Rang Chalke -Kdhinar Acharya
With heavy hearts we said goodbye to Coorg and said to ourselves: Phir milange. The fragrance of the air here and something in it reminded me of the Himalayas. I have also seen Himalayan-like scenery in Switzerland and Austria. Eye-popping scenery, but the blend of mind-blowing atmosphere and beauty I got to experience in Coorg somewhat after the Himalayas. That is why it is not easy to leave Coorg. I didn’t find any girl there but remembered the lines: Pardesion se na ankhia Milana, Pardesion ko hai ek din jaana…’ We departed from Coorg after Pardesi Nachhoot.
At the time of parting, I realized why some foreign young men and women are bewildered, like mustafkirs. He stays at a place he doesn’t like for a day or so and if the place is peaceful, away from noise, he stays there for a month or two. A planned tour spoils the fun of tourism. If you like a place and want to stay there for two more days, there are hundreds of steps like cancellation of booking, new booking, refund. If I can, I don’t pre-plan anything except the return ticket. They will pay as they fall. If there is fun somewhere, we will stay for four days, if not, we will catch it while walking.
From Coorg we were heading towards Thirunelli in Kerala. Located about 85 km from Coorg, this small village – even a small area – is teeming with coffee plantations. Thirunelli is located in the Wayanad district of Kerala. We all know Wayanad as Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, but there are many other good things. The whole district is beautiful. Flowing streams, dense forest, wildlife, lakes and much more. Wayanad is a border district of Karnataka-Kerala.
As you enter Wayanad from Karnataka, the whole picture changes. Here you will see Jesus’ feet every fifty meters. We have Bapa Sitaram’s Otla there – just like that. Every fifty-hundred meters one can find a shrine or a cave of Hussain. Hats everywhere. We will immediately understand why Rahul Gandhi fought from here, why he won.
Our destination in Thirunelli was also in the middle of a coffee estate. However, this coffee estate was not like the vast estates of Coorg. It was small – six acres, but the owner’s family was very kind. If we ask for something, the whole family starts running to give it. The entire area is forested, interspersed with coffee estates. Lots of wild animal traffic, but not particularly heavy. There was a loud noise every night from the back of our cottage. Two days later, when we asked the owner Sabu, we realized that elephants come here every night to eat phanas!
There is one such small village called Thirunelli. It is from him that the whole area is known as Thirunelli and the name of the village goes back to a beautiful temple called Thirunelli. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, this temple is highly mythological and has a constant flow of devotees. Thirunelli Temple is located on the Brahmagiri Hills of Kerala. It is said that King Bhaskar Ravi Varma restored this temple around AD 962. It is said that this temple was built by Lord Brahma himself. It is also mentioned in Matsya Purana, Skanda Purana, Narasimha Purana and Padma Purana of Hinduism.
More about Thirunelli Temple and other places in Wayanad in the next issue. (Sequentially:)
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