Travel Jottings

I went driving to Thekkaddy on vacation last week. It was not a direct drive to Thekkady but went through Karaikudi to visit few temples , then cut across Madurai , to Theni and then to Kumily. What was interesting and amazing was how good the roads are. They are getting better all the time. Just not the highways but also the state roads that pass through small towns and villages. It was a pleasure to drive through without the normal bumps and potholes and getting frustrated having to slow down. The best part of the drive was the drive from Madurai to Theni. One cannot find a better route to enjoy nature – just greenish on either side of the road and with misty mountains guarding the fields on either side. This sector was the slowest in my drive – just enjoyed Mother Nature.

Some snippets listed below from the trip that are totally unrelated but worth penning down for a read.

Saradha Asharam – This lovely sprawling Campus of the ashram is situated on NH 45 close to Ullundurpet just past the toll before the right turn to Salem – I visited this Ashram based on the invitation of the Sisters who run this ashram. Ford had donated Computers under the Digital Literacy program and so wanted to see the place and check on how the computers were deployed. I thought of a dash in and dash out in to the place and thought may be 15 minutes. I ended up spending close to Two hours .The visit was so impressive and satisfying to me . The computers are being to put to best use and are deployed in the Arts College ( Commerce and Allied degrees ). We had a walk around the facility and the place is very impressive. Around 600 inmates reside on campus and study in the school and college which are inside the campus . All this at free of cost. The campus is large and in addition to Education , the Ashram is focused on developing Agriculture , Rain Water Harvesting technology and of course social service that includes attending to medical needs of the villages that are around the Ashram.

Since it was Navaratri time ,there was an exhibition of Dolls and a thematic display as well. A walk through this exhibition would take close to 75 minutes with explanations by the students on each display. There was plenty of visitor from nearby villages for this. Icing on the cake was the traditional gifts that we got because it was Navarathri time – I got a pant and a shirt piece.. It has been ages since someone gifted me with so much of love .
So the trip started off with so much happiness .

Ford was making a difference in these rural areas and seeing is believing -- to get convinced that we have given the Computers to the right institution..

Women running the show and more women getting education which is all about empowerment and self-reliance.

If you are driving through NH45 to Trichy or Salem, do take a break at Ullundurpet and visit this place. You will be delighted and happy

At Thekkday, had hired an open jeep to take us around and as we were climbing through very sparsely populated areas , I noticed continuous honking reverberate through the hills. The honking gave us company in the hills through different directions. I was intrigued and asked our Jeepie . He said that these were Fish vendors who were going through each village and since the distance from one dwelling to another was far, they use the Horns to let know that they are on the way. Normally hilly terrains suffer from getting supplies and in this case , I thought not being near the coast could mean no sea/ river food items. But not for the enterprise of the people in this State. Supply Chain ensures arrival at a Common point. Then these are transferred to smaller vehicles ( Kutti Yannai – you know this vehicle ) and then they get to every nook and corner of this town , down to places where probably there is just one home. Just the enterprising attitude must have made this happen in this town and just goes to show that if people dream big and work on things ,many an obstacle can be removed. I have not seen this on any other hilly area. Business must be good for them to do this on a daily basis and has got to do with eating habits as well. But the point is being entrepreneurial

I mentioned about the Highways coming up. What it does , is that you miss the normal towns that you pass through and miss some of the things they are known for. I noticed that Mannaparai ( Trichy – Dindugal sector ) known for its Murukku disappeared out of range as the flyover cuts across the town. The entire row of shops along the road will see no footfall of customers travelling along the way. But people are smart – Using mobile vehicles , people have moved their shops on to the side of the highway and you can still step aside without getting in to the town and buy your short eats.
Where there is a will , there is a way !