Ooty
Ooty
Description
Ooty (short for Udhagamandalam) is a resort
town in the Western Ghats mountains, in southern India's Tamil Nadu state.
Founded as a British Raj summer resort, it retains a working steam railway
line. Other reminders of its colonial past include Stone House, a 19th-century
residence, and the circa-1829 St. Stephen’s Church. Its 55-acre Government
Botanical Garden lies on the slopes of Doddabetta Peak.
Elevation: 2,240 m
Weather: 13 °C, Wind W at 6 km/h, 82% Humidity
Population: 88,430 (2011)
Local time: Friday, 9:13 pm
Area code: 91423
Ooty officially known as Udhagamandalam (also
known as Ootacamund);
abbreviated as Udhagai), is a town and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is located 86 km north west of Coimbatore and 128 km south of Mysore and is the headquarters of the Nilgiris
district. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. Local residents call it Queen of Hills. It
was the summer capital of Madras Presidency.
Originally occupied by the Badaga people and Toda
people, the area came under the rule of the East
India Company at the end of the 18th century.
The economy is based on tourism and agriculture, along with the manufacture of
medicines and photographic film. The town is connected by the Nilgiri
ghat roads and Nilgiri Mountain
Railway. Its natural environment attracts tourists
and it is a popular summer destination. In 2011, the town had a population
of 88,430.
Etymology
The origin of the name is obscure. The first known written
mention of the place is given as Wotokymund in a letter of
March 1821 to the Madras Gazette from an unknown
correspondent. In early times it was called Ottakal Mandu. The
name probably changed under British rule from Udhagamandalam to Ootacamund, and
later was shortened to Ooty.
The first part of the name (Ootaca) is probably a
corruption of the local name for the central region of the Nilgiri
Plateau. Otha-Cal literally means "single stone".
This is perhaps a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people.
"Mund" is the Anglicised form of the Toda word for a village, Mandu.
Ooty is in the Nilgiri hills,
meaning the "blue mountains", so named due to the Kurunji flower which blooms every twelve years giving the
slopes a bluish tinge.
History
Udhagamandalam was originally a tribal land occupied by
the Badaga, Toda, Kota, Irula and
Kurumba people.
The Toda in Nilgiris are first referenced in a record belonging
to Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and his general Punisa, dated 1117 CE. The
Toda people were known for raising water buffalo. The people known for farming
activities. Nilgiris was ruled by various dynasties like Satavahanas, Gangas, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas,
the Vijayanagara
empire and the Rajas of Ummattur (on behalf
of Wodeyars
of Mysuru). Tipu
Sultan captured Nilgiris in the eighteenth century and extended
the border by constructing a hideout cave-like structure. The Nilgiris
came into possession of British East India Company as part of the ceded
lands, held by Tipu
Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in
1799.
In 1818, J. C. Whish and N. W. Kindersley, assistants to John Sullivan, then
Collector of Coimbatore,
visited Ooty and submitted a report to him. Sullivan camped at Dimbhatti, north
of Kotagiri in
January 1819 and was enthralled by the beauty of the place. He wrote to Thomas
Munro, " . it resembles Switzerland, more than any country of Europe...
the hills beautifully wooded and fine strong spring with running water in every
valley." The Toda ceded that part of the town to Sullivan and in May
1819, he began to build his bungalow at Dimbhatti. He also started work on a
road from Sirumugai to Dimbhatti that year. The road was completed in May 1823,
and extended up to Coonoor by
1830–32.
Aranmore
Palace in Ooty, served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency; it
was visited by British officials during the colonial days as a popular summer
resort. Soldiers were sent to nearby Wellington to recuperate.
Wellington is the home of the Madras Regiment of
the Indian
Army. After Independence, it developed into a popular hill
resort.
Geography and climate
Location
Ooty is situated in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Many of the forested areas and water bodies are
off-limits to most visitors in order to protect this fragile ecosystem. Some
areas of the Biosphere Reserve have been earmarked for tourism development, and
steps are being undertaken to open these areas to visitors whilst conserving
the area. It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) above
sea level.
Climate
Ooty features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb)
under Köppen
climate classification. Despite its location in the tropics, in contrast with
most of South India, Ooty generally features mild conditions and is spring-like
throughout the year. However, night time in the months of January and February
is typically cold. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year;
with average high temperatures ranging from about 17–20 °C (63–68 °F)
and average low temperatures between approximately 5–12 °C
(41–54 °F).
The highest temperature ever recorded in Ooty was 28.5 °C
(83.3 °F), which by South Asian standards is uncharacteristically low for
an all-time record high temperature. The rainy season in Ooty is generally cool
and windy with high humidity. The wind chill may fall to as low as 5 °C
(41 °F) during the day time. Wind is always high throughout the year. The
lowest temperature was −2 °C (28 °F). The city sees on average
about 105 centimetres or 41 inches of precipitation annually, with a marked
drier season from December through March.
|
hideClimate data for
Ooty (Udhagamandalam) 1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012 |
|||||||||||||
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Record high °C (°F) |
26.8 |
27.3 |
27.5 |
28.5 |
28.0 |
26.1 |
22.8 |
23.0 |
23.3 |
25.5 |
25.4 |
27.4 |
28.5 |
|
Average high °C (°F) |
21.4 |
22.1 |
23.2 |
23.3 |
22.9 |
18.7 |
17.7 |
17.7 |
19.2 |
19.3 |
19.5 |
20.9 |
20.5 |
|
Average low °C (°F) |
6.2 |
7.1 |
9.3 |
11.2 |
11.8 |
11.4 |
11.1 |
11.2 |
10.7 |
10.4 |
9.0 |
7.1 |
9.7 |
|
Record low °C (°F) |
−2.1 |
0.0 |
1.1 |
5.0 |
4.4 |
2.2 |
2.5 |
4.6 |
4.4 |
0.0 |
−1.1 |
−1.1 |
−2.1 |
|
Average rainfall mm (inches) |
9.7 |
7.4 |
20.6 |
73.1 |
98.7 |
124.1 |
149.4 |
97.9 |
132.1 |
169.6 |
110.4 |
47.7 |
1,040.9 |
|
Average rainy days |
1.1 |
0.6 |
1.9 |
5.6 |
8.7 |
10.7 |
11.2 |
10.0 |
10.1 |
11.7 |
7.6 |
3.3 |
82.4 |
|
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) |
65 |
62 |
59 |
66 |
73 |
84 |
86 |
87 |
84 |
84 |
82 |
72 |
75 |
|
Source: India Meteorological Department |
|||||||||||||
Places
of interest
Ooty is a popular tourist attraction with many places of
interest in and around the town.
Gardens and parks
The Government Rose Garden (formerly
Centenary Rose Park) is the largest rose garden in India. It is
situated on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram of Ooty town. at
an altitude of 2200 meters. Today this garden has one of the largest collections
of roses in the country with more than 20,000 varieties of roses of 2,800 cultivars. The collection includes hybrid tea
roses, Miniature Roses, Polyanthas,
Papagena, Floribunda, Ramblers, Yakimour and roses of unusual colours like black and
green.
The 22-acre (89,000 m2) Ooty Botanical Gardens was
laid out in 1847 and is maintained by the Government of Tamil
Nadu. The Botanical Garden is lush, green, and well-maintained. A
flower show along with an exhibition of rare plant species is held every May.
The gardens have around a thousand species, both exotic and indigenous,
of plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbal and bonsai plants. The
garden has a 20-million-year-old fossilised tree.
Deer Park is located on the edge of Ooty Lake. It is the highest
altitude zoo in India aside
from the zoo in Nainital, Uttarakhand. This
park was formed to house a number of species of deer and other animals.
Lakes and dams
Ooty lake covers
an area of 65 acres. The boat
house established alongside the lake, which
offers boating facilities to tourists, is a major tourist attraction in Ooty.
It was constructed in 1824 by John Sullivan,
the first collector of Ooty. The lake was formed by damming the mountain
streams flowing down Ooty valley. The lake is set among groves of
Eucalyptus trees with a railway line running along one bank. During the summer
season in May, boat races and boat pageantry are organised for two days at the
lake.
Pykara is
a river located 19 km from Ooty. The Pykara is considered very sacred by
the Todas. The Pykara river rises at Mukurthi peak and passes through a
hilly tract, generally keeping to the north and turns to the west after
reaching the plateau's edge. The river flows through a series of cascades;
and the last two falls of 55 meters and 61 meters are known as Pykara
falls. The falls are approximately 6 km from the bridge on the main road.
A boat house by the Pykara falls and dam is an added attraction to
tourists. Kamaraj Sagar Dam (also
known as Sandynalla reservoir) is located 10 km from the Ooty bus
stand. It is a picnic spot and a film shoot location on the slopes of the
Wenlock Downs. The various tourist activities at the dam include fishing
and studying nature and the environment. Parsons Valley Reservoir is the
primary water source for the town and is mainly in a reserved forest and thus
largely off-limits to visitors. Emerald Lake, Avalanche Lake and
Porthimund Lake are other lakes in the region.
Reserve forests
Ooty has dense Tropical forests. Doddabetta is the highest peak (2,623 m) in the Nilgiris, about
10 km from Ooty. It lies at the junction of the Western and Eastern Ghats
surrounded by dense Sholas. The pine forest situated between Ooty
and Thalakunda is a small downhill region where pine trees are arranged in an
orderly fashion. Wenlock Downs is a grassland area typical of the original
bioscape of the Nilgiris with gently undulating hills.
Mudumalai National Park and tiger reserve lies on the north western side of the Nilgiri
Hills, about 31 km (19 mi) from Ooty.
Mudumalai is a haven for animals and birds, including elephants and tigers. Mukurthi
National Park is a 78.46 km2 protected area located
in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris Plateau about 25 km (16 mi)west of Ooty. The park
was created to protect its keystone species,
the Nilgiri tahr. The Western
Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi)), including all of Mudumalai National
Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
Tribal huts and museum
There are a few Toda huts on the hills above
the Botanical Garden, where Todas still dwell. There are other Toda settlements
in the area, notably Kandal Mund near Old Ooty. Although many Toda have
abandoned their traditional distinctive huts for concrete houses, a movement
is now afoot to build tradition barrel-vaulted huts, and during the last decade
forty new huts have been built and many Toda sacred dairies renovated.
The Tribal Museum is part
of the campus of Tribal Research Centre which is in Muthorai Palada (10 km from
Ooty town). It is home to rare artifacts and photographs of tribal groups of
Tamil Nadu as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and anthropological and
archaeological primitive human culture and heritage. The Tribal Museum also
displays houses belonging to Toda, Kota, Paniya, Kurumba, and Kanikarans.
Nilgiri Mountain Railway
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was
built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras
Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam
locomotives. NMR comes under the jurisdiction
of the newly formed Salem Division. In July 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension
to the World Heritage Site of Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway, the site then became known as
"Mountain Railways of India." after it satisfied the necessary
criteria, thus forcing abandonment of the modernisation plans. For the past
several years diesel locomotives have taken over from steam on the section
between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam. Local people and tourists have led a demand for steam
locos to once again haul this section.
Historical buildings
Stone House is
the first bungalow constructed in
Ooty. It was built by John Sullivan and
was called Kal Bangala by the tribals (Kal means stone in
local tribal language). John Sullivan started building Stone House in 1822,
acquiring land from the Todas at one rupee an acre. Today, it is the
official residence for the principal of the Government Arts
College, Ooty
St Stephen's Church is located on the road to Mysore in Ooty, in the state of Tamil
Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest churches in
the Nilgiris district. The
church dates back to the 19th century. Stephen Rumbold Lushington, the then governor of Madras, who keenly felt the need for a cathedral in Ooty which
was exclusively for the British, laid the foundation stone for the church on 23
April 1829, to coincide with the birthday of King George IV. St Stephen's Church was consecrated by John
Matthias Turner, Bishop of Calcutta, on 5 November 1830. It was thrown open to public communion on Easter Sunday 3 April 1831. It came under the Church of South
India in 1947. The architect in charge
was John James Underwood, Captain, Madras Regiment.
St. Thomas Church, a parish in the Anglican diocese of
Ooty, was begun in 1867, with the foundation stone being laid on 1 May by
Lt. Gen. Howard Dowker. Construction was completed 20 October 1870, and its
first service was held in 1871. Among the famous graves in the churchyard
are those of Josiah
John Goodwin, the British stenographer of Swami Vivekananda,
and William
Patrick Adam, the British governor of Madras, whose grave is topped by the
stunning pillar monument dedicated to St. Thomas, the tallest structure
in Ooty. The church's graveyard was used as a setting in David Lean's 1984
movie, A
Passage to India, which was based on E. M. Forster’s novel of the same name.
In 1882, the rules of the game of snooker were first drafted and
codified in the "Ooty Club" by Sir Neville Chamberlain (not the Prime Minister). The
club still houses the billiards table that was used.
Tea Factory
Spread over an area of nearly one acre of land, the Ooty Tea
Factory is situated close to Ooty town. Visitors can learn about the origin of
different kinds of tea leaves all across the globe and the history of tea in
India. In the factory, the process of tea processing by Cut, Twist and Curl
(CTC) machines is clearly displayed. At the end of the visit, one can taste
different types of tea and buy tea souvenirs. Other nearby tea factories
include Doddabetta Tea factory and Bench Mark Tea Factory.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Udhagamandalam had a
population of 88,430 with a sex-ratio of 1,053 females for every 1,000 males,
much above the national average of 929. A total of 7,781 were under the
age of six, constituting 3,915 males and 3,866 females.The average literacy of
the city in 2011 was 90.2%, compared to the national average of
72.99%. The city had a total of 23,235 households. There were a total of
35,981 workers, comprising 636 cultivators, 5,194 agricultural labourers, 292
in household industries, 26,411 other workers, 3,448 marginal workers, 65
marginal cultivators, 828 marginal agricultural labourers, 56 marginal workers
in household industries and 2,499 other marginal workers. As per the
religious census of 2011, Udhagamandalam had 64.36% Hindus,
21.25% Christians,
13.37% Muslims,
0.03% Sikhs,
0.3% Buddhists,
0.4% Jains, 0.28%
following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate
any religious preference.
Tamil is
the official
language of Udhagamandalam. Languages native to the Nilgiris
including Badaga, Paniya, Irula and Kurumba. Due
to its proximity to the neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka and
being a tourist destination, Malayalam, Kannada and English are
also spoken and understood to an extent. According to the 2011 census, the
most widely spoken languages in Udhagamandalam taluk were Tamil,
spoken by 88,896, followed by Badaga with 41,213 and Kannada with
27,070 speakers.
Administration
and politics
Ooty is the district
headquarters of the Nilgiris district. The Ootacamund assembly constituency is part of
the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency.
Culture
Recreation
Snooker originated
on the billiard tables of the Ootacamund Club, invented by an army
officer Neville
Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain. There
was also a cricket ground with regular matches played between teams from the
Army, the Indian Civil Service and the business sector. Visiting teams would
come from various parts of India as well as from the island of Ceylon.
There were riding stables and kennels at Ooty and the Ootacamund
Hounds hunted across the surrounding countryside and the open grasslands of the
Wenlock Downs, named after Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock. Horse
races are held at Ooty
Racecourse. In many of the south Indian movies in 70s 80s,90s Ooty
was the obvious choice for the outdoor shoots. Priyadarshan's Kilukkam was
shot in Ootty. Many Bollywood movies Karz, Sadma,Maine pyar
Kiya,Dil,Saajan,Beta,Hum aapke Hain koun, Raja,Mann were shot extensively in
Ooty. Karanan
Johar's Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai was filmed in Ooty. The diverse landscape of Ooty offers
an opportunity to explore a number of adventure sports and recreational
activities, including hang gliding. Located around 20 km from Ooty, Kalhatty
in the mountain ranges of Nilgiris is a site for hang gliding.
Kalhatty has a launch area that can be reached by jeep. Ooty Golf Course is
located in Ooty town. The golf course is at an altitude of 7600 feet. It
is owned by the Gymkhana club in Ooty. The course extends over 193.56 acres and
comprises 18 holes. The England cricket captain Colin Cowdrey was
born in Ooty.
Economy
and infrastructure
Ooty is a market town for
the surrounding area which is still largely dependent on agriculture, including
the cultivation of "English vegetables" and "English
fruits" grown locally. This primarily consists of potato, carrot, cabbage
and cauliflower and the fruits being peaches, plums, pears and strawberries. There
is a daily wholesale auction of these products at the Ooty Municipal Market.
Dairy farming has long been present in the area and there is a cooperative
dairy manufacturing cheese and skimmed milk powder. As a result of the local
agricultural industry, certain research institutes are based in Ooty. These
include a soil conservation centre, livestock farm and a potato research farm.
Efforts are being made to diversify the range of local crops with Floriculture and Sericulture being
introduced in the local area, as well as the cultivation of mushrooms.
Hindustan Photo Films manufactures photo films in Ooty. Human
Biologicals Institute, which manufactures human rabies vaccine is present in
Ooty near Pudumand. Other manufacturing industries are located in the outskirts
of Ooty. The most significant of these are in Ketti (manufacture of needles); Aruvankadu (manufacture of cordite) and Coonoor (manufacture
of rabies vaccine). Cottage
industries in the area including chocolate, pickle manufacture, and carpentry.
Home-made chocolates are popular among the tourists and the locals. The local
area is known for tea cultivation
and is economically grown in Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and across Nilgiris district. The elevation is
about 1,800 m (6,000 ft) above the sea level. Soil conditions,
elevation, and climatic conditions give flavour to the tea grown here.
Transport
Ooty is well connected to the road network. It is 260 km
from Bengaluru (via Mysore, Bandipur, Mudumalai, Masinagudi and Kallatti), 124 km
from Mysuru, 598 km (372 mi) from Chennai (via Salem, Erode,
and Coimbatore),
86 km (53 mi) from Coimbatore and 158 km (98 mi) from
Mysore (Via Gudalur), 135 km from Malappuram, 221 km from Kannur,
157 km from Calicut and nearly 110 km from Wayanad. Ooty is
situated on NH
181 and is connected by road via the five main accepted Nilgiri Ghat Roads. Bus
services operated by TNSTC, KSRTC
(Karnataka) and KSRTC (Kerala) connect major towns in the state,
nearby towns in the district such as Coonoor about
18 km, Kotagiri about
31 km, and Gudalur about
50 km and nearby cities to Mysore, Bangalore, Gudalpet, Mandya, Hassan,
Malappuram, Wayanad, Calicut & Kannur.
Rail
Udhagamandalam railway station is connected with Mettupalayam by NMR metre
gauge service. It comes under Salem
division of Southern Railways. In 1882, a Swiss engineer named Arthur
Riggenbach came to the Nilgiri Hills on an invitation from Government of India
and he submitted an estimate for a line costing GB£132,000. The Nilgiri
Railway Company was formed in 1885 and planning work commenced in 1886. The
work on the line commenced in August 1891 and the Mettupalayam-Coonoor section
of the track was opened for traffic on 15 June 1899. In January 1903, the
Indian Government purchased the line, and took over the construction of the
extension from Coonoor to Ooty.
The Nilgiri Mountain
Railway was operated by the Madras
Railway until 31 December 1907 on the behalf
of the Government. In January 1908, the railway line was handed over to South
Indian Railway. The line from Coonoor to Ooty was
completed in 1908. On 15 October, Arthur Lawley, Governor of Madras opened the new railway to traffic. The Nilgiri
Mountain Railway (NMR) is one of the oldest
mountain railways in India and was declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2005. It is the only rack
railway in India, and uses the Abt system.
Air
The nearest airport is Coimbatore, around 96 km
(60 mi) away. Mysore Airport is 120 km away, Calicut International
Airport is 140 km away and Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport is
273 km away. Ooty has three helipads, one at Theettukal and two at
Kodanad. The Theettukal helipad was approved by Airports Authority of
India for defence and VIP services. Pawan Hans was
supposed to start its service with Bell 407, but being surrounded
by farmland, disruption of the farm animals there has put the operations on
hold for commercial activities.
Education
Boarding schools have been a feature of Ooty since the days of
the British
Raj. They offer a significant contribution to the local economy.
The facilities and standards of education are considered amongst the highest in
India, and so these schools are popular amongst the elite of India and some of
the neighbouring countries.
Too goo and too long
ReplyDelete