crossing the river.

Banasura Dam :
                   Awestruck,were we by the grandeur of this dam,said to be the largest in Asia and the second largest in India.Boating across the background of tha dam was superb.

Wayanad Welcomes - Day 1

Day  1

Edakkal Caves :
                        Our first destination was the Edakkal caves, about 28 kms. from Kalpettai.We have to change over to jeeps to cover the last 2-3 kms.uphill.Thereafter, it is climbing up the hill through an enchanting path of Nature to reach the top.The steps are nothing but rocks and at times just iron boulders.On the top, two big rocks form the caves and pre historical writings are found on the wall.Looking down from the top was awesome.

Heritage Museum :
                    On the way back from the Edakkal caves, we had a brief halt at the museum.As suggested by the name, it is a display of the ancient articles used by the people of the region.

Meenmutty Falls:
                  This majestic, spectacular and wild Meenmutty Falls is deep inside the jungle and  can be enjoyed only after trekking for nearly an hour with the escort of the forest guides ( mandatory ) by paying around Rs. 300 for a group of ten.Exotic, was the trekking through the jungles of the Western  Ghats to access the falls.Yet it was also little tedious and at times seemed to be dangerous at some points, with the paths being only 3 feet wide with a deep ravine on one side.In a few places,holding on to thick ropes,was the support.The grandeur of the Meenmutty Falls,falling down in three parts, from a height of nearly 1000 metres was simply captivating and worth the trouble.

Karapuzha dam :

             On the way to Kalpettai for the night stay, just 15 kms. before Kalpettai,we halted to visit the Karapuzha Dam,one of biggest dams in the country.
          
           

Wayanad welcomes

                       Waynad may not be as popular, a tourist destination, as Ooty or Kodaikanal but this hillstation is simply exotic.Now it is emerging as a favoured hill resort and thronged  by people.Waynad, nestled in the laps of the majestic western Ghats, situated at an altitude, ranging from 700 metres to 2100 metres can be called the hill district of Kerala, rightly hailed as God's Kingdom.Kalpettai is the district headquarters,where most of the tourists stay to explore the beauty of the region.We made it as a family tour to enjoy this great gift of Nature.It was a package tour which included the train journey, the van facility, boarding etc.Kozhikode Junction is the nearest railway station and the driver was ready to pick us up from the station as early as 4.30 A.M. when Mangalore Express arrived there.Atleast three days are the minimum to unwrap the precious gift from God in the form of Nature. 
                As usual in the case of most of the tourists,we stayed at Kalpettai,about 72 kms. from Kozhikode.Just with 12 of us in the Tempo Traveller luxury coach,we could sit comfortably.Going up the hill, the green trees and vegetation on both sides of the ghat road were refreshing,giving us the much needed break from the concrete jungles.It is a 2 hrs. journey through the intoxicating hills to Kalpettai from Kozhikode.Just 10 kms. before Kalpettai,most of the vehicles stop at a view point to enjoy the floating silver clouds.After bath and breakfast,we were ready to visit the Edakkal Caves.

Hearty Welcome

                             I am happy to give a hearty welcome to the  Tamil Puthandu, Vijaya varudam, atleast a few hours before its birth, as it has become habitual of me to offer only a belated welcome to 2012 and 2013 in my posts.

                           This Tamil New Year's day is celebrated by me in Coimbatore after a couple of years.Last year,it was an opportunity to be in our hometown.Before that,the birth of Jiji, two months prior to the birth of the Tamil New year gave me an occasion to rejoice the twin births in the distant land of U.S.

                         As this  Tamil New Year is greeted with the fruits and vegetables,we pray that the coming New year be a year of prosperity and plenty for the farmers who are the backbone of our nation.Our happiness is assured in their happiness.

                         Happiness. in seven words is found,
                         Think not of thyself, but of others.
 

Salutations to Ancient Women

March  8
                             The celebrations of the International Women's Day provided me a platform to share my views on the topic, " Empowering Women is Empowering the Nation "and also win a prize.
                             Pondering on the given topic, gave me a new insight about our very ancient women who were empowered nearly eight centuries ago.Even in the thirteenth century itself, Rudrambal ruled over Warangal, maintaining peace and order in her kingdom.She was followed by courageous women like Velunachiar of Sivaganga, the great Jansi Rani Laxmi Bai, Sultana Razia Begum and so on. The women of present advanced countries, a few centuries ago,I believe, were not so empowered like our women of early days.As far as "my small brain " knows, England had queens like Queen Mary, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth in the past history.May be a few women would have wielded power in the other nations also.So it is an occasion for us to feel proud of our valiant women who made history ,several centuries ago.
                              As the saying goes, Pen is mightier than the sword, the popular women poets like the legend,Avviaiyar, Kakkaipadiniyar and Nappinnai steered the nation in the righteous path through the wheels of the king with their verses in the Before Christ era itself.
                            Let us take this opportunity to salute these brave ancient women who can be our role models.