Botanical gardens, raj bhavan and toda mund
The entire Nilgiris district is a botanical garden but the one which actually bears this name is in Ooty just 1 km. from the railway station. Entry fees are Rs. 5 per adult and Rs. 2 per child. Youm can take your camera inside for Rs. 50 and a video camera for Rs. 500. Tickets are reduced for the flower which goes on for a whole week now instead of just a single day earlier. For nature lovers, even a week is too short a period to see the Botanical Gardens fully. But at least two hours are needed just to walk through the gardens and a couple more for occasional stops to take in the surrounding beauty
The Botanical Gardens is actually first on the list of every tourist to Ooty. Started as a kitchen garden to supply the English with the kind of vegetables they had back home, Mr. W. G. Mogivor, trained in the famous Kew Gardens (the Royal Botanical Gardens near London), transformed the kitchen gardens in 1884 into the beautiful place it is today. Making use of the natural contours, the steep slopes were made into walks and terraces, lawns and gardens. The lawns of springy kikuyu (a Kenyan tribe) grass opposite the entrance entices you to walk barefoot on this greenest of grasses. The Centenary Pillar built in 1995 to commemorate the first Flower Show held in 1895 is at the edge of this lawn
Points of interest are the Japanese garden, the italian garden designed over the lily pond, the fern house, the alpine gardens with more than 200 species of cactii and succulents, the bog garden filled with swamp and marsh loving plants like the weeping willow, arum lilies and hydrangeas among others. The nursery- cum- sales office is in the glass house, unfortunately not very well stokced. The 20 million year ole fossilised tree brought from North Arcot is opposite the map of India which is made with live plants of different colours where groups of people can always be seen being photographed and taking photograoghs
The Flower Show, traditionally held on the third Sun day of May every year, attracts thousands of people. It is now a week long event. About 2,000 to 10,000 people visit the gardens daily during the summer season. The fountain terrace has symmetrical flower beds in the shape of a flower bouquet. There are tree ferns here. To get the proper view of this place, see it from the adjoining slopes. There is a sunken garden with two fountains, flower beds and two summer houses. The 22 hectare garden with more than 2000 species is maintained by the State Horticulture Department. Medicinal plants are grown here since 1878
Right on top of the Botanical Gardens is the Toda Mund (hamlet or small village) of 72 hectares. [There is a local legend that the one- stone- village Othai- kal- mund, was anglicised to Ootacamund- which was the offical name of Ooty before it was renamed in Tamil as Udhagamandalam.] This is a much visited place where you can see a dozon or so of the surviving Todas, one of the most researched and written about tribes because they are very nearly extinct (there were just 840 Todas in 1901) and because of their easy accessibility. Linguists, anthropologists and sociologists are interested in them. Their language has a little bit of Tamil, Malayalam and Kodagu but is still very distinct. The numbers were almost static as even in 1981 there were only 864 Todas, but their number has increased to 1600 in 305 families. The Toda population was lowest in 1949 when there were only 484 Todas. About 200 of them are now converts to Christianity
One of the very few tribes who are pure vegetarian, the todas, possible of Greek origin, have distinct physical features and a proud upright bearing. Nowadays just a handful wear their original dress of putkul, which is a beautifully embroidered shawl, as the newer generations prefer pants and shirts, sarees and blouses. Their houses are unusual igloo like structures, built in the most beautiful surroundings, on the highest of hills with grassy meadows, near a steam or a spring. Made of bamboo, rattan and grass thatching for the roof with clay and buffalo dung mixed and used as plaster, Toda houses have a tiny entrance through which they crawl inside. The rebuilt houses are mostly brick and cement, the only original structure remaining being the dairy which is also their place of worship
Even their lifestyle has changed. They now work in farms, offices and factories. Special boarding schools meant only for Todas were set up in Wenlock Downs in 1962. Earlier they were pastoral people whose life revolved around their buffaloes that are sacred to them. All they did was graze the buffaloes, milk them and make butter and ghee. The women are not allowed to mile the buffaloes, churn the butter or enter the churning shed which is their temple. Generally built of stone with carvings of buffaloes, the moon etc., the temple does not have any images or pictures. Outsiders are allowed near but not inside, while the Toda women and girls have to make a wide detour to avoid going anywhere near the temple. Todas now visit the Mariamman temple for ear piercing, festivals etc. Their houses now have a puja room with Hindu deities
A number of perfectly rounded stones, from medium to very large sized, can be found in all the Toda munds, brought from the river banks to practice Weight lifting. Now accustomed to gaping tourists, they have learnt to expect payment for being photographed. But only in the Toda Mund inside the Botanical Gardens, not in the many other munds in the Nilgiris. Out of 73 Toda munds which still have Todas living in them, 57 are in the Wenlock Downs area, with an average of 17 Todas per settlement. The total number of munds is supposed to be 122
The Toda Cooperative Society in Charging Cross (on the road to Kotagiri) is imaginatively built in the igloo shaped form of the traditional Toda hut, but the inside is pathetically empty except for a few shawls and table cloths
Just outside the Botanical Gardens, tourist shops sell souvenirs and local fruits, with a Tibetan refugee market selling woollens. As in all tourist places expect t
be grossly overcharged for anything you buy. It is preferable to busy things in the main bazaar if possible, especially from government outlets where you mare sure of the price. AS a general rule, Ooty is more expensive than other places in the Nilgiris. Except for fresh vegetables. Car parking is also right here
The road to the 100 year ole Raj Bhavan, the Tamil Nadu Governor’s residence, goes through the Botanical Gardens. It is also used as a guest house for VVIPs. Built between 1877 and 1879, it was earlier known as Government House when the provincial government used to move to Ooty every summer. Though normall permission is not given to go inside, take a chance and look at the beautiful building and its gardens