MANJOLAI VISIT /CHEETAH SIGHTING - 535

 MANJOLAI VISIT AND CHEETAH 

                     SIGHTING 

Manjolai Kilithano song from the movie Kizhake Pogum Rail which got  released way back in 1978 may have revived fond memories in many old generation folks like me  .

The sprawling Manimuthar Falls on the way to Manjolai is a must see attraction .

The mainly TEA and a few Coffee Estates of the BBTC OR BOMBAY BURMAH TRADING CORPORATION  give a green cover to almost the entire area between Manjolai and Kutharaivetti . The highest point at this picturesque locale is 1200 mts . The clouds rubbing shoulders with you, the mist all around , eucalyptus trees measuring in excess of 350 feet , the gurgling of streams which  cascade down the mountain slopes at innumerable places and thus creating a sweet  music of it's own makes this POOR MAN'S OOTY a must visit place . The 46 km ride after passing across 7 Hills from Agasthiarpatty traverses through Kallidaikurichy , Manimuthar Dam and Check Post , Manimuthar Falls , Manjolai Estate , kakkachy , Naalumukku , Oothu and Kutharaivetty and  is a sure delight to anyone visiting the area .

The entire area , being under the preserve of the KALAKKAD MUNDANTHURAI TIGER AND WILDLIFE RESERVE , the chance sighting of many species of wild animals which include the Elephant is always a possibility if one is lucky . I refer only to the Sighting and nothing more serious than that .

My Sambandhis who are visiting us now and myself included had been yearning to visit this place for quite sometime now . My last visit was  with my nephew Harishankar upto Manjolai  on a Jawa Motorbike some 20 years back , give or take a few and more recently which itself is some 8 years back with my SASMIRA Classmates from Mumbai and that too only upto the Manimuthar Waterfalls .

All the attractions mentioned above set us on a plan to visit the place . Permission had to be obtained from the Forest Department at Ambasamudram to let us  into the reserve .  Copy of my Aadhar card  , the Vehicle RC , The vehicle Insurance details were all required to be presented to the Authorities . Selvam Cabs Driver Essaky who goes through this process almost on a regular basis was a great help and got this done in advance . Essaky had contacts with all the right people  at the right places . He was more of a Tourist Guide with all relevant information than the Driver of our Tata Sumo.Van .

We set out from Agasthiarpatty at 7.45 AM and got our permit ratified at the Manimuthar Dam Check post after paying a fees of Rs 1300 /- for the 6 occupants of the Sumo Vehicle driven by Essaky .

The first stop was the Manimuthar Falls which we reached by 8.30 AM , The waterfalls as can be seen was in full flow from one end to the other . Packed breakfast partaken , we were on our way to Manjolai . The recently laid road was of help only for a short distance . The travel after this was bumpy to put it only mildly , nevertheless the weather , breeze and clouds started to make the travel on the bumpy road less of a bother .

Tea at MANJOLAI HOTEL was a welcome relief as was the feeding of the PEACOCK FROM ONE'S HAND by the ladies in the group .

 

The next stop was the absolutely green topped Golf Course at Kakkachy . This being the place where The British Managers of the Estates and later the Indian Managers played Golf . We however enjoyed the greenery all around with snacks and  under the shroud of the misty clouds overhead .

From here on the roads began to get only  worse and the travel even more tedious . 

Naalumukku had women estate workers from the Northeast of India plucking the Tea Leaves . The women in our group also tried their hand at it . How well they did it is for you to judge from the pictures .

Naalumukku to Oothu was also on similar lines . Oothu is the last place upto which the twice in a day State Transport Buses operate . This Estate has a Post Office , A school and a Basic Medical Health Center.  There is also a small lake which takes care of the Drinking Water needs  of the area .

The drive from Oothu to Kutharaivetty , a distance of Eight Kilometers is sans any sort of road and the ride is extremely bumpy and painful .  There is a Fully Furnished  Forest  Guest House here and Online booking for  a stay here  can be made at Prescribed Rates over the Net . Apart from the repeater station for communication only BSNL has a functioning network connection here . There is an Elevated Forest View Point from which one can view the plain land , the Karayar , Servalar and Manimuthar Dams . One can also see the face of the 7 Hills that we need to traverse from Manimuthar to Kutharaivetty  to reach this place .  We had our homemade lunch here at the viewpoint and embarked upon  our return journey at 2.00 PM

We were almost 5 kms away from Manimuthar Falls on our return journey when we SIGHTED A FULL GROWN  CHEETAH crossing the road right in front of us. 

Imagine being just a few feet away from an absolute predator whose God given sleek and  Aerodynamic body enables it to chase a prey at close to 100 kms an hour . That we were confined inside an open car made it even more scary. 

We were among the very few  to be a part of this split second sighting of the CHEETAH even as it made it's way into the absolutely dense forest . This  had us all in shivers as we had left  all the windows open to enjoy the scenery outside . It took us a while  for us to get ourselves into some sort of a  normal mode. 

All in All an extremely memorable and adventurous trip and well worth the trouble taken .

TAILPIECE  : The British were the first to establish the Tea Plantations in the year 1913 . Singampatty Zamin who owned  the entire stretch of the land leased it to the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation for 99 years in 1929 .  Nusli Wadia established the Tea Estate in and around this place .

Kalakkad Mundanthurai Wildlife Reserve came to be established here later  and the entire Tea Estate Plantation  Area come under this heading .  A conflict of interest ensued and the court has given its ruling in favor of the Wild Life Reserve. This has left the BBTC with hardly any other option .  Alll the establishments so far nurtured has to be closed by 2027 - 2028 . They are slowly winding up operations on all fronts  . Roads are not being repaired and no care taken to maintain any semblance of normalcy . It is slowly but surely facing a very slow death . Not many years are left for this Beautiful OOTY OF THE POOR  to meet its unfortunate end .

THE SAVING GRACE IS THE LAND USURPED BY US FINDING ITS RIGHTFUL OWNERS INSIDE THE FORESTS.