DEVIKULAM - SITA'S BATHING POOL - AND THE HIGHEST TEA GARDEN IN THE WORLD - KOLUKKUMALAI

CAMP AT SURYANELLI
There is a gentle knock on the door. "May I come in, Sir?" Mohan Babu, my Jeeves, glides in with chhota haazri. Bed-coffee and a newspaper. I sit up on the four-poster bed, as he opens the curtains. A silvery haze streams in through the French windows. It's misty outside, the dew still fresh on the green lawns. I am at Suryanelli, in a colonial bungalow, that once housed a planter and perhaps his family. The Scottish planters are long gone, but their customs linger on. Hence, the bed coffee. My friend and I have the bungalow all to ourselves. It is typical English cottage, built in stone, with a sloping tin roof. Fire-places, rattan furniture and ebony tables. Straight out of a Merchant-Ivory movie. We have Mohan Babu, a cook, a charlady, and a gardener, who keeps himself busy, tending to the emerald-green lawn and the flower-beds outside. There have been some changes though. The grates in the fireplaces are no longer warm. On the walls are reproductions of Ravi Varma's masterpieces, and faux art on the mantelpieces. There is a television set in the living room. But the mahagony floors and the egg-white walls give it all away. This place was once the Manager's bungalow.


Munnar lies 200 metres below and about 24 kilometres away. We drove there first from Cochin, a long drive. The scenary really started to reveal itself when we crossed Adimalai and the climb began, up through the Western Ghats. As we climbed higher and higher, the vistas began to open themselves. Sheer drops and vast acres of tea bushes. Rolling patches of mist and short, sharp bursts of rain. Tea flourishes best in the higher elevations, the higher the better. The Kannan Devan Hills are perfectly suited to plantations of all kinds. Brtitish Reaident Munro realised that when he visited the area in the 1870s. It was then virgin forest and royal land. He talked to the Maharaja and got the whole tract on lease for 3000 rupees a year. The hills were set to be transformed.

KOLUKKUMALAI -THE HIGHEST TEA GARDEN IN THE WORLD
Kolukkumalai is reached via a steep climb, partly on a dirt track in a Jeep. At the top of the mountain, one gets a spectacular view of the plains which once used to be in Madras Presidency. Today, it is in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. Yes, we have crossed the border. From our viewing point, we can see the sun rising reluctantly into the sky. It's about eight o'clock, but the air is cool and bracing. The mist is rolling in through the eucalyptus trees and we watch the sky gradually appear out of the clouds. On a clear day, one can see the hills of Kodaikanal from where we are, but not today.

We turn back and arrive at the gates of the tea factory at a little after nine a.m. Kolukkumalai Tea Factory is the highest orthodox tea factory in the world. It makes organic teas in GOP and FGOP grades and is at about 2100 metres above sea level. The production of orthodox tea is a complex, delicate process, involving several steps, using both manual labour and machines. We get a tour of the factory and are allowed to watch the taster at work.


The teas are first withered in large troughs, for 15-20 hours. Then they are rolles and cut by machine. In earlier times, these machines were hand operated. This relases their oils and aromas. Next, they are oxidized in rooms where the temperature and humidity is carefully controlled. The leaves turn dark, trapping their aromas within. They are then sent through a furnace, on a belt, to remove excess moisture. Further processes take place to remove fibre and sort them through sieves, before they are packed. Orthodox teas are prized for their aroma and distinctive flavours. The soil and climate of each garden makes its tea special. Kolukkumalai has been processing tea for 85 years.


DEVIKULAM -SITA'S BATHING POND
The Kannan Devan Hills are full of places of beauty. Reserve forests dot the areas around Munnar. Kerala's first hydo-electric dam was built in the area. There are breath-taking waterfalls and hiking trails. A couple of days after we visited Kolukkumalai, we drove back a few kilometres in the direction of Devikulam.
Legend has it, that Sita bathed in this pristine lake. Its cool, crystal-clear waters are said to have medicinal properties. The area around it is covered by trees and picnic spots. A truly serene place, and a link to our mythical past.

Text: Shankar A. Narayan Photos:National Geographic (Sunrise over Kolukkumalai), 4Photos and Tea Garden Hotel.