Our recent trip to Ooty
We all went for a short trip to Ooty (also known as Ootacamundu), the border town of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states, recently and these are some of the pictures taken during our visit. Usha has a big family and most of them joined us for the trip and are seen in this pciture taken in front of the emerald lake 20 kms from Ooty
Infact, our group also contained a friend of mine, Mr.Prabha Ramakrishnan and his wife Dr Letha, from Sawarak in Malayasia and their nephew who lives in Quilon. This picture taken by Prabha in front of the hotel where they stayed.
So here is a picture of Prabha Ramakrishnan,on the right side, alongwith his nephew and my nephew, Shyam Mohan Varma is at the other end.
Berinjam lake in Ooty is in the outskrits and hence it more serene and beautiful than the one at the centre! Boating is a pleasure here.
Here is another view of the lake..
The monkeys here are trained to drink from tetrapacks.. here is one having a go from an Appy/Fruity pack!
The emerald lake is the most scenic lake around.Here we are posing before it .. and partially covering it's beauty!!
We stayed at the Sterling Holiday Resorts. The picture shows me with my brother-in-law Ajith Varma infront of the resort.
The central park in Ooty is very old and is famous for its collections, both archeological and plant specie-wise. This is a picture of a very old fossil tree at the park.
Standing on the ridges.. but got to be careful not to fall off to eternity.
Since we were at Ooty during Onam festival period, it was celebrated at Sterling resorts also. There was a bonfire and lots of group games and all are seen here enjoying the programs.
Muthumalai wild life sanctury is 40 kms from Ooty. There are wild goats, tigers, elephants, deers and sambars in this sanctury. We went with great expectations, but could see only the sambar, wild goats, deers and elephants. The picture shows an elephant herd seen during our expedition. Although we couldn't meet Veerappan, the world famous sandal wood smuggler who meets the requirements of the great politicians of neighbouring states, we could see the great ravines through which he manages to live happily. Since Veerappan is smart at keeping all our leaders in good cheer he will never be caught by the police/secuirty men from any of the neighbouring states!!! And this of course, is an irony and is the prime reason why India can never progress. India has been a developing country for ages and will continue to be so for ages. Our democracy is for the politicians and by the politicians!!
You must have heard of `Kala otta-malsarams' (bullock racings). On our way back we could see the `pothukala'(bullock- buffallo) race held during Onam holidays in the northern parts of Kerala. The picture shows the agility with which a farmer (competitor) holds on to the `nukam' and driving merrily during the race. In case you are a fan of pothukala race, click on the image again to get a closeup shot
