Kolukkumalai part 3 : A fairyland of Neelakurinji

 
Have you ever fantasized about a fairy land ????

A piece of land that is delicately beautiful, that has a magical charm, with unmatchable elegance and that makes you feel adorable.

I used to do in childhood.

There's a saying,

Above all,
watch with sparkly eyes the whole world around you,
beacuse the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places,
Those who do not believe in magic will never find it.

And there I found my fairyland, fairy land of Neelakurinjis, at kolukkumalai.

To me, flowers bring happiness, that's the reason I named myself sindhumalar, (malar in Tamil means flower) and also that could be the reason that has brought me to kolukkumalai to witness the Neelakkurinji bloom, that happens once in 12 years.

Strobilanthes kunthiana, kurinji or Neelakurinji, is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of southern western ghats. Different species has different flowering intervals but they all bloom at once turning the slopes of hills into purplish blue color, from where the name " Nilagiri " has come, meaning blue hills.

That was not the first day I was seeing them, two days before I saw them at Erivakulum national park and a day before, at the sunset point of kolukkumalai . But I have discovered this fairy land that day.

Previous day, we visited this place at dusk and found the Neelakurinjis on the slopes, we did not explore the place much as the police officials were asking to come out and it was getting dark.

We came back to the same place in the morning with other friends who have not come. Previous day , I descended the slope a bit towards the left side. It was as beautiful as what I had seen at the dusk. I went little bit further down the slope, in front of us is a valley but its full of fog. It did not appear that the fog would clear in near time. I climbed up to go towards the right side of the hill.

There was a small path that's winding the hill towards the right side. It was hazy because of fog and I walked on it until I reached the right turn where it seemed like there was no way beyond, as the branches of some tree are obscuring the way.

I lifted those branches and as I entered, my eyes brightened, my heart filled with joy, my lips mumbled, "vow"  It was a state of Euphoria that I found myself in an enchanting secret garden of Neelakurinjis. There were so many shrubs around with soft and smooth coloured flowers, wild and untouched and the fog was drifting on them, making the flowers appear heavenly. It was quiet except the sound of the drifting fog and some insects.

It was magical and captivating, dissolved in it, I sat there watching fog drifting above the flowers and listening to those delicate sounds . I have become one with the them, flowers, mountains, fog, and those sounds, I felt like a fairy in a fairyland...... 

 

It was pure bliss, that could not be captured with photos, videos or any technology. You just experience it.  I did not want the place to loose its charm and that silent wilderness. So I have come back to our previous place and sat there waiting for the fog to clear to reveal the valley and the slopes.

fog .. fog... go away ...

After that we have visited the worlds highest tea factory. As we had to return the same day to Hyderabad, we hurried up to the campsite for our return journey. We took jeep till suyanelli, that jumpy-bumpy ride. At Suryanelli, I promised Jay that I ll get him Pazhampoori, ripe banana bajji of Kerala and so we explored the town a little and got them :D

From there we had to go to Munnar ---> Thiruppur---> Bengaluru----> Hyderabad
Our return to Hyderabad also had some adventure which I am not writing it here.

on the way to view point

one with it

World's highest kolukkumalai tea factory

I fell for mountains everytime the same way

posing as a Maratha king :P

our campsite, wish it were my home

Jeep ride

On the way down to suryanelli

Pazhampoori

  But that whole day whatever I did, wherever I went, I was still with that enchanting land.

Even after two years ,when I am writing about this, that feeling of euphoria was creeping in me.

I believe , Earth had "n" number of fairylands before the man has turned greedy. Humans are part of Nature, we are connected to Nature, We have so much concreted ourselves that we feel separated.

See it , Hear it, Smell it, Taste it, Touch it and  Feel one with it to experience the magic and beauty of who you are