" As far as her mom was concerned, tea fixed everything. Have a cold? Have some tea. Broken bones? There's a tea for that too. Somewhere in her mother's pantry, Laurel suspected, was a box of tea that said, " In case of Armegeddon, steep three to five minutes. "
Aprilynne Pike
I suddenly realised that I have almost stopped writing my blog. It's just those few words, a few phrases or at the most a few sentences; it's just that much I have been writing in my Instagram page. Sometimes I felt like writing a lot more than those few sentences and share a lot many photographs of the beautiful trips we have been taking.
Going back to the extract from Aprilynne Pike, she spoke my mind; rather she read my mind. Our recent trip to Sinna Dorai's Mangorange was a perfect tea trip. Set amidst lush green tea plantations, the old, once-upon-a-time planter's cottage, built during colonial times, made for a pretty postcard. The bungalow was spacious inside, had the charm of an old English countryside cottage with fireplaces in each of the rooms, antique furniture pieces and huge bathrooms. The red tiled roof with an old battered chimney jutting out made for a perfect look; one that as children many of us would have drawn and coloured. Wild flowers grew everywhere, butterflies flitted around with impatience, barely sitting on any flower. Throughout the day, we could see the birds busily flying over from one tree to another, chirping animatedly. This was music to our ears. And amidst all this, we sat with our cups of steaming tea, perfect in taste and aroma and even more perfect for the weather. The cook, Prabhu, was a magician in whipping up delicious meals. And had a wonderful temperament, wearing his smile at all times. A slow holiday could not be better! With a good collection of books to keep us company, long walks across the huge plantations that supplied leaves to the Carolyn tea factory just down the hill, our holiday was a good example of slow holiday. Such holidays are for the senses to come alive.
Mangorange, I wonder how it got its name. I read that not much is known about the origin of this name. There are a couple of huge mango trees around the bungalow but a pine tree shades the porch of the house. The mountains of the Nilgiris stand faraway with a very interesting needle point of a peak. Clouds are constantly at play, shrouding the mountains at one moment and clearing up at the next. The occasional bright yellow autos ferrying people through the tarred roads leading up to the nearby villages give you the evidence of life around. Otherwise it's stillness that prevails. And this makes one be with nature and enjoy the sounds of silence. A short walk down the hill on which rests the house took us to a road that led to a point with a bifurcation. One of the roads leading up a way brought us to a sign in red cautioning us of elephants. An elephant crossing was ahead. Sounds adventurous? Well, the Nilgiris are home to Asiatic elephants and these huge creatures in herds with a baby or even a lone one can be dangerous. So we certainly needed to mind our steps and look where we were going. As the proverb goes, dangerous roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The narrow thread of a road, moss covered pathways with deep valleys of tea plantations on one side and forest covered mountains on the other side was beautiful but quite tricky to drive on. The wild rain fed streams gurgling created picturesque views that can be best enjoyed walking along the tracks.
Mangorange embodies slow and responsible travel. It's a place best enjoyed with people who love to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature; a place where modern luxuries give way to simple functional ways of living. It's a place where what to see and what to do should not be one's priority. Life beautifully flows into nature and the combined audiovisual effect probably makes an artist out of anyone who loves nature.
This is the first of a series of three tea bungalow posts, I have planned to share in my blog. So stay tuned for more visual treats.
