Day 1
Beautiful Kodaikanal, the bracing air at this altitude, is finally erasing the scorched scars of Hyderabad summer from our bodies as we open the windows to natural air-conditioning. Aparna and I are here with our good friends from Hyderbad, Radha and family, to spend 4 days of the summer break from our taxing work schedules. Radha and her husband are entrepreneurs too, with punishing work pressures while balancing demands of families. Here we decide to make vague plans just a day ahead and keep our plans flexible, our main goal is to just relax.
We went to Kodai lake, rented bicycles and rode around the periphery, stopping to admire the view, or enjoy freshly picked tender carrots or melt in the mouth cotton candy. Our lunch was corn on the cob followed by orange bars and chocobars from the local Arun icecream cart. We took a leisurely boat ride with brief commentary by the friendly boatman who made it clear that the tourist trade was not as brisk and therefore expected a generous tip for his services. These included pointing out some huge lakeside properties belonging to business families, stopping the boat to let us pick purple waterlilies and making one quick garland with the long tubular stem for the youngest one in our group. We took turns wearing this organic “garland of honor” through the day while carrying the bunch of water lilies like tourists as we walked through the lanes. Bryant Park located adjacent to the lake was a little bit of a disappointment with its ill-maintained lawns and uninspiring landscaping. A profusion of flowers including delphiniums, hydrangeas, zinnias and marigolds graced a couple of flower beds. The highlight of the day was the tea at the Carlton, which maintains its title as the top-ranking hotel at Kodai even after 20 years.
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