TRAVELOGUE – THE HILLS IN GOD’S OWN COUNTRY PART 3 – The Tea Gardens

While ours was a day filled with business and pleasure, for our spouses it was a fun filled day all the way. After breakfast Dr. Shobha, our excellent host, took them out in an air-conditioned vehicle to explore the beauty of Munnar and its surroundings. On the itinerary were trips to the Echo point, Botanical garden, Tea Museum, Tea factory, Tea gardens and, most certainly shopping! So this bit is what my wife told me after they returned.

Once out of the Pulimuttil Estate in which is located our Deep Wood Resort , they were in the midst of the mist covered rolling hills, exotic plantations, colonial remnants, panoramic views, and pristine wilderness which offered them an ideal escapade from the heat and buzzing of urban life. They were literally transported into the tranquil laps of nature. The idyllic, picture postcard hill station of Munnar was once the summers resort of the erstwhile British Raj. The town still proudly retains its old-world colonial charms in much the same way. The exotic flora and fauna found in the region further accentuates its beauty and it cordially welcomes a visitor by rolling out a plush green velvet carpet of verdant valleys laced with tea plantations.

Their first stop was Echo Point.  This mesmerizing place gets its name from the natural echo phenomenon here. Echo Point, situated on the way to Top Station, between Mattupetty Dam and Kundala Lake.  Top Station the highest point in this

Echo point

region and is just 15 Km from Munnar town.  The uniqueness of this place lies in the fact that every loud call made from a spot on the embankment  of a lake here is returned manifold by the echo from the surrounding hills, hence the name! There are several street shops where articles and chunky jewelries can be purchased at low prices. The lake near the echo point looks serene and the wind is quiet soothing and chilly. Trekking and nature walks are popular activities in this scenic destination with beautiful views of the green hills. The fresh mountain air, the mist-clad hills and panoramic view make it worthy of a visit.

Their next stop was the Botanical Garden. This beautifully landscaped garden presented a varied display of flowers and plants against a backdrop of the Western Ghats. The garden is designed to primarily serve as a visitor-friendly tourist attraction rather than a pure research facility for experts and environmentalists. Set up in Munnar

Tea plantation

Parvathy Hills by the Government of Kerala it is spread across 100 acres this is still work in progress. It is a delightful over-grown riot of colours with seats and bandstands falling into decay and slowly being taken over by vegetation. There are shops inside the botanical garden selling spices and herbs and souvenirs. For the spice lovers, this destination is a heaven –ginger, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, coffee, clove, nutmeg , you name it! Not to miss are the homemade chocolates - white, dark, liqueur filled and chocolates with nuts. The ladies had their lunch in the cafeteria of this beautiful garden!

After lunch the ladies were taken to the Kannan Devan Tea Museum, situated at Nullatanni estate in Munnar. This is the first tea museum of its kind in the country. The museum depicts the origin and growth of century-old tea plantation – from a simple tea roller to the present fully automatic tea factory of Madupatty. The entrance of the museum has a granite sundial that was made in 1913 by the Art Industrial School at Nazareth in Tamil Nadu. Several old equipment, including original tea roller of 1905, the Pelton wheel used in power generation in 1920s and rotorvane (the old-time CTC type tea processing machine) are proud possessions of the museum. Another important item on display is a rail engine wheel unit of the Kundale Valley Light Railway that operated between Munnar and Top Station. 

Kannam Devan Tea Museum

A documentary film about the history of tea plantation in Munnar and the various steps the tea leaves pass before reaching your tea pot was shown to the ladies. Once, long back in 1857, a British resident named John Daniel Munro came to Munnar. Seeing the hilly areas of Munnar, an idea of having a tea plantation here hit into his mind. Daniel approached the King of Poonjar royal family, Rohini Thirunal Kerala Varma Valiya Raja, to lend land for him. Daniel was accompanied by Kannan Thevar, the tribal chief of Anchunadu and he bought the land from the royal family. In 1879, Munro formed North Travancore Land Planting & Agricultural Society. The society members started cultivation on coffee, cardamom, cinchona etc. Later all these crops were abandoned and they began to concentrate upon tea plantations. A W Turnor was the one who started plantation in Munnar. But it was neither Munro nor Turnor, who started tea cultivation in Munnar, but was A H Sharp, a European planter in 1880. He started tea cultivation in the 50 acres land at Parvathy. Now the land belongs to the Seven Mallay Estate. There was another setback in 1895, that Finley Muir and Company bought 33 estates in Munnar. These estates were later managed by Kannan Devan Hills Produce Company, which was formed in 1897. In the year 1964 this Finley group collaborated with the Tata group to form Tata­Finley group and Tata Tea Ltd was formed in 1983. It was in the year 2005 that Kannan Devan Hill Plantations Company Pvt Ltd was formed and Tata Tea transferred all its rights to the company. Tata Tea Ltd. Today justifiably claims to be the largest integrated tea company in the world, with activities spanning the entire spectrum of the industry. Today, tea is cultivated on 24,000 hectares of land in Munnar, Peermade and Devikulam areas with an annual yield of 50,000 metric tons.

In the Tea Factory the ladies were introduced to the various stages through which the tea leaves pass – cutting, drying, sorting, and packaging. The tender tea leaves collected from the plantations are withered in hot air at the factory and then sent to the rollers. After being rolled into particles and fermented, they are fed into dries before they are ready to be packed.

Among the exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands here is the Neelakurinji a flower which bathes the hills in blue colour once in twelve years. The Neelakurinji, will bloom next in 2018. But miles and miles of unending tea plantation is what greets the eye here and one can easily miss the other hidden jewels of nature!

Spice shops

Next stop was shopping – spices, herbs, tea, coffee, homemade chocolates – normal, dark, fruit and nut …………it drove them nuts. Eventually, exhausted by this high dose of fun and frolic the ladies were transported back to Deep Wood Resort, almost the same time when we returned from our jungle trail. Today was a very special day, March 11, 2017 and the votes were being counted for the 5 State elections, but as we had no access to the internet, we were completely oblivious of the trends. So a few friends took a vehicle and drove towards Munnar till they got the first hint of net connectivity and then triumphantly returned to the resort with the news of a landslide victory for their party in U.P.

Mukund at his best!

In the evening we had been invited by the owners of this resort to the inaugural function of a six floor new building complex which will be converted into a luxury hotel in days to come. While the ladies and the seniors were offered a lift, some of us walked down to the place. The senior most matriarch of the family lighted the inaugural lamp and they all sang a prayer. This was followed by an evening filled with music and dance. My young friend Mukund Jagannathan enthralled the audience with his soulful melodies of yesteryear, punctuated with innumerable stories about the wonderland that is fondly called Bollywood. My senior colleague, who seems to be younger than most of us and simply refuses to slow down, Dr. Murugesan, mesmerized the gathering with his twinkle toes and it was his dance that took the musical evening to its crescendo! 

Now how could we just tapper off from those dizzy heights and it required the knowledge and sagacity of my friend Parag Sahasrabudhe to end this evening with a much needed workshop on Whiskey. What is this magic beverage, how is it made, what are the essential qualities that must imbibe to get this coveted name, how is it distilled, stored and packed and how expensive can it be was all conveyed to a captivated audience in 20 minutes by a very well prepared audio-visual presentation. This was followed by a practical session of tasting whiskey, how to enjoy its aroma, sip it, hold it inside the mouth, savor it taste, gulp it and appreciate its lingering after-taste was all taught in great details. So profound was the effect of this education that next morning our host Dr. Subramania was found drinking water the same way after appreciating its aroma while swirling it in his glass!

The evening ended with a sumptuous dinner. Later on we were dropped to our respective bungalows for a well deserved rest. Next morning all of us were leaving for home and as it was a 4 hours drive to the airport our friends were in no mood to take any chances. We however had other plans, we were going back the next day and we were spending the evening with my batch mate from King George’s Medical College in Lucknow, Neeta, who was staying in Thrissur. My friend Dr. Subramania Iyer, his wife Dr. Shobha were also going to Thrissur where they had a home and where their mothers stayed and so they offered to take us there in their car. We left the beautiful

The undulating roads and miles of tea plantation

Deep Wood Resort at 9 AM and soon we were in an exciting trip across the winding hilly roads with lush green tea gardens on either side, sometimes climbing up a hill touching the clouds and the very next time sloping down to another beautiful valley. Miles and miles of tea plantation were interrupted by beautiful resorts and private homes. As we were coming down the winding and undulating hilly roads we did not realize when all of a sudden the picturesque surroundings of tea plantation were replaced by the lush green cardamom hills. Further down as we reached the planes we were engulfed by the National Highway traffic.

On our return journey

This short trip to Munnar was indeed a once in a life time experience, a perfect one to re-charge our batteries. This fairy tale town stupefied us with its dazzling kaleidoscopic visions of nature.  I will urge you to come along and discover the fascinating magic of Munnar and if you have friends like me, ask them to take you on a virtual magic carpet ride to this exotic land!