Kerala as Keralaputra

Kerala is first mentioned (as Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century-BC rock inscription left by the Mauryan emperor Asoka.

Welcome to our own Keralam (ഹരിത കേരളം), Gods Own Country, starts long way from Sahyan and ends in Arabian sea in the west. Come on and explore Kerala's lush green landscape, backwaters,lagoons, rain, mountains, boats, paddy fields, cocunut trees.. as I write this, I feel very proud of this land as every Malayalee feels, let the rest of the world know from our humble contributions as pictures.... after all a picture worth 1000 words. Thank you..

The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology. Keralam may stem from an imperfect Malayalam portmanteau fusing kera ("coconut tree") and alam ("land" or "location"). A 3rd-century-BC rock inscription by emperor Asoka the Great references Kerala as Keralaputra.

Our Experience:

It is always a great feeling while planning for a holiday,when you get bored with your routine work. Our team decided to have some relaxation and to refresh ourself, so we decided to go Athirapally falls and Munnar. But before planning this place we were confused about where to go. Many of them came with different ideas and at last we agreed Reghu’s plan of going to Munnar. Since none of us visited that place earlier, all of agreed to go. Peter organized the trip and did the arrangements for transportation and accommodation.

We planned our trip 1 month before and searched information and collected images about the falls and Munnar. All of us were so eager to go and we used to talk about that.

At last the day came and we started our journey on Saturday morning at 5:30 am of oct-2010 from Coimbatore with our vwr friends. We took a tempo traveler from gandhipuram and picked our friends on the way from L.Mills and ukkadam etc... We reached Palakkad at 7.15 and had our breakfast from Hotel Arryas at vadakkanchery and reached mannuthy at 8.30. On the way, we had a great time in our cab. Around 10.30 am we reached Athirappally water falls and we spend 2 and half hours there. All of us were so excited and were so eager to see it. To reach the falls it took 5 min walk and we were just admiring the huge gushing water fall. It was really superb to view such a huge falls and we started to take snaps and videos. All were busy in taking snaps and then we slowly moved towards the bank of the river to take bath. We found a nice place and jumped into the water. Wow ! it was an unforgettable moment, all the guys were just enjoying the bath and had a great fun over there.

After taking bath we moved to see the bottom part of the falls, which was really amazing. We could realize the force of the water falling and was so cool. We took snaps there and then started to climb up but it was such a hard task and we became so tired. Had a great experience of trekking . After climbing the hill, we had hot tea and snacks. Then we started towards vazhachal.

Location:

Munnar is located in the eastern part of the state of Kerala, in the southern region of India, amongst the craggy hills of the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1524 m (5000 ft) above sea level. It is 130 Km east of Kochi and borders the state of Tamil Nadu near Bodimettu. It can also be reached from Madurai via Theni, Bodi.

Best Time to Visit:

The best time to visit Munnar is between October and May

How To Reach:

Munnar, the beautiful hill resort in the state of Kerala is reachable only by motorable roads.The road to Munnar is noted for its scenic beauty.Travel within Munnar itself is so small that it is easily manageable by foot.

The town has some local transport, including auto-rickshaws, should one get bit tired of moving around on foot. Auto rickshaws, commander jeep and taxis are available for local shared transport. For sites further out of town, like Top Station and Thattekad, a rented bike or taxi is the best option. There are some tour operators in town that will arrange excursions to more out laying places. The area surroundings Munnar can also be accessed using the regular buses that leave for Theni, Top Station, Marayoor and Chinnar, among others.

Travelling to Munnar by Road - (Kochi Route)

Travelling to Munnar by Road (Madurai Route)

History:

In both Malayalam and Tamil, the word 'Munnar' means three rivers, as it is merging place of three mountain streams; Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni, Kundala. The Duke of Wellington was the first prominent person to visit Munnar.

Munnar was once the summer capital of the British in southern India. Munnar was developed to cultivate tea plants by British although it was first discovered by Scottish planters. In the early developmental stages only Tamilians worked there as few Malayalis inhabited in that area Munnar.

But later more and more Malayalis were recruited as employees to work in plantations and bungalows, that were build for estate managers of British origin. They occupied most of the top posts. Some of the bungalows that were build for them is still in good condition and being used. The local people here speak Malayalam, the official language of Kerala and since there are a lot of Tamilians, the second language is Tamil.

Munnar has an ancient history and prehistoric relics that can be dated back to Stone Age civilization. The written history begins only from 10th century. In the early 19th century, the headman of the villages of Anchanad, Kannan Thevar, held lands to the north of the high ranges, which belonged to the local Rajah of Poojar.

According to record history, the first tea sapling was planted by A.H. Sharp at Parvathi, part of the present Sevenmullay estate, consisted of 50 acres of land in the surrounding jungle.

J D Munro, a British lawyer and tea planter leased close to 600 Sq. Km of land around Munnar, which was then covered with thick jungle, from the Poonjar chief, a subordinate of the Maharaja of Travancore. He then cleared the jungle for Tea plantations. This land was later known as Kannan Devan (Kannan Thevar) Concession Land.

Later in 1895, Messrs Finlay Muir & Company bought Munro's land and in 1976 Tata-Finlay Ltd. purchased it. Then in 1983 James Finlay Group sold their remaining share holdings and the company became known as Tata Tea Ltd., the largest integrated tea company in the world. In April 2005 tea plantations under the Tata group were transferred to a new company called Kannan Devan Hills Produce Co, Pvt Ltd. Today the company manages 16 estates spread over in about 8600 hectares of land.

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