The Rock ... that led to... Destiny. Chapter One

I seem to be not planning vacations…I am manifesting them.

Inevitably I land up discovering places which are away from a crowd, where there's hardly any network or no network at all, it is peaceful, serene, calm and still. Exactly what, at least I am looking for in a vacation. 

My wife tells me... 'Why didn't you choose a place like this for our honeymoon?' and my reply is simple, ‘We married in times of land lines and not Google.’

Thanks to Google places like these are easily discoverable.

Yes! But you need to know which ones to trust and which to discard. Websites and pictures can be manipulative and misleading. Fortunately I have been travelling for a while to such destinations and have a certain intuitive resonance with such beauty abound places. 

This was a planned vacation or rather destined. Planned in the sense, planned three months in advance! Flight tickets were booked, research done, destination chosen, stay booked, intra travel reserved.

At the age of thirty nine I and my wife were first time fliers and our two sons at twelve and seven. So our excitement and enthusiasm was palpably high.

We were travelling Mumbai to Coimbatore by Spice Jet and had heard of various stories from conditioned fliers, about check in and luggage woes and how bumpy sometimes flights are in bad weather. Ours was a smooth, comfortable, enjoyable and thrilling journey. Though the flight was ten minutes late, it hardly mattered to us, as we were busy enjoying the sights through the two window seats. We took off and within no time left the Mumbai city sky scrapers and the Worli Sea link looking like toy story and into the clouds through them and finally above them. We had seats from where the wings of our Boeing were visible and we had our gaze fixed on them and the clouds. My younger son was so glad to see and name all types of clouds he had learnt and even more so excited to share the information with us. The routine safety instructions which may have appeared boring to regular fliers also managed to amuse us. The landing was as safe and comfortable as the take- off and in less than two hours into a new state Tamil Nadu a new city Coimbatore. We even managed to remember and thank the innovative Wright Brothers and cursed ourselves of not having used this mode of transport for so long with a promise of course to use it more often now.  

Since the travel was planned our driver Prabhakaran was waiting at the airport for us. We picked up our luggage from the belt and were eager to take up on our next journey by road.

Coimbatore is the ideal airport to reach Coonoor or Ooty. Our destination was De-Rock Jungle Living, around 12 Km interior of the calmer Coonoor. It is a property bang opposite to Lambs Rock a famous tourist spot for people visiting Ooty and Coonoor.

We were hungry and so we requested Prabhakaran to stop by a hotel which would serve us some authentic South Indian fare. He understood exactly what we were asking for and took us to this restaurant named Lalitha’s which served some lovely Medu wadas, Rawa dosa, Masala dosa, and some amazing filter coffee. Idlis weren’t served. We were told they were only served in the mornings. I never had had a better filter coffee than the one we savoured there.

De-Rock Jungle Living was around a two and half hour drive with that twenty-five minutes break at the hotel. The road from Coimbatore to Mettupalayam is a wonderful and pleasurable drive since you find no traffic at all. On both sides of the road all through the journey, greenery abound. Hardly any signs of tall city like dwellings or pollution.

Just out from our first ever flight we were all very excited and even more eager to discover the new land. The ghat begins from Mettupalayam uptil Coonoor and of course continues further up-to Ooty but our destination for then, was Coonoor. The ghat roads can be disturbing for people who have car sickness or similar woes. Though two of us have the same none of us actually had any distress thanks to a good driver, excitement of discovering a new terrain and considerably less amount of travel time.

Coonoor comes across as a quaint and sleepy town with reminiscences of old time colonial charm. At least that is how it appeared to us at six in the evening when we reached there. Through the winding roads, through the tea plantations we reached De-Rock at 6.30 p.m. I would suggest you reach this place a little early, definitely before sunset, so you don’t feel intimidated by the stillness of the place.

Once there we were personally greeted by Charles who showed us our room. I had booked this place well in advance so we had got the best one. I would strongly recommend you this room. Plains View Room.

 

De-Rock is a modest place with six rooms in all. With Charles the owner and his all in one kind of staff ever eager to please; this place makes a perfect blend of enduring hotel stay and modern day emerging home- stays. I would personally put it in the category of a home-stay.The rooms are tastefully done with all bare minimums there at your disposal.

It was cold and cloudy but we weren’t expecting rain at all. It didn’t till we finished our dinner and went into our rooms to watch television.

After coffee we had a hot water bath and were ready to see around. The place is subtly and I would say aptly lit to complement the surrounding and aid visibility. The dining area is beautifully done where the Chef Christopher and his helping hands serve you some wonderful spread. It is not unnecessarily extravagant but is adequately tasty.

Christopher has got his hold on Indian spices just apt, perks of staying in India for that long. He wasn’t around the next day since he had to leave. But the other guys Anita, Pandian and others kept serving some delicious spread.

Be it the thick, vegetable laden sambhar or the perfectly soupy rasam or the extra ordinary concoctions of the desert. Like the first night dessert; Christopher shared his recipe of using orange peels; amazingly innovative and deliciously tasteful.

After a wonderful chat with Christopher, listening to his tale of being in India and the dessert secret and some short walks around the lawn, we hopped back into our room.

As we just started the television, within a few minutes the lights went off. We thought it would be for a while and the power would resume in some time, just then there was a knock at the door and there was this man with an emergency light in his hand. As I thanked him and walked into my room after locking it something told me that the power cut was going to be for long. It was.

The kids were tired and by the time we discovered that there wasn’t any power backup, they were off to sound sleep. We too were tired to be romantic and decided to sleep off when suddenly it started raining.

It rained and it rained and then it rained. As if it wasn’t going to stop. The corrugated metal roof top amplified the sound of the rain drops and the elevation of this place (approximately 5000 feet) made sure that the clouds passing through us made enough sound and the lightning lit up the curtained room to scare us a bit. My wife felt it was some kind of a cloudburst or something. Comforting each other and hoping the torrential downpour would stop eventually we went off to sleep.

I woke up with flash of light into my eyes. The orange green curtains were brightly shining and throwing light in. I went up to the huge window pane and moved the curtains to see this amazing sight. All my childhood; I dreamt of this place where I would be amidst tea gardens and run through them more so if possible drive through them in an open Willy’s jeep. Here was the tea garden just bang opposite and the clouds that created torment through the night were hanging around silently calm and mysteriously still in the valley just meters ahead of the tea gardens.

As I opened the door of our room there were tea gardens uphill and I realized we were surrounded by the tea plantations all around. So I say I don’t plan anymore I simply manifest holidays like these. There wasn’t any trace of water that seem to have poured down the slopes and I was sure if I told the kids it had rained terribly that night they wouldn’t believe me and I had no proof to back that up.

It was time for a quick mediation before the kids could wake up and so I sat at the window and breathed some fresh oxygen rich air. I couldn’t believe this place which looked so daunting by the night was actually an island of beauty, with birds chirping on wooden fencing, mist playing hide and seek with thick woods on one side and the tea gardens and valley on the other.

My wife and kids too looked in disbelief when I woke them up to see through the window pane. The seven a.m. sun light was bright but nowhere near warm and the cold was enjoyably bearable.

It was time for morning coffee and a hot water bath. After which we went off for the breakfast… idli sambhar (Which was served all three mornings, we really didn’t mind for the sake of the softness of the idlis and the thickness of the sambhar.) there was upma, bread butter jam, toast, tea coffee, eggs by choice. Charles would always be around eager to know how he and his staff could serve everyone better. The best part of such places these days is you are surrounded by families almost like yours which makes you feel comfortable and at ease.

The breakfast was complimentary, part of the room tariff. Not exuberantly elaborate but adequately scrumptious.

Though the previous night we had decided not to visit Ooty but in the morning our lost enthusiasm was back and we gave it a shot. Prabhakaran our driver was busy that day and so Charles arranged another driver Anthony who drove us down to Coonoor station within twenty minutes where it appeared the train was just waiting for us. Charles had arranged the tickets for us and we thank him so much for that.

I would suggest, travellers never do that, keep your on route plans flexi and relaxed.

Like Charles put it. ‘There’s nothing that can’t be arranged for, just about everything.’

It wasn’t that we were travelling by a toy train for the first time but these toy train rides always bring a smile on kid’s faces. I feel I am one of them since it has the same effect on me too.

 I must confess that this ride though the shortest (Coonoor to Ooty approx. 1 hour thirty minutes) was the best amongst the ones we have had before. Specially one of the Stations named Lovedale fascinated me no end, I felt some kind of mystic DéjÀ vu kind of feeling. 

Had good company in our enclosed gang; an elderly lady and his son both shocked to discover that we were not staying in Ooty and instead Coonoor; a railway police personnel with lots of gifts which probably he was carrying as Diwali gifts for his family and the foursome…WE.

We aren’t the site seeing types and so we had kept this trip to Ooty only limited to the Boat House (lake) and the Botanical Garden.

It was like I wanted to visit the lake and the Botanical gardens for the simple reason that I had seen it so many times in movies I wanted to be there once. I had grown up on Jeetendra (South) movies where he did his famous drill step dancing with his beautiful leading ladies near the boat House, the lake and the botanical garden ; I just wanted to see it once. The Crazy Indian Movie Buff! That I am!!!

We spent that day like a typical holiday lover “sightseeing” boating by the lake side and walking through the botanical garden clicking pictures, picking up some home-made chocolates and eating some freshly cut pineapple and raw carrots.

Our driver had picked us up from Ooty station and was with us all along. On our way back I asked him for some local bakery where we could fetch resident stuff, like Prabhakaran he got it right too. He took us to this place called Iyengar’s Bakery and we freaked out on it. Chicken and veg rolls…piping hot, chicken and veg puff…straight from the oven, sandwich …I never made sense of what was it stuffed with but taste and a hot cup of coffee.

Incredibly inexpensive! Amazingly yummy!! Highly recommended!!!

As planned we were back before sun down back into the small paradise called De- Rock. Just meters before we took a halt at this most famous spot, they call it the Shooting Spot (Film Shoot) amidst tea gardens.

At the Shingara tea outlet our driver stopped by and we hurriedly bought some Chocolate tea, mid-elevation green tea (yes while buying green tea you need to be aware of the elevation), Orange Pekoe Leaf tea and some oils. We realised we were over charged for certain things as later in other shops we found same things of same brands at lower prices. Word of advice, browse through sizeable number of shops and be sure what you want to buy and yes very importantly don’t make a hurried decision.

We spent the rest of the evening unwinding in De- Rock and walking through the tea gardens attached to the property straight up to the view point Lamb’s Rock and back into our rooms.

Soup garnished with herbs from the garden was served every evening before dinner and they would inform us about the dinner being ready by 8.30 p.m. I am sure they would be expecting a heavy shower in the nights as Charles told us for them the monsoon had just begun; so they probably wanted the guest to finish off with the dinner while the good weather and power lasted.

Dinners are charged buffet at De- Rock. Dal, rice, rasam, chicken, curd, rotis, two vegetables, pulav, mineral water bottles, dessert and the best part of the meal are the garden fresh Salads. Taste and spices just right. Christopher seems to have trained the staff well who in his absence cook up a decent fare. At times I even happened to see Charles making up some concoction of salads for the Guests himself.

The kids hoped they would get to watch television for a longer time that night and the electricity would last a bit longer. It didn’t. Lights went off, and like the previous night it started raining heavily. Even heavier than the previous night! Thankfully the kids were happily asleep and weren’t awake to witness the sound of the downpour. It rained literally cats and dogs. Thundering and lightning competing with each other to out-do one another. For a change we had company. Next door were a couple like us with their son, we weren’t aware about it though till the next morning when they shared their similar fears with Charles over breakfast.

This place doesn’t need a fan or an Air condition. In fact we were told no home in the Nilgiris has a fan since it is cold throughout the year. But definitely this place needs an intercom connection in the rooms or some kind of connection between the room guests and the keepers or Charles.

Since there is no network (Only BSNL) we were cut off completely. In a way bliss at times and at times a discomfort. This place definitely needs a POWER BACK UP for sure. De-Rock I was told is only three years into business and they are constantly trying to upgrade themselves. I am sure Charles and his team shall work out something till we visit next time around.

Finally sleep took over and we woke up to another bright sunny morning. I woke up before everyone in my gang and again to my surprise the sun was high up in the sky shining brightly not so warm though and the clouds hanging in the valley mocking at me as if they weren’t at it again. 
I smiled back did my meditation and woke up the rest of the gang. That day was to be “Me” day which is like something amongst us when we all are free to do our own things. We had carried our books to read.

I was reading Davidji’s ‘Secrets of Meditation’ My wife was reading the ‘Aroma Therapy’ and my elder son was reading Ruskin Bond…
what an ideal location to read these topics.

My younger son did what he is best at …ran around the place, rolling on the lush green dew kissed grass, collecting dropped flowers, observing keenly the pigeons… the turkeys… the rabbits …the hens.

They found company and finally both kids played cricket for some time around. Till we found some time to do an Oracle Card Reading for each other and even convinced Charles to do one.

Charles in fact volunteered for a Seven Chakra Crystal Therapy and I am sure he had a good time. Such places are a power place for a Meditation, Crystal Healing or simply a Card Reading session and we made best of it while we were there. The time flew by and next day we had to leave.

By three in the afternoon it was misty and the clouds came kissed us and flew by, filled the valley to make it invisible and then cleared into nowhere. Then again mist would appear, this time we embraced it and suddenly it passed by hovering over the green tea leaves and back into the valley making it invisible again. The place is beautifully divine with lots to offer in terms of its calm and naturally available beauty. The salad garden is a little astounding wonder, and to know that all salads that we were served are straight from the garden is even more. I managed to have some freshly plucked broccoli from Charles’s hands as he picked it up for the afternoon salad.

That evening some guests had left and new ones had joined in. I suppose all rooms were occupied and as evening turned dark we just hoped it wouldn’t rain that night. Charles told us that if it would rain in the evening than it wouldn’t rain so heavily in the night. We said “Amen” and bingo it rained a bit in the late evening. The kids were awake and we prepared them for a power cut too. Told them to see through the window the rain pour and lightning so that if it continued through the night they were accustomed to it. Thankfully it didn’t rain in the night and during dinner we had someone who we were told was managing the power supply into the late night. I think the guy did a great job as we had power through the night and into the next day when we were off to our next Destination.

That evening just before the clouds set in and the just after darkness spread it’s blanket the valley was clear and the plains were visible. The lights of the homes in the plains and the extra glitterati of Diwali made a sight. We sat by the window pane on a cane sofa, all four of us snuggled into each other’s arms and our individual woollens and gazed as if watching a movie on a big screen. The crackers gave out varied coloured lights and made different forms and patterns but without sound. It was like watching a silent movie. The silence and stillness of such places make you value and make you realize the calmness and stillness we have within we so much deserve and yearn for. 

Far from the noise and chaos of a jungle we snuggled into another

The difference was us to witness and experience

For company we had the lightning and the thunder

The calm and the peace was deafening

The silence so silent we could actually hear it

I wish we could carry this jungle into our own

How heaven knows it would fit in

We had the camera and we clicked a million pictures for the world to see

But the one we clicked savoured and imprinted on our hearts

We shall hold it close for ever.

Nature is so pure and purity so divine

We basked into it and are back into our regime

Every time I am rushed now I close my eyes and visit the place in soul

My heart calms down and my spirit soars

My heart body mind and soul are here for now

But I am sure a part of each is wandering somewhere lost in the mist there around.

Travel facts:

Mumbai to Coimbatore by flight - 
Travel Time Approx. 1 hour 40 minutes
Coimbatore Airport to De-Rock jungle Living by Road via Mettupalayam-
Travel Time Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes (approx 80 Km)
Coonoor to Ooty by Road-
Travel Time approx. 45 minutes (approx. 19 Km)

*Trust Google Maps and GPRS sytems on your devices.

© nozzer pardiwala