The Hindu Business Line : Richer for it

I have often visited the steel city of Salem but never gave much thought to the green slopes of the Servarayan hills nearby. However, when a State tourism official recently suggested that one could take an enjoyable break at this “poor man’s Ooty”, as Yercaud is commonly referred to, we resolved to visit it.

It is in the early hours when our Chennai-Yercaud Express chugs into Salem. The railwaymen seem to have named so many trains after places that are not actually the terminating points. Like the Nilagiri Express that stops short of the blue-mountains, our train terminates at Salem, with Yercaud another hour away.

As we alight, the aroma of pure coffee wafts over the platform. It is the railway canteen that offers the heady brew; we take a sip and find that the steaming beverage is simply delicious.

When we compliment the railway cafe attendant, he tells us that the beans are from the estates of Yercaud and enquires if we are headed that way. As we nod and prepare to leave, he points to the clock and suggests that there’s still time to board the train leaving for Mettur Dam, and that we could return here and still make it to Yercaud before noon. Grabbing the tickets, we just manage to board the departing train.

We turn out to be the only occupants in our compartment and we journey to Mettur in blissful solitude.

When we arrive, the local newspaper boy has just finished his early morning duty and volunteers to be our guide to the dam. We pass the towers of a chemical plant, cross a masjid and come into view of the barrage looming ahead in resplendent glory, the waters lit by the first rays of dawn. The highway bridge over the stored waters is in fact built on top of a barrage wall. We count 16 sluice gates in the barrage which are exit points for the waters when the reservoir brims during the monsoon. However, on this day it’s a barren Cauvery to our left, while the large expanse of the dammed waters is to our right.

The Stanley reservoir is a magnificent sight, with the storage water spanning an area of 59.25 sq miles.

The 5,300-ft-long structure took nine years to build and was completed in 1934, helping irrigate the rice fields in faraway Tanjavur district. Our guide says that at Pannavadi nearby, when the water level in the dam decreases, one can take a parisal (coracle) to the ruins of an 18th-century temple and a church that were built on the riverbed during drier times.We cross the bridge and enter a neatly maintained park.

The attendant there says it’s not visiting hours yet but lets us in nevertheless, cautioning us to put away our cameras in our bags; the reservoir vista is splendid but, ironically, an antique board says, “photography prohibited”.

As we stroll along the waters, the cool morning breeze ruffles our hair. It’s another hour before we have fully drunk in the wonderful surroundings. At the Ayyanar temple, tourists and visitors start arriving by the busload. We thank our guide and board the bus to Salem.

We pass emerald sugarcane fields that intersperse with the bold red of ripe tomato. We cross mango orchards and regret that this isn’t summertime, as we cannot partake of Salem’s renowned juicy malgova mango. We then come to another Salem icon, the gates of the erstwhile Modern Studios, once the site of many film productions, today with tastefully-done tiled bungalows in the premises. Would these too be part of a film set, we wonder.

Boarding the waiting Yercaud bus, we soon arrive at the first of the many bends that our mountain road takes en route to the summit of the Servarayan hills. At every bend is a large joint-family of simians, with the little ones snugly ensconced, watching us pass. We get off near the lovely lake, a centre point where one can hire Ambassador cabs to move around the place.

M.J. Krishna

Lake in Yercaud.

On the lake, as we try our hand at the swan-shaped rowing boat, we discover that the winter wind in this hill-station is delightfully cool without being chilly; our boatman informs us that summer days are just as cool, making Yercaud a getaway for all seasons. As we struggle to steer the boat ourselves, the boatman laughingly comes to our rescue. We spend an hour enjoying the boat-ride.

On the way out, we go past the marigold-cherry red canopy of the lawn, cross the road and enter the park opposite. We cross a bamboo bridge and enter a tastefully laid out Japanese garden.

We hop into a cab and decide to drive around to discover the surrounding attractions. We pass a rose garden a-bloom in myriad colours. Equally interesting are the gardens showcasing exotic plants, of which, the flycatcher is riveting. We stop at Ladies’ Seat, a view-point on the winding ghat road. In the distance we could glimpse the contours of Salem city. Further along the road we come to Gents’ Seat, another point that affords a splendid view. The Children’s Seat further down completes the ‘family’.

The road from this point is unfit for motoring and we set out on foot; a sudden gust of wind brings with it an enveloping mist, and the moist clouds caress us gently. We proceed towards the Pagoda vantage point and, along the way, coffee plantations and orange orchards come into view alternately. The clouds follow us and we get a brief glimpse of the distant Stanley reservoir.

Making a detour and walking for half-an-hour through dense foliage, we attempt to view the Killiyur waterfall.

However, there was no sign of the 300-ft cascade; the best time to catch it would be immediately after the rains, we are told.

It is almost sundown when we return to the lake. The long walk has made us hungry. There are vendors near the lake offering roasted corn dabbed with a dash of lemon. It tastes terrific. The hot and spicy capsicum and chilli bajji tastes good too.

Truly, we found the “poor man’s Ooty” rich with many attractions that compare favourably with those offered by the “Queen”.

Accommodation options:

Hotel Tamil Nadu — (04281) 223334;

Hotel Shevaroys — (04281) 222288.

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