Trip to the World's Best Dacha, i.e. a Hill Station Plantation

I'm using the time off my Hindi class, which I could not attend today because of another auto-strike, to update my blog with some images of our long weekend getaway in the south, on the border of the two states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

We were invited here by Misha's co-worker Gaurav, who a year and a half ago bought a sprawling, gorgeous tea and coffee plantation here and is now making it into an eco-resort. It's up in the mountains, at an altitude of 2300 feet, and the scenery from the vertiginious roads driving up here is as breathtaking--steep inclines, rock faces and even, neat tea shrubbery demarkating the lush countryside.

While hiking with Gaurav and his friends to a picnic spot through the woods, we came across gaur (local bison), heard a sloth bear and saw an elephant grazing in the distance during our picnic. The elephants and the bears love the giant local jackfruit, seen in one of these pictures. Titillatingly, since the place is not yet equipped with guides, walking at night entails certain perils and has to be accompanied by loud singing to keep away the beasties.

On a different day, we went to the local town and strolled through a picturesque provincial market with stalls carrying garlands of jasmine and other flowers--the smell of jasmine seems to be everywhere.

This place was put on the map by the British, who started planting tea here in the 19th century and founded some hill stations, the Indian term for mountain resorts where you can get away from the heat.

We also socialized with Gaurav's circle (we're all pictured here with the pots we painted as ersatz decoration for the new hotel)--in their mid- to late 20s, they're all members of the worldly, well-traveled, internationally educated upper middle class.

Interestingly enough, so many of our cultural references are the same; we discussed not only Bollywood films but also Broadway musicals and were regaled with a rendition of Hava Nagila!

The socializing style is different though, definitely warmer and closer, more like a noisy family than American-style MYOB and fierce individualism, which I quite like, although find myself unused to, after all these years. (My neighbor's remark that our door needs insulation because the air from the A.C. is leaking out into the hallway left me with a veritable tangle of emotions--really? unsolicited advice? what should SHE care? and, finally, oh, that's sweet).