Why this Kotagiri di?

Okay, the title may sound funny and mislead you, but nothing seems apt after visiting the Nilgiris again after 4 years (The Nilgiris Revisited sounds a tad too commonplace).  My college life has been full of industrial visits (IVs) to different places. All of them have been like picnics for socializing rather than going to visit industries. But it doesn't matter for a student who has to complete 26 credits(8 subjects). Some classes in the morning and others in the afternoon, apart from seminars, assignments, quizzes and reviews-Aargh!! Give me a break from this hectic routine! When my (I'll use 'our' from now)class representative, Samuel announced about the confirmation of the trip to Kotagiri, many students were thrilled. Barring the IV to Pasteur Institute, Coonoor in 2008 (we were freshers then), all others were one-day trips from Vellore. Moreover, the IVs to Pondicherry(2010) and Yercaud (2011) lacked the charm of the first IV to Coonoor. It's probably because we were younger and got to know each other pretty well during those 3-4 days of fun and frolic in October 2008. Ahh, nostalgic memories keep haunting us, but we sadly decided to move on and be less adventurous, settling for one day trips instead. There were other formalities like getting permission letters from professors (ask any VITian, it's a Herculean task!)

Anyway, it came as a pleasant surprise when Samuel announced about our trip to Kotagiri. It was at the right time-we MSItes were bogged down by the academic workload as I had mentioned earlier. Kotagiri, nestled in the Nilgiris at an elevation of 1793m, could offer respite from the sweltering heat of Vellore as well.
The 3-day IV is described as follows:

September 20, 2012: Two buses were booked for the IV, as train tickets weren't available. We were told to assemble at VIT's All Mart gate at 7 pm. Getting a seat was initially a problem, but it was sorted out. We departed at around 8:30 pm. We crossed the outskirts of Vellore, and the music player was turned on. The experience of frenetic dancing to several Bollywood numbers cannot be described in words. We stopped at a roadside shack somewhere near Krishnagiri for a late dinner at around 11 pm. We fell asleep shortly after midnight, with those melodious tunes reverberating in our ears.

September 21, 2012:  We woke up near Mettupalayam at around 6 am. We were at the foothills of the Nilgiris. After a break for refreshments, we began our ascent up the winding roads of the Nilgiris. After 3 hours, we reached Kotagiri and checked into to Bel Air Cottages. The cottages were well-furnished and comfortable. After the long, tiring bus journey from Vellore, we decided to rest for a few hours there. In the afternoon, we decided to visit a tea estate. It was nice to see how tea leaves were picked and processed. The transition from green to brown was interesting to note and other processes like sorting and packaging were clearly explained. Though the main purpose of the IV had been fulfilled, there was more to look forward to.  We had a very light lunch at Kodanadu View Point. We could see the entire stretch of hills around Kotagiri from there. Not very impressed, we clicked pics and decided to return to Bel Air. As it was dark by then, we kept ourselves occupied by playing Frisbee and Dumb Charades in the garden. At dinnertime, we enjoyed playing 'Passing the Parcel' around the campfire. Prior to hitting the sack, we had a session of 'Truth or Dare' . It was fun getting to know one's deepest desires with no offence, or the expression on one's face after having performed an arduous yet hilarious task.

September 22, 2012:  After a good night's slumber, we had breakfast at Bel Air and decided to visit Doddabetta, the highest peak in the Nilgiri range at 2637 m. We had to change from buses to jeeps in the vicinity of the peak (to handle the narrow, winding roads with steep gradients well). The coniferous trees and the mist made the location seem picturesque. Lots of pictures were clicked, while we munched on carrots and purchased souvenirs. We had lunch at a restaurant in Ooty. After a while, we went to Pykara Lake . The place was water-starved despite the clouds and rainfall, but verdant and picturesque. Those clad in green seemed to blend in with the surroundings. After the visit to the tea estate, we could see shades of green and brown in action again! It seemed like an exotic locale in Europe ! Lots of pictures were clicked, amidst logs, bogs and meadows. I feel Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, or Twilight could have been filmed at Pykara, rather than Europe or North America. No castle or mansion could be seen though! We went back to Ooty after sunset and had dinner at a Dominos Pizza outlet. We purchased home-made chocolates (Ooty is famous for them) and reached Kotagiri at around 9 pm. Dinner was served for those who didn't have anything in Ooty. As we were tired, we went to bed a little earlier than the previous night.

September 23, 2012: Most of us woke up after 8 am. After breakfast, we packed our bags and decided to bid adieu to Kotagiri. We left in the afternoon at around 1 pm, when it started raining cats and dogs . A picture of our group was clicked, amidst the downpour. We reached Mettupalayam at around 4 pm and had a light lunch. The eateries didn't appeal to us much-most of them were tea-stalls or roadside cafes (dhabas). After a while, we proceeded towards Vellore, halting at Bhavani Sagar Dam on the way. There was a park in the vicinity, where we played games like kabbadi and lock-and-key. We left Bhavani Sagar at around 6:30 pm. We decided to have dinner at an Adyar Ananda Bhavan outlet near Dharmapuri. We departed at around 11pm and finally reached VIT Vellore at 2:45 am ( September 24, 2012). We were exhausted after the 13 hour journey, so we feel asleep after reaching our respective hostel blocks. We probably missed some classes in the morning, but some were cancelled too! :)

We were back to the routine of Continuous Assessment Tests, quizzes, assignments, reviews and seminars, but rejuvenated after the trip to the Nilgiris! I have visited Himalayan hill resorts like Dhanolti (Uttarakhand), Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), Gangtok (Sikkim) and Darjeeling (West Bengal) with my family. But visiting a quaint town like Kotagiri with my friends in VIT is an experience in itself! It's an unforgettable trip, etched in the sands of time. After all a thing (or a place) of beauty is a joy for ever. :)

Culture shock: Ahmedabad and Bangalore blues :)

There's a famous saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." One always takes things for granted back home-such as good food at home or in restaurants, multiplexes where one can watch a variety of movies, other hang-out spots and above all, the security, comforts and conveniences of home(as opposed to a hostel) and Mother's love (Yes Papa, you too!). Only when one moves away does one realize how much one misses them-small things, but magnified in importance with time. Truly, home is where the heart is.
The city you are born or brought up in will assume prime importance,as it tends to grow on you. Moving to another place is bound to result in culture shock, as people do not act the same everywhere. Habits such as food, clothing, tastes in music and literature, vary from place to place as a manifestation of cultural differences.Culture shock may occur because of differences between expectations and reality as well; for an alien, a new place is not the same as what it looks like on TV or in books. Experience is the best teacher one can get. I did experience culture shock when I moved from Ahmedabad to Vellore in 2008, for pursuing a five year integrated Master's degree after school. Though I am a Tamilian, I have a special affinity for Gujarat rather than Tamil Nadu. I prefer vada pav, farsan and aamras to idli sambar and lemon rice! You can say I am a 'Gujaratified' Tamilian. But I didn't feel like that earlier. It's surprising to note that my favorite city was Madras(sorry, I have a fondness for old names of cities) before I went to study in VIT Vellore. I took everything in Ahmedabad for granted. I never liked it when I was living there, thinking Madras was great while Ahmedabad was hot, dusty and polluted, a medieval city of crumbling monuments, congested streets,pols and nothing more. One year in Vellore changed that opinion: Ahmedabad became my favorite city all of a sudden, and I started liking Bangalore more than Madras too. I probably thought Madras was a bigger version of Vellore.


Ahmedabad is a major city of India. It's a gourmet's paradise, a hub for gastronomy.People are fond of eating and are willing to experiment with different cuisines. They celebrate with food-it's more than just for nutrition or filling the belly. Seasons change and so do food items available to eat. Dalwada is for the rains, Aamras for summer, fafda-jalebi for Dusshera, and oondiya or sev-tamatar for winter. On the other hand, Vellore is a small town, merely known for its private university-VIT, missionary hospital-CMC, and for being the hottest place in Tamil Nadu :) I know it's stupid comparing the two, which are as different as apples and oranges, but let's see what Vellore needs to learn from bigger cities like Ahmedabad and Bangalore. I have been to many states in India, but Gujarat offers the most mind-boggling variety of food, at least in terms of vegetarian items. It's easy to get the food of Tamil Nadu(like dosas and idlies) in Gujarat, but the converse is not true. Try getting vada pav, dabeli, gota, buffvada, other farsan items and aamras in Tamil Nadu. You may not get them anywhere in Tamil Nadu, and even if you do, they'll be ridiculously overpriced! A dabeli costs Rs 10 in Ahmedabad, while it's available for Rs 75 (gasp!) at a high-end mall in Madras. Ahmedabad offers a better variety of ice-creams too. There's more than just vanilla, strawberry, mango, chocolate or pineapple available at any ice-cream joint in Ahmedabad. Arun is a poor equivalent of Vadilal,Havmor or Amul.  A glass of soda is available at any branch of Gandhi Soda Shop for just Rs 5. Served under hygienic conditions, many flavors are available, apart from ice-cream soda for just Rs 15. 
RK or Jay Bhavani vada pav, Karnavati dabeli, Dakor gota, farali buff vada, Honest bhaji pav,Continental/Indian/Chinese food at Choice, Havmor ice-creams, juice and snacks at Shambhu's Coffee Bar, Gandhi soda, Astodia/Raipur/Sabarmati jail bhajia and the exquisite Gujarati thalis served at Vishala, Rajwadu and Gordhan Thal-these are a few of my favorite items I can't resist having when in Ahmedabad and which I miss in Vellore. Not the best of Vellore food served at Darling and Baby (these are funny names of so-called top-notch restaurants in Vellore) can appease my taste buds. I have also noticed that food in Vellore is a tad too spicy for comfort (cooks in Vellore have a habit of adding red chillies to everything.) That's probably because people in Ahmedabad love food which tends to be on the sweeter side; Gujarati food is known for its sweetness.  
If one needs to watch a movie in Ahmedabad, one is spoilt for choice in terms of multiplexes-PVR, Cinepolis, Cinemax, Big Cinemas, Wide Angle, City Pulse, City Gold and more. Vellore, on the other hand, struggles with single screen cinema halls like Raghavendra. It's rare to see English films being shown in Vellore without being dubbed in Tamil. One may have to go all the way to Madras to watch the latest one. Moreover, Vellore does not have a single outlet of McDonalds, Dominos, US Pizza or Pizza Hut, which we take for granted elsewhere. I hope it gets at least one of them soon.


 Another city I like a lot is Bangalore, the city I was born in. People generally don't like the dosas of darshinis served with sweet sambar, but I think otherwise. Masala dosas served at Shanti Sagar, MTR (Lalbagh Road), Adigas or Chalukya (Race Course Road) seem to taste better than the same served at Saravana Bhavan or Sangeeta. I probably prefer the Karnataka (Udupi) style to the Tamil Nadu style dosas because I want them golden-brown, thick, crispy and served with sweet sambar. The Tamil Nadu style sambar's a bit too insipid for my liking.


I don't hate Vellore, but I just can't like it as much as Ahmedabad or Bangalore. People may consider this blog post to be 'Vellore bashing' but whatever has been mentioned is straight from the heart. I hope I like a city more than Ahmedabad or Bangalore in the future. By the way, it's time for me to go to Vastrapur lake and have my evening quota of vada pav and Gandhi soda! Aavjo (Goodbye)! :)