This blog is not just about the beautiful homestay Kurunji Estates at Kodaikanal but also the power of positive energy in a team. I am a strong believer that if your energy balance is right everything works out well – against all odds. And if your energy system is blocked – then the best of planning doesn’t help.
We had planned our 3rd annual get away at Briar Tea Estate, Meghamalai – a beautiful home stay amidst tea gardens in Theni district. A place so remote and so beautiful its been on my ” Must visit ” list for a long time. Bookings were made months in advance – but a fortnight before when I was checking for directions found that the last 40 km road was totally broken down and would take 3 – 4 hrs. We ended up cancelling this and the kind people refunded us 100% ( against their standard policy) . We then tried a remote log house called Kuteeram at Chickamagalur – but the property owner never sent us a payment link or responded to messages and calls ( I am glad this did not work out as there was a political clash in that area during our travel days) and finally by sheer coincidence we got lucky the 3rd time and booked Kurunji Home Stay at Kodaikanal thru Saffron Stays.
Saffron Stays is a portal that lists excellent Home Stays all over India – the experience of booking and follow through was excellent and very professional (https://www.saffronstays.com).
It was not just the booking – Other things went wrong too . The Sat / Sun / Mon Holiday had to be changed to Fri / Sat / Sun in the last minute , flights got delayed and even a UBER pick up from Bangalore airport was delayed by 30 min – and we finally left Bangalore at 2 PM. Add to this Cyclone Okhi was wreaking havoc on the TN / Trivandrum coast and there were heavy rains and wind lashing in the Kodai hills. It was against this backdrop that we started off for a ~ 500 km journey , driving into the hills at night with an ETA of 11 PM.
But then when you have positive energy in the team – all of these vanish. We were greeted with blue skies and sunny days and a wonderful holiday.
The roads to Kodai are excellent – and even with pouring rain we managed 80 – 90 km/h on the wet stretches and 120+ km/h on the other stretches. Two short stops at 4PM and 8 PM was all we had – but the long journey melts when you have a good vechile (Innova) and more importantly good company. This stretch across Salem – Karur doesn’t have branded eateries on the way and the quality of restrooms are disappointing.
As we drove up the hills at 9.30 PM we saw many a large oak on the ground but fortunately nothing blocked us and as we reached Kodai to pay the entry toll the electricity came back in the town. Google maps was accurate and we walked into the warm and homely Kurinji estate at 11 PM for a wonderful and tasty meal. This home stay is a large 1930’s Thanjavur Bungalow with 8 rooms . It is maintained by Natarajan and his wife. The property is owned by Advani Orlikon and till recently was a company guest house. It has been opened to guests in 2017.
A 9 acre property it is rustic and peaceful. Clean , warm and homely. Hot water , heaters , neat towels , customised food as per your choice , a nice big TV , Carrom …. perfect place to come as a group or with a few families and friends. It is affordable as a double room costs Rs 5000/- + tax and the food is very reasonable.
At ~ 7000 feet Kodai is one of the highest hill stations in India. The drive from the foothills to the top is almost 75 Km and takes 90 min ( this when the roads were empty). Like most Indian Hill Stations there is nothing much to do in Kodai – barring the regular boating , horse riding and a few frequently visited spots. This was my 3rd trip to Kodai and thanks to Cyclone Okhi Kodai was empty and all to ourselves but we stayed away from the touristy spots. (All we did was a walk by the lake)
But we did visit two off beat places
The Kuzhanthai Velappar Temple (A temple of lord Muruga) has three thousand years of history and was consecrated by his holines Bhogar. Its in a small picturesque village clued Poombarai – 20 km from Kodaikanal.
Bhoganathar or Bhogar was a highly evolved Siddhar and is considered to be the guru of Babaji. (http://palani.org/bhogar-biography.htm). Its a small but highly energised temple – no crowd. Located in the Palani hills it is considered a sub temple of the main Palani temple. It was again a coincidence that I visited the temple on the Karthikai function
15 km from this temple is a the beautiful Mannavanur grass lands and a pristine lake – the location for many a film shoot. This place is beautiful – fresh air , almost empty and you can soak in pristine nature. The place also has a central govt sheep research centre. Lucky sheep.
Visiting these two places is a day trip – depart Kodai at 9.30 after a heavy breakfast and you are back at 3,30 for tea and snacks – we skipped lunch as the breakfast was heavy. After a tasty snack of Pakodas and Chai – which was perfect in this weather we headed out for a long walk to the Kodai lake and were back by 7 PM to enjoy the warmth of the lovely fireplace.
It was Dec and just after heavy rains – but Kodai was barely 10 Degrees. Not very cold. The effects of Global warming are evident. The same place 20 years back would have been close to Zero.
The next day we left at 10 AM making a few stops to buy some fresh carrots.
A lunch stop at Karur at Shiva Muruga and a short tea break at Adyar Anand Bhawan a few hrs before Bangalore and we were back home at 7.30 PM. A great break and thanks to the divine powers and the positive energy of the team, everything worked out perfectly.
We will keep the tradition going, so 2018 is back to the Himalayas and we have been talking about this place called Narkanda in Himachal – again a beautiful homestay with cherry farms at 9500 feet. And 100 km from there is Sarahan. One of our team mates visits this place every Dec – so he knows that area like the back of his hand. Its tempting and we don’t know if we can wait till Nov 2018 !
Finally a big thanks to Natarajan and family and Saffron Stays for making this trip a successful one.
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