By Raul Dias
The gravitas of each of the 21, notorious hairpin
bends one encounters en route to Kodaikanal via Palani below, was beginning to
take its toll on me as I battled the ensuing waves of nausea. A raging earache
threatened to exacerbate my misery, whenever my trusted SUV’s wheels made
contact with the pothole-ridden asphalt of the hilly road. To top it all, I had
just burst a blood vessel in my right eye thanks to a spontaneous
subconjunctival haemorrhage that left me looking like the antagonist of an 80s
Ramsay Brothers’ horror flick!
Little did I know then that I was following the same path—both literally and figuratively speaking—taken by a bunch of American missionaries way back in the mid-1800s. It was then that the bucolic hill station of Kodaikanal provided them with the much-needed succour as they convalesced from the dreaded malaria contracted in the plains below. But more on that little vignette later. First a bit of a revelation…
Little did I know then that I was following the same path—both literally and figuratively speaking—taken by a bunch of American missionaries way back in the mid-1800s. It was then that the bucolic hill station of Kodaikanal provided them with the much-needed succour as they convalesced from the dreaded malaria contracted in the plains below. But more on that little vignette later. First a bit of a revelation…
Cleanliness
and Godliness
Having had my soul scarred for life by images of the disastrous effects mass tourism ‘bestows’ upon other Indian hill stations of its ilk, I was prepared for a place strewn with used chip packets, juice boxes and other ugly tourist detritus. But not Kodaikanal, apparently. Here, it was evident that the neatly lined garbage bins and ‘Keep Clean’ signage were clearly doing their job. Clean, freshly swept roads and sidewalks greeted me as I passed shop after shop on Kodaikanal’s famous Seven Roads junction selling rock candy, homemade chocolate and other sundries that are crucial elements to the tuck boxes of the students who board at the many schools Kodaikanal is famous for.
I was later to learn of the vital role both students and local youth play in keeping Kodaikanal as clean as it is. Both the Kodaikanal Lake Protection Council and the Vattakkanal Organization for Youth, Community and Environment (VOYCE) is active in preserving Kodaikanal’s environment where plastic bags are banned, and vendors encouraged to use recycled paper bags. All these measures were adopted after a study conducted by the Department of Atomic Energy confirmed that Kodaikanal Lake had been contaminated by mercury emissions.
Another surprise for me was the high concentration of churches that can be found here. Christianity brought over by the aforementioned American missionaries seems to be thriving here, as I recognised the Tamil versions of popular hymns sung in the La Salette Church next to where I was staying. The daily evening novenas, as a lead up to the annual 15th August feast of the Assumption of Mary, were followed by orderly processions taken out by the devotees with decibel levels well in check.
Having had my soul scarred for life by images of the disastrous effects mass tourism ‘bestows’ upon other Indian hill stations of its ilk, I was prepared for a place strewn with used chip packets, juice boxes and other ugly tourist detritus. But not Kodaikanal, apparently. Here, it was evident that the neatly lined garbage bins and ‘Keep Clean’ signage were clearly doing their job. Clean, freshly swept roads and sidewalks greeted me as I passed shop after shop on Kodaikanal’s famous Seven Roads junction selling rock candy, homemade chocolate and other sundries that are crucial elements to the tuck boxes of the students who board at the many schools Kodaikanal is famous for.
I was later to learn of the vital role both students and local youth play in keeping Kodaikanal as clean as it is. Both the Kodaikanal Lake Protection Council and the Vattakkanal Organization for Youth, Community and Environment (VOYCE) is active in preserving Kodaikanal’s environment where plastic bags are banned, and vendors encouraged to use recycled paper bags. All these measures were adopted after a study conducted by the Department of Atomic Energy confirmed that Kodaikanal Lake had been contaminated by mercury emissions.
Another surprise for me was the high concentration of churches that can be found here. Christianity brought over by the aforementioned American missionaries seems to be thriving here, as I recognised the Tamil versions of popular hymns sung in the La Salette Church next to where I was staying. The daily evening novenas, as a lead up to the annual 15th August feast of the Assumption of Mary, were followed by orderly processions taken out by the devotees with decibel levels well in check.
American
‘Invasion’
In another interesting departure from the idea of the ubiquitous colonial British-established Indian hill stations that served as cooling off places in summer, Kodaikanal was established in 1845 by a posse of Americans who sent up their women and children from Madurai below to both, seek refuge from the bloodthirsty mosquitos of the plains, and to recuperate from the rampant Malarial epidemics.
And the American influence is amply evident in Kodaikanal to this very day, specially in the unique architecture one sees there. Many of the original cottages and bungalows with names like Sunny Side and Shelton and modelled on those found in America’s colonial north-eastern New England region have today been repurposed keeping the original aesthetics as they were. In fact, the hotel that I stayed at is one such building that was one of the earliest structures constructed in Kodaikanal. Today known as The Tamara Kodai, the large barn-like building itself was originally called Baynes Bungalow owned by Mr. Baynes, a District Judge. When it was later sold to Father Louis Cyr in 1860, it was renovated to serve as a chapel thanks to its high-pitched roof and long wraparound balcony with its rooms used as a rest house for priests from Nagapattinam.
Speaking of chapels, the former St Peter’s church that once stood in the abandoned old American cemetery along the town’s fecund Lower Shola Road had a tin roof salvaged from the many biscuit tins the convalescing children would go through. Well, they do say that necessity is the mother of invention, don’t they?
In another interesting departure from the idea of the ubiquitous colonial British-established Indian hill stations that served as cooling off places in summer, Kodaikanal was established in 1845 by a posse of Americans who sent up their women and children from Madurai below to both, seek refuge from the bloodthirsty mosquitos of the plains, and to recuperate from the rampant Malarial epidemics.
And the American influence is amply evident in Kodaikanal to this very day, specially in the unique architecture one sees there. Many of the original cottages and bungalows with names like Sunny Side and Shelton and modelled on those found in America’s colonial north-eastern New England region have today been repurposed keeping the original aesthetics as they were. In fact, the hotel that I stayed at is one such building that was one of the earliest structures constructed in Kodaikanal. Today known as The Tamara Kodai, the large barn-like building itself was originally called Baynes Bungalow owned by Mr. Baynes, a District Judge. When it was later sold to Father Louis Cyr in 1860, it was renovated to serve as a chapel thanks to its high-pitched roof and long wraparound balcony with its rooms used as a rest house for priests from Nagapattinam.
Speaking of chapels, the former St Peter’s church that once stood in the abandoned old American cemetery along the town’s fecund Lower Shola Road had a tin roof salvaged from the many biscuit tins the convalescing children would go through. Well, they do say that necessity is the mother of invention, don’t they?
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 26th August 2018 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 8 https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/notes-from-kodaikanal/article24770764.ece)
No comments:
Post a Comment