This one comes with a Dedication - to Abha, the Saint & MagS, whom I had to ditch, in my eagerness to explore the embryo of this review. Now especially after Secretary Saint did a review on Minutes of that meeting on MS, this is my case of Defence!
So, ladies and gents of the jury, I plead ’ Not Guilty’, and here’s why.
Sub Judice: I was issued a Show Cause notice by a certain Mrs Nambiar, as to why I had lately been not fulfilling my assigned roles as well as in the assessment peiod before I developed the MSgunya syndrome, recently aggravated by one Hickurman spilling the beans on MS about his escapade to a jungle (and he came back too!) near Bangalore. While forming my defence (for which I was allotted the legal 14 days), I greatly enriched the coffers of my ISP, to come up with a list of jungles where I could disappear too, with the Home Minister and the little monkey!
Proximity, cost (off-season) and presumed chances to spot animals wilder than me were the signboards to my choice - Periyar Tiger Reserve aka Thekkady.
A good way to decisions is to follow ’Nike’. Do the bookings fast. Then think of 5 reasons for not going to that destination and come up with counters for each. Stack the receipt away, print the itinerary, paste on that warmest smile and Voila! You are ready to present your case, win both the case and her over and head out to your well deserved holiday! And, you can well use that Chargesheet to wipe the b, err... Brow!
Roti, Rokda aur Makan: 194 km from the centre of Cochin city, in Idukki district, lies the sleepy village of Kumily. Lean over a bit, and you would be on TN soil. Roads are 2 - one via Kottayam (smoother, quicker) and via Kothamangalam (bumpier, but greener all along). Chuck the idea to hire a car. The bus journey is long, but an Experience. But Do Not Attempt it if you think ’LIC’ at even small hairpins taken at 30 kmph! Get the gen, ya?
Kumily has many Mallu-Yank hotel/motel/inn/resort/treetops, all of which offer you nothing you aint seen before. The crux is - You came to the Wild and all these joints are outside. Only 3 resorts are within the Sanctuary, not just at Thekkady, but in the whole of India, and they are run by KTDC. Thankfully, there are 3 sizes - Meow (3K for 2N/3D), Wooff (6K) and Grrowll (10K) - all include BF & Dinner (A La Carte & Unlimited!). Taste of food is OK, the decor and facilities are good and the aftertaste, well, Good! Choose your Cry based on how much it shakes your treasury!
What’s Wild?: I would sound like a KTDC Brochure if I were to let go of my true feelings. It’s real and It’s Good! Amen! I’ve been to 4 such Parks, and this sure tops the list.
For serenity, for lush greenery, for the downpour-driven fall of ’dot-com like’ bubbles of water purer than Aquafina (thanx, Arjun!) from the branches tickling the leaves, for the warmth of the room, the chill of the night wind, for the giggles of my little monkey at seeing a real one aping her outside the window, for the mindlessly and smoothly flowing Periyar reinforcing human conviction that "Will Indeed Wins", for the non-harried look on people’s faces. for the sincerity and enthusiasm of the words of the poacher-turned-forest warders, for the exciting boat rides, for the lovely time with my lovelier wife, even for the ubiquitous Gujju group on our boat who started off discussing Hot Deals ere they were anesthetised by the scent of the wild, sprayed by the rain-drenched breeze...and more!
One morning ride on ’Upper Deck’ of the ’hep’ KTDC boat led to bonuses like Wild Boar, deer, a huge Sambhar (forget the curry, folks), many nests on many headless trunks in the riverlanes, a cormorant drying its wings sitting midstream, many birds of many hues doing their daily ’Jonathan Seagull’ing, the white frothy wake of the boat and spectacular photographs filling the 128 MB card. Thirsting for more, we hopped aboard the cheaper, smaller and more silent Forest Dept boat, for the next ride, and ended up with repeat performances of most spcimens, with a few add-ons like the distant elephant on the hillside. We also picked up a VCD on the Periyar Wildlife, even at the huge tag of 250 bucks, as the proceeds went to Conservation.
Misses: Thanx to the rain, we missed more of the wild ones. Thanx to ignorance, we missed the night stay at the jungle bamboo huts (visit priyartigerreserve.org for full details). Thanx to the little one, we missed the bamboo rafting, forest trail and night patrol walks.
Adios: That’s what you get, and, what you Don’t, when you decide to bunk a home party of MSians at Bangalore, head off with family in lieu to PTR aka Thekkady, and get forced into writing a review after Minutes-of-Meeting-you-missed are tabled on MS!
Go Wild, Go Do Whatever, But Just Go Periyar, Just Go!!
Members of the jury, that’s my case...and I still plead " Non Guilty"... So???