For Coimbatoreans, it is a matter of a picnic reaching Nilgiris by bus or train or on a motorcycle today. But, centuries ago, no human being dared to penetrate into these enchanting mountains, as they had been places of great mystery and said to be the abode of Gods.
For Coimbatoreans, it is a matter of a picnic reaching Nilgiris by bus or train or on a motorcycle today. But, centuries ago, no human being dared to penetrate into these enchanting mountains, as they had been places of great mystery and said to be the abode of Gods.
For ages, people considered the Nilgiris as heights inaccessible to mortals and whoever that trespassed its borders, would be put to death by Gods, since it was their domain. However, with such tales becoming popular, the British wanted to verify the authenticity of them by penetrating into the blue forests.
Though the two English land surveyors Kindersley and Whish were the first to reach the summit of one of the mountains in Nilgiris in 1818, their visit was something accidental. The duo, who had come to the forests of Coimbatore for hunting, lost their way and found themselves at a dangerous limit of a mountain near the cascade of Kolakombai. Captivated by the beauty of the mountains, when the duo ordered the Shikaris [hunters] accompanying them to lead further, the hunters strongly refused it telling them that it would be a sacrilege to cross the cascade of Kolakombai.
However, the duo continued their journey after a few days. Facing untold dangers from wild animals, they trekked for twelve days feeding on the berries and mushroom found plenty on their way. At last, when they reached the summit of a mountain, they were weak and exhausted. Though they had little hope to come across human existence on these insurmountable peaks, they got electrified noticing a few men like giants, each with a height above six feet, grazing their large buffaloes. However, they welcomed the duo and feasted them with excellent buffalo milk, cheese and mushroom. They were the ancient aborigines of the Nilgiris called Todas, who lived in their “munds” [hamlets]. The present Ootacamund or Ooty was one such “mund” and is a corruption of “Othakkal Mund”
Though Kindersley and Whish were the first white men to reach the Nilgiris, it is said that a Jesuit priest Fr. Jacome Ferreire from Wayanad, visited the land of Todas in 1602, as had heard some Syrian Christians were living isolated in Nilgiris.
When Kindersley and Whish returned to the plains and reported their experiences, the East India Company ordered John Sullivan, the collector of Coimbatore to visit Nilgiris. Leading an army of sepoys, hunters, several dozen war elephants, dogs and ponies, Sullivan set out to the blue hills in January 1819. However, his successful journey was not without the death of several persons during the travel into the uninhabited forests.
Though Sullivan is known for annexing the hill town with East India Company, he declared that only Todas had absolute proprietary rights over the Nilgiris.