EXOTIC NILGIRIS-5

EXOTIC NILGIRIS-5

Now let us come back to Ooty or Udhagamandalam once again, once the darling of erstwhile English rulers of India, Maharajas and upper classes and now the darling of common masses. Before I take you to that train journey amid the hide and seek of light in greenery and that exotic boat riding in Ooty lake, getting immersed in the symphony of pykara lake, let us discovery the origin of the name "Udhagamandalam".

The old name of Ooty was Ootacamund, which was abruptly changed to "Udhagamandalam" in 1972.The name Ootacamund was given by the British when they took possession of the hills after 1820. The name was the nearest they came to pronouncing the original Badaga name for the place,namely,"Hotege".In fact the "Badaga-English Dictionary" by Paul Hockings and Christiane Pilot-Raichoor(1992) confirms that "Hotege" is the common Badaga name for Ootacamund. The spelling of the name, however, had to go through several versions such as Hottegemund, Utakamand, Whatakaimand, Whotakamund, Wootaycamund, Wotokymand, and Wuttacamund and so on. It will be surprising to note that there is absolutely no mention of the name "Udhagamandalam" in Tamil literature or other historical records. It has merely been a convenient adaptation of the English name in Tamil for official and other formal purposes in the post independence period.

Now let us discover Ooty or Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund through couples of short videos and photos. Amongst the places, we see the Rose Park which has been declared as "GARDEN OF EXCELLENCE" by the World Federation of Rose Societies. So, far, 15 rose gardens in different parts of the world have been awarded the "GARDEN OF EXCELLENCE"certificates. This is the first garden from India to get that honor.

JOURNEY BY TRAIN TO OOTY.

OOTY TOWN AND OOTY LAKE.

SHOOTING MEDU,OOTY.

PYKARA FALLS,OOTY.

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PYKARA LAKE,OOTY.

ROSE SHOW AT ROSE GARDEN,OOTY.