The burning desire to get
away from the urban struggles and pressurized zones that we live in got me on
my journey to the little hill station of Conoor – probably can be best
described as the lesser- known cousin of the queen of Nilgiris – Ooty! It is
truly a sleepy piece of good earth nestled into the Nilgiris and sadly dwarfed
by the fame of Ooty (which is just a few kilometers away from Conoor).
And we found ourselves
checking into a magnificent bungalow at Conoor…the ideal place to unwind and
simply feel the lightness of nothingness…. the place itself claims itself to be
of British heritage and its extraordinarily high ceilings, aesthetic furniture,
rustic fireplace all probably do lend credibility to the heritage of the place.
And if the indoors doesn’t embrace you in its cozy comfort, then you should
step out into the beautiful expanse of greenery and flowers of the property to
breathe in the views and sights of Conoor!
Words fall short when you
try to recap and describe the enthralling experience of simply staring into the
valley with the feeling of soft grass crunching under your feet.. the colourful
medley of flowers swaying in the gentle freezy breeze of the hill station…tea
estates and pine trees beautifully paling into the background to create an
astounding landscape that stays with you for a lifetime!
I simply enjoyed simple acts
of sipping tea on the cute benches…eating sumptuous food away from the sweaty
summer of Blore city…shivering under the stars when the fog and the mist of the
hills sets into the valley.. a surreal vacation that doesn’t need maps and
landmarks and checkpoints to ensure completeness! But well we did take the
heritage train ride (much famed and marketed) from Conoor to Ooty – and when I
was not struggling and jostling for the little space to place my two feet on
the ground..when there was intermittent downing of chatter of the co-passengers..I
looked out of the little windows and saw the tiny stations and enjoyed the
lovely views of large trees, tiny flowers…almost like an adventure out of an
Enid Blyton book………and of course the vintage feeling of a steaming engine
chugging along always is a sight that warms your heart!
And as we walked out into
the crowded ‘concretified’ and ‘over-touristified’ city of Ooty, we were
desperate to get back to the silence and greenery of Conoor…and after failed
attempts to reach the famed Ooty lake, we simply boarded the next bus back to
Conoor! And there was such beauty in our journey back to Ooty…winding through
little Niligiri towns – untouched by the commercialism of Ooty..locals in cute
sweaters…absolutely refreshing ride and we almost felt ‘home’ reaching back to
Conoor!
We did try the few landmarks
of Conoor but frankly the winding routes we took thrilled us more than the real
‘spots’…Conoor is blessed with such vast expanses and beautiful views of
valleys, flowers, trees and tea estates..blessed to escape the concrete
crusades being launched in every tourist destination worth its salt….letting
the natural aura of flora and fauna to simply take over and impress its
flocking tourists!
The short and
cleansing stay inevitably came to an end but I promised myself a longer stay
very soon as I bid goodbye to the hills, the gentle breeze and our heritage
room…happy in the knowledge that good earth still exists and heaven sometimes
takes a ‘hilly’ meaning!
