Discovery- Wild walkers near Ooty

Tucked away in the folds of the Ooty mountains, a small cottage lies in the middle of a plot of farm land. The approach road to the cottage itself isn't in best shape, and it is necessary to leave your car half way and use a jeep to cross the final stretch of road. One needs to turn off the Mudumalai-Ooty road, drive across the hill slopes, past a few villages until one essentially reaches the end of the road - thats where you park, and meet caretaker Nanjun, who will take you to the cottage itself. One needs to first walk a little stretch and then climb into a jeep for a rough ride to the cottage.

After driving through Bandipur and Mudumalai, the road to Wild Walkers starts to make you wonder whether there has been some mistake in selecting the destination. There are several villages along the way, each with concrete houses more colourful and kitschy than the other. Yes, the mountain air is delicious, but you do wonder if the cottage is going to give you the privacy, peace and isolation that you have been expecting. The walk from your car to the jeep takes you by surprise, because one is not normally packed in a manner to quickly pick up bags and begin a mini hike. Even my shoes were still packed away, so I had to lug my baggage across in slippers, along with the little bags of food and other utilities we had picked up along the way. Once you reach the jeep, things start looking up, for you drive through a small tea plantation interspersed with scrub jungle, and finally you can see the trees parting ahead , which is where Wild Walkers cottage is located. The immediate area around Wild Walkers is an extension of the reserve forest, and gaurs, elephants and even bears have been spotted here rather frequently. This means that access to the cottage normally requires the caretaker to escort you, and you cannot really head out on foot on your own.

The cottage itself is a 3 bed room cottage, with each room having a separate access of its own. The common areas are all open to nature, so whether you are sitting at the dining table for a meal, or getting warm next to the fireplace, you are always exposed to the outdoors. The cottage is powered by solar power, so you can only keep 2 bulbs on at a time, and charging points for phones, cameras, tablets and every other gadget you are carrying with you need to be used sparingly. Phone are a little redundant, for there isn't enough cell phone network coverage. I would recommend putting your phone off or into flight mode, so that you can still use it to take pictures, but not drain the battery looking for network continuously.

The food is vegetarian and local, but delicious and fresh. The flavours were comforting, and there was an unlimited flow of food, tea and evening pakodas the whole time we were there. Not having electricity also means there is no water heater, so you need to tell Nanjun when you'd like to get a bucket of hot water delivered to your room.

The cottage doesn't really give you much to do either - with limited electricity, lack of network, no facility for games or music, one can be rather bored spending too much time here. But then again, this was exactly what I was looking for. All the things that I have mentioned so far may be slightly putting off for most travellers - which is why I have spoken of all this up front. If you are still reading this article, then this is when you begin to discover all the reasons why I loved this destination.

To begin with, the cottage is done up and maintained beautifully. Each room is spacious, with a view of the outdoors; bathrooms are modern and well maintained; beds are comfortable and the room is filled with curios, antique pieces and little details that reflect the taste and the attention to detail that has gone into putting the place together. Not having electricity was no trouble at all - in fact we barely even used the lights that we could, and spent our evenings by candlelight. The solar lights were used sparingly, only to use the bathroom or while we ate - and we didn't really need it beyond that. The views from the cottage are spectacular - on one side you have high mountains, in front you can see smaller hill slopes covers with jungle patches, and beyond is the valley that has the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary. Considering the amount of land we could see from where we were perched, it was delightful to also notice that in all these spaces, we could see no signs of other habitation, no other human being, no electric pole, not even a single light bulb or torch!

We could spend days hanging out on the verandahs, gazing at the view, looking at the clouds roll in and out, and watch Nanjun maintain the farm and keep the birds away from his crop. But that isn't all that we did, within an hour of reaching the cottage, we went for a little walk with Nanjun, to a lake and then to a view point, where the view only got better compared to what we could see from the cottage. Along the way we saw some gaurs on the slopes nearby, and even crossed some bear scat, which told us that the bear sightings in the region was indeed true. The next day we went for a beautiful hike up the mountain and spent some time at the peak, soaking in the air, gazing at the view, jumping in the rain and taking innumerable pictures. Words do not do justice to the place, its location, and the experience of doing those hikes in complete isolation, tucked away from the maddening traffic, crowd and construction that is Ooty.

For wildlife lovers and birders, Wild Walkers will surprise you. A pair of resident black eagles make regular rounds of the cottage, and you can watch it soar and circle and hunt and perch. Gaurs and barking deer are a regular feature from the cottage itself, it feels like you belong to the landscape for they graze and walk around without being affected by your presence. We were also lucky to have a bear digging around for termites very close to the property, and even spotted a wild cat (leopard cat) in broad daylight while we were enjoying a cup of tea. Once you realise the potential there is for a sighting right from the cottage itself, you spend the whole time keeping watch with a pair of handy binoculars.

If you are a nature lover and would give all that you've got for a few days in solitude, away from the rush and bustle of the city, then Wild Walkers is the place for you. I do not exaggerate when I say that it is remote and cut off, and that there really isn't much to do other than to enjoy the outdoors, but if this excites you, be sure to plan a trip and do not forget to take your binoculars along.

Lawlessness in the concrete jungle

Life in the jungle would be exciting, adventurous, dangerous, relaxing - but mostly fair. Survival of the fittest it may be, but the laws of the jungle prevail. A wild cat wouldn't hunt just for fun, neither would an animal attack unless provoked. One may imagine that it is a dangerous, scary world out there, but experience, caution and respect goes a long way in nature.

On the other hand, life in the city is chaotic and unfair. The rude and oppressive thrive, while the gentle, fair and respectful are trodden upon. A decent upbringing has no value any more, it has become "in" to be abusive, violent and disrespectful.

A recent addition to my home, Sultan a 6 month old rough collie, was left in the custody of my parents for a couple of weeks since I was on a visit to Germany. Being a young and energetic puppy, he needs his share of exercise and my father religiously took him out for a walk twice a day. One evening he walked past a group of young boys playing cricket, and they showed some interest in the dog, asking what he was called. My father spoke jovially, and announced his name as that of a king's - "SULTAN". As my father walked away, the cricket ball hit him on his back, an incident which my father preferred to believe was an accident. The next day, as he was walking by, the same group of children decided to further their game by throwing stones at my father and dog! On confrontation, there were lies, denial, and laughter, not a sign of remorse at having thrown stones at an elderly man, a fellow human being, and a young puppy.

Here's another story - a close friend of mine was visiting my family while I was holidaying in Pune. At the end of her stay, I was dropping her off to her parents house, take a route through a quiet residential layout (Model colony). My days of racing and speed are past me, and I prefer a steady pace while navigating through the city. I was at an intersection, and making my way around a circle, when a two wheeler overtook me at top speed. It was a young woman, all covered up in her bandit-like mask, with her mother sitting behind her, seated sideways with both her legs on the same side of the seat. She was abreast with the car on the right, when she realized that I was going around the circle and she wanted to turn off to the left. I stopped immediately, giving her space to cross over, but she lost her balance and tumbled onto the ground with her mother.

I stopped the car immediately, pulled the window down as I was unbuckling my seat belt to step out and help them. However, they both were up on their feet within a couple of seconds, and the young lady strode up to the car, screaming at me at the top of her voice, implying that it was my fault. Her mask remained on her face, and the only thing we could make out from her was the string of abuses she kept hurling at us.
Even though I didn't think I was at fault, I realized she must be in shock and wasn't interested in a confrontation. I remained calm, and even apologized when she insisted that I was in the wrong. As soon as she sensed that I wasn't being aggressive in the situation, she flung her arm into the car window and whacked my head, right across my forehead, eye and cheekbone. I blanked out for 10-15 seconds, I couldn't see a thing except darkness in every direction, and could only hear loud and oppressive voices all around my head. My friend was now defending me, but her concern for me prevented her from stepping out of the vehicle and continuing the fight.

When I could finally open my eyes, I was aware of the mother looking at me with concern and embarrassment, pulling her daughter away so they could flee the scene. My instant reaction was to leave the unpleasant situation as soon as possible, and I didn't gather my wits quick enough to hold her responsible for her behaviour. I should have taken her to the police for physical assault.

I drove about a hundred metres and was overcome with rage, anger at doing nothing and allowing this to happen to me. That moment, I am not sure I would have the sanity to control my actions, had she still been present in front of me. This is the kind of irresponsible behaviour that triggers violence and road rage.

My only take-away from these incidents is to stop being decent on the streets, or you'll only get punished for it. Don't make conversation, don't smile at people, even children, and worst of all, never stop to help somebody who has had a fall. My next purchase is a pepper spray, and the next time I am in an accident, even if it is my fault, I am going to drive away and never bother to help. I apologize now, to the few decent people out there, who may suffer my inconsideration in the future, I've learnt the hard way and maybe they need to do the same too.

Sometimes it feels like a better life to risk being hunted down by a pack of wild dogs, than try and put up with this farce of civilization and society.