A Land devoid of Kurunjis
The undulating mass of land lying south to the fertile Mysore region has a life that is it's own. The Nilgiris remains to this day alive and throbbing. It still is the land of honey and milk, where the giant rock bees nest in abundance and the soil nourishes all.
Known throughout the world for a blue tinge that covered the mountain sides on a twelve year cycle, these embodiment of the Nilgiris spirit has now come to a loss. The Kurinjis are vanishing and so is the spirit of the man who inhabits these hills.
The Nilgiris lies at the trijunction of the three states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala and harbours unique flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to the Nilgiris. The Nilgiris also boast of the being the first declared Biosphere Reserve under the man and Biosphere programme of UNESCO in 1986 and to this day, remains the only biosphere that has been officialy recognised by the United Nations Body.
The Nilgiris was formed as a result of upheaval in Pleistocene era that resulted in the churning out of the huge mass of rock as we see the Nilgiris today. yet, with stability came a price - a price of soft upper strata that is highly vulnerable to modifications and disturbance. the charnockite rock layer on the upper strata makes Nilgiris unstable. And the soft rock layer on the upper surface also makes the rock vulnerable to illegal mining for housing purposes. The scourge of mining which had devastated large tracts of the nation has been, somewhat satisfactorily
Yet, the Nilgiri Ecology is in decline today. Unfettered development, adoption os a high energy dependent lifestyle and reverse migration are some of the factors that are contributing to the ongoing degradation of the Nilgiris.
However, the Nilgiris that meets the eye and the Nilgiris that remains tucked in far from the prying eyes of the outsider are two different worlds and much effort needs to be put in to conserve that other world, that other world of the mystical, beautiful Nilgiris. The other world in the Nilgiris is a world which belongs to the adivasis and to the mountains, it belongs to the rivers and the tigers. And this is the Nilgiris which lend to it that particular aura bringing hundreds of conscious worshippers to the place.
The challenge today is that the Nilgiris must be accorded a degree of protection that goes beyond mere lip sync and is carried forward to a level where the ecology is seen together and efforts made to protect that ecology
Known throughout the world for a blue tinge that covered the mountain sides on a twelve year cycle, these embodiment of the Nilgiris spirit has now come to a loss. The Kurinjis are vanishing and so is the spirit of the man who inhabits these hills.
The Nilgiris lies at the trijunction of the three states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala and harbours unique flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to the Nilgiris. The Nilgiris also boast of the being the first declared Biosphere Reserve under the man and Biosphere programme of UNESCO in 1986 and to this day, remains the only biosphere that has been officialy recognised by the United Nations Body.
The Nilgiris was formed as a result of upheaval in Pleistocene era that resulted in the churning out of the huge mass of rock as we see the Nilgiris today. yet, with stability came a price - a price of soft upper strata that is highly vulnerable to modifications and disturbance. the charnockite rock layer on the upper strata makes Nilgiris unstable. And the soft rock layer on the upper surface also makes the rock vulnerable to illegal mining for housing purposes. The scourge of mining which had devastated large tracts of the nation has been, somewhat satisfactorily
Yet, the Nilgiri Ecology is in decline today. Unfettered development, adoption os a high energy dependent lifestyle and reverse migration are some of the factors that are contributing to the ongoing degradation of the Nilgiris.
However, the Nilgiris that meets the eye and the Nilgiris that remains tucked in far from the prying eyes of the outsider are two different worlds and much effort needs to be put in to conserve that other world, that other world of the mystical, beautiful Nilgiris. The other world in the Nilgiris is a world which belongs to the adivasis and to the mountains, it belongs to the rivers and the tigers. And this is the Nilgiris which lend to it that particular aura bringing hundreds of conscious worshippers to the place.
The challenge today is that the Nilgiris must be accorded a degree of protection that goes beyond mere lip sync and is carried forward to a level where the ecology is seen together and efforts made to protect that ecology
