Ooty
Ooty (listen (help·info)), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (listen (help·info)); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 86 km (53 mi) north west of Coimbatore and 128 km (80 mi) south of Mysore and is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. It is popularly called the Queen of Hill Stations. It was the summer capital of the Madras Presidency.
Originally occupied by the Toda people, the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century. The economy is based on tourism and agriculture, along with the manufacture of medicines and photographic film. The town is connected by the Nilgiri ghat roads and Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Its natural environment attracts tourists and it is a popular summer destination.[4] In 2011, the town had a population of 88,430.[2] Ootacamund was rated the best hill station in means of hospitality and nature passing other hill stations like Munnar and Kodaikanal. As per my father in law, Mr Senguptas, “Ooty is colder than Kashmir”.
Etymology
The origin of the name is obscure. The first known written mention of the place is given as Wotokymund in a letter of March 1821 to the Madras Gazette from an unknown correspondent.[5] In early times it was called Ottakal Mandu. The name probably changed under British rule from Udhagamandalam to Ootacamund, and later was shortened to Ooty.[6]
The first part of the name (Ootaca) is probably a corruption of the local name for the central region of the Nilgiri Plateau.[7] Otha-Cal literally means “single stone”. This is perhaps a reference to a sacred stone revered by the local Toda people.
“Mund” is the Anglicised form of the Toda word for a village, Mandu.[8]
Ooty is in the Nilgiri hills, meaning the “blue mountains”, so named due to the Kurunji flower which blooms every twelve years giving the slopes a bluish tinge.
history
Ooty in 1903
St. Stephen’s Church & Collector’s office, ca. 1870
Old milestone and zero miles marker near the Collector’s Office
Udhagamandalam was originally a tribal land occupied by the Tamil, Toda, Kota, Irula and Kurumba
The Toda in Nilgiris are first referenced in a record belonging to Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and his general Punisa, dated 1117 CE.[9] The Toda people were known for raising water buffalo. The people known for farming activities.[10] Nilgiris was ruled by various dynasties like Satavahanas, Gangas, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara empire and the Rajas of Ummattur (on behalf of Wodeyars of Mysuru).[9][11][12][13][14] Tipu Sultan captured Nilgiris in the eighteenth century and extended the border by constructing a hideout cave-like structure.[10] The Nilgiris came into possession of British East India Company as part of the ceded lands, held by Tipu Sultan, by the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1799.
In 1818, J. C. Whish and N. W. Kindersley, assistants to John Sullivan, then Collector of Coimbatore, visited Ooty and submitted a report to him. Sullivan camped at Dimbhatti, north of Kotagiri in January 1819 and was enthralled by the beauty of the place. He wrote to Thomas Munro, ” … it resembles Switzerland, more than any country of Europe… the hills beautifully wooded and fine strong spring with running water in every valley.”[15] The Toda ceded that part of the town to Sullivan and in May 1819, he began to build his bungalow at Dimbhatti. He also started work on a road from Sirumugai to Dimbhatti that year. The road was completed in May 1823, and extended up to Coonoor by 1830–32.[5]
Aranmore Palace in Ooty, served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency; it was visited by British officials during the colonial days as a popular summer resort.[16] Soldiers were sent to nearby Wellington to recuperate. Wellington is the home of the Madras Regiment of the Indian Army.[17][18] After Independence, it developed into a popular hill resort.
Geography and climate
Location
Ooty is situated in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Many of the forested areas and water bodies are off-limits to most visitors in order to protect this fragile ecosystem. Some areas of the Biosphere Reserve have been earmarked for tourism development, and steps are being undertaken to open these areas to visitors whilst conserving the area.[19] It is situated at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) above sea level.[1]
Climate
Ooty features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) under Köppen climate classification.[20] Despite its location in the tropics, in contrast with most of South India, Ooty generally features mild conditions and is spring-like throughout the year. However, night time in the months of January and February is typically cold. Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year; with average high temperatures ranging from about 17–20 °C (63–68 °F) and average low temperatures between approximately 5–12 °C (41–54 °F).
The highest temperature ever recorded in Ooty was 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), which by South Asian standards is very low for an all-time record high temperature. The rainy season in Ooty is generally cool and windy with high humidity. The wind chill may fall to as low as 5 °C (41 °F) during the day time. Wind is always high throughout the year. The lowest temperature was −2 °C (28 °F).[21] The city sees on average about 1,050 millimetres (41 in) of precipitation annually, with a marked drier season from December through March.