Pristine Nature — Mannavanur (Part 1)
“The mountains are calling.”, said my inner state of mind. As my last exam concluded, I decided that its time to go in search of solitude and inner peace. Having set our GPS to one of the best destination getaways, I along with my friend Roshan, boarded the train to Madurai.
Nowadays, any place feels peaceful enough, with the right company and right state of mind. As we approached Madurai, the temple vibes started to kick in. We could experience an aura of positive energy as we approached the Meenakshi Temple.
The ascending doorways welcomed us to gift us a spiritual sense of perception. We walked around the temple seeing the different idols. We then found a shade under a tree and decided to bask in the spiritual glory of this sacred architectural brilliance. We then decided to have breakfast from a nearby hotel — ghee roast and coffee. What more do you want to brighten up your day ?
3 hours later we reach the Princess of Hill Stations or by its Tamil meaning “The Gift of the Forest” — Kodaikanal. We reached Kodaikanal by bus. Having had our lunch, we decided to roam around the city for a while till we have to board the next bus to Mannavanur — a farming village situated 35 kms from Kodaikanal. The general trend in people, when it comes to visiting Kodaikanal is to stay a night or two in the city itself. But there’s more to enjoy around Kodaikanal than in the city permit. Going to these places by bus is tough, although it is a vivid experience as there are only limited number of buses and lots of people. Boarding one such bus, we held on tightly to the support bars. Passing a variety of flora, grooving to SPB songs, we reached Mannavanur.
After searching for a place to stay the night, we found a lodge. The caretaker of the lodge, Krishnan gave us a room on the first floor. We were surprised by the lodge’s design as there is a door with number 407 , and this door opens to a corridor with another door which has the number 319, which opens to our room — Doorception , it seems.
The view from the balcony was just mesmerizing — a small village surrounded by thick, beautiful forests. Deciding to explore the village, we started walking towards the direction which Krishnan suggested. We had asked him about the places to see around and he guided us along a road.
Looking around we could slowly feel the nature kicking in.
We could say that the creators of these magical places are coloring experts who know where the hue and saturation must go to.
From there onwards, it was like being in a movie — an array of exquisite frames that blended perfectly with the symphony of mother nature. The village is a very peaceful place, a perfect location to enthrall in the sights that nature has to show you.
There is this particular tree that we saw a couple of times that looks like it came straight out of a Disney tale. We saved them as our checkpoints to return back to the village before sundown.
The clouds waved passed us while we took a break to analyse the beauty of the place. The green pastures, the chill weather and the colorful visuals can cast impressions on your soul.
A wonderful evening in nature’s presence — a truly remarkable day in my life. Life will always be hurdled by traffic blocks in the city but life here is what we all yearn for, the meaning seeking contemplation called life.
Certain frames that we see and capture in our lives can have more meaning to it than we can ever imagine. The repeating hill road turns opened from curves to display an entirely new scenario every time.
In one such scenario, we walked into a dream — a horse grazing in its habitat as the sun is about to set. Somewhere in these hills, we understood that this trip was more about connecting to nature rather than sightseeing. We could see nature in its purest form without any barrier. The pastures in Scotland are well known to everyone, but this small village in South India will definitely strike an evergreen impression on the minds of the travelers.
We passed the Mannavanur Lake which was closing by the time we reached there. Going further, we decided to explore as much as we can before night fall.The good thing about the roads here is that the vehicle population is less.
This particular object that was placed on the side of the road definitely left us puzzled with poetic thoughts.
Does it symbolize a tombstone?
As we walked passed our thoughts, we found a small stream deep down from where we were standing. The sound of its flowing could be heard carefully yet peacefully. Suddenly, we were stunned by sudden movement near the trees. Two peacocks appeared from inside the trees and flew away into the trees. Fading light was a sign that it was time for us to return back to the lodge. Reaching the lodge premises, we understood how far we had walked and that is when I understood that with good company, walking miles won’ t be a problem. We decided to have dinner from a nearby restaurant.
As we stood there drinking coffee, a small boy with a hoodie parked his bicycle and after spotting us, he started posing for the camera. I called him towards me and asked him his name. “Manoj”,he said. I showed him his photo from my camera and waved goodbye to him as we left to the lodge. Reaching the lodge we started feeling the cold kicking in. The cold was not able to stop us from enjoying the balcony view. We sat there till sleep called us as we had much better plans the next day.
