GOVERNMENT MUSEUM OOTY

                                               
                                                GOVERNMENT MUSEUM OOTY

Ooty has so much to flaunt, from scenic beauty to myriad of activity it offers; museums of Ooty are yet another way to exhibit what makes this town so enchanting.The Government Museum, Mysore Road, Udhagamandalam, has items of tribal objects, districts ecological details and representative sculptural arts and crafts of Tamil Nadu.

It was set up in 1989, with a view to providing education benefits to the residing and visiting population of the Nilgiris district. The admission to this museum is free. The timings are 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. It is closed on Fridays, Second Saturdays and National Holidays. The nearest airport is at Coimbatore (100-km).

Udhagamandalam Government Museum has an interesting selection of objects covering an assortment of subjects – from art and sculpture to archaeology and anthropology to botany, zoology, geology and numismatics and philately. You can see many contemporary paintings and sculptures here. And you can learn about the Todas, the local tribe that resides in the region.  

RACECOURCE OOTY

                                                 
                                                         RACECOURCE OOTY
                                                   

In its more than 100 years of remarkable history, the famous Ooty course has witnessed many rare distinctions.Ooty Racecourse is one of the famous tourists' place It entertains tourists and to attract more tourists to the much sought after tourist destination, the government, district administration as well as various organizations conduct a host of events and competitions every year.Apart from the flower show and other annual events, one cannot miss mentioning the famous Ooty Horse Race at the picturesque Race Course in Udhagamandalam.

The annual event that begins around April 14 is witnessed by thousands of tourists and locals. Horses have already started coming to the town and are getting ready to gallop from the post position.This year too the Madras Race Club has started gearing up to meet the expectations of tourists and horse racing enthusiasts by preparing the race track on which hundreds of horses from across the country will be racing – over the next few weeks.Ooty Racecourse is a highland race course in Ooty, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. Built for summer racing in the hills, the course stands at an altitude of 2,268 m above sea level. The race course is adjacent to the railway station in the heart of town

ASSEMBLY ROOMS

                                                             ASSEMBLY ROOMS

The Assembly Rooms has touched almost every individual in this area.The old Assembly Rooms in Ooty, constructed over 150 years ago, gets a nip and a tuck. Originally called Misquith’s Rooms it got its present name in 1886. It was bought by Lady Willingdon for Rs 50,000 and bequeathed to the people of Ooty in 1922 for their entertainment. From holding dances and theatre performances, the Rooms turned into a movie hall.

 The theatre is spacious, with digital technology for a better viewing experience and a silver screen that allows 3 D films.The Rooms are on 1.15 acres of prime land.It has never been profit-oriented. Funds have generated for the maintenance. Ms. Archana Patnaik who was the collector then got us funds from HADP and maintenance was taken up. Along with other generous contributions, over 70 lakh have spent on the project. The area around has been turned into parking to earn revenue.   The movie experience to be as good as it is in the big cities. 90 percent have has been achieved.The space behind the theatre was cleaned that was lying unused for years to be used as parking.

The Assembly Rooms were thrown open today after they had shut in 2011 for renovation. There will soon be a gallery displaying old film paraphernalia including the Bauer projector that was used till recently.There will also be photographs of the legends of Hollywood and Indian cinema and of the popular movie shooting haunts in the Nilgiris.

MAJOR DISASTER OF OOTY

                                               MAJOR  DISASTER OF OOTY

Ooty faced the major disaster in the year 2009.Heavy rains triggered a series of landslides in Ooty, Coonoor and Kotagiri regions of the Nilgiris, about 600km from Chennai, killing 42 people in the past 48 hours. Most of the people were killed after the landslides slammed into their houses. Seven of a family died at Acchanakal hamlet near Ooty,” a source in district collector Anandrao Vishnu Patil’s office told DNA. “We have set up relief camps in the three regions and nearly 1,000 people have been sheltered there.”

The slides and uprooted trees also cut off access to Nilgiris via Mettupalayam and the district collector asked tourists to stay away from Ooty. “The approach road to Ooty from Tamil Nadu via Mettupalayam has been severely damaged. We received 310cm rain this morning. After 1978, this is the biggest rain-related disaster in the district. The road via Kotagiri is in slightly better shape which is why traffic has been redirected through it.

“However, smaller landslides and fallen trees are also blocking parts of the road. At this point, we can only say that there’s been a lot of damage but it’s difficult to say how much. It will be some time before we begin to assess the losses to roads, houses, crops and other property,” the sources said.The state government has announced a cash relief or Rs1 lakh each to the kin of those killed. Chief minister M Karunanidhi asked agricultural minister Veerapandi Arumugham and small industries minister Pongalur Palanichami to visit the district to assess the damage.

CHOCOLATE MUSEUM

                                                    CHOCOLATE  MUSEUM

Handmade chocolates are famous in Ooty, Every tourist who visits Ooty will not forget the packs of chocolate. M & N Chocolate Museum on Mysore Road, near HPF factory. The brothers maintain it’s a first-of-its-kind in the country and it gives an insight into the history of chocolate-making.

The museum, with its vintage architecture and interiors that remind one of British country architecture, also boasts of model of horse carts, boat, idols, chocolate fountain, ancient chocolate making implements, cocoa seeds and the photographs of three Swiss men who were pioneer in home-made chocolate-making, along with signages on the health profit of chocolates. It also has a counter to house varieties of homemade chocolates.

December 2010 they had organized the first chocolate festival featuring 101 varieties and since then they had shown their deep love for cocoa and chocolates in different ways. Bringing into being a museum was a natural corollary.Apart from the 16 items designed with chocolates, posters listing the health benefits of cocoa have also been displayed.

OOTY FLOWER SHOW

                                                     
                                                          OOTY  FLOWER  SHOW

Thousands of tourists visited the Government Botanical Garden  every year .The Ooty Summer Festival is an annual event, which is celebrated every year in Ooty amidst the Nilgiri Hills. Organised by the Government of Tamil Nadu, this 121-year-old event is one of the most amazing and prominent festivals that attracts tourist from various corners of the world. This summer festival consists of fairs, carnivals, flower shows, vegetable, and spice show and several cultural activities that catch the eyes of the visitors. The flower show is the major attraction of this festival as it displays more than 15 varieties of flowers from different countries, which is organized at the Botanical garden and witnesses the most number of spectators.

The event usually continues for 3 days and diverse ventures take place during the same. Classical art exhibitions and adventure activities can also be enjoyed during the festival that makes it a memorable experience for the audiences. The major aim behind organizing the festival is promoting tourism of Ooty. The arrangements are done by the Government keeping in mind the visitors. The impeccable charm of this festival steals the hearts of all the people visiting it and leave them awestruck. This year the Ooty Summer Festival is going to be held in the month of May in Ooty and can be visited by taking a flight/bus/train to Ooty.

More than 15,000 potted plants and 200 varieties of blooming plants including Oriental and Asiatic Lilies, French marigolds, petunias, salvias, begonias, asters, balsams, chrysanthemums, zinnias, and verbenas are on display. Five types of carnations were imported from Italy for the show.Visitors will get to see more than 4 lakh flowers and can take pictures from a dedicated ‘selfie’ spot.The main attractions are the replica of Mahabalipuram shore temple made from lakhs of red and white carnation flowers and a hornbill made from thousands of carnation flowers and arches and arabesques decorated with orchids and other colorful flowers.

MUDUMALAI TIGER RESERVE

             
                                                 
                                                  MUDUMALAI TIGER RESERVE

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is about 240 Km from Bangalore, about 90 Km from Mysore, about 68 Km from Ooty and about 124 Km from Calicut by road. The reserve straddles the Ooty -Mysore interstate national highway, roughly midway between the two cities and thus could be approached with equal facility either way. Of Ooty, another approach is through extremely steep ghat road via Kalhatti having 36 hair-pin bends on a narrow road, but with a truncated distance of approximately 40 Km.   

In April 2007, the Tamil Nadu state government declared Mudumalai to be a tiger reserve, under section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, in an effort to conserve the country's dwindling tiger populations. Consequently, about 350 families living in the core area were evicted from the park and given INR 10 Lacs compensation. Those in the 5 km buffer area around the park fear they, too, will be evicted; nobody will be dislodged from the buffer zone. In an episode, some people in this zone will become trackers and guides to enhance their income through eco-tourism.

Approximately 15 cat species in India, four live in Mudumalai: Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, jungle cat and leopard cat. There are 44 to 80 tigers in the Mudumalai forest. The original largest tiger population in India comprises the Mudumalai tigers. These tigers are a breeding source for populating the northern and eastern parts of the Western Ghats. The population exists at high density due to the high density of prey species thriving in its deciduous forests
  

CSI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

                                               CSI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

CSI College of Engineering in Nilgiris is a self-financing engineering college situated in the Ketti Valley of Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1998. It is a self-financing institution, offering degree level courses in different disciplines of Engineering Sciences. CSI college was founded by the Church of South India, Coimbatore Diocesan Council.The college is approved by AICTE, New Delhi and Government of Tamil Nadu, and is affiliated with Anna University, Chennai

In 2005, a ten-day NSS camp was situated in Nedugalcombai, an Irumba tribal village. The campus involved sanitizing, building facilities and structures and conducting cultural engagement events and activities for the tribals.The Youth Red Cross wing of the Institution organized a blood donation camp in August 2004, enlisting the aid of the Coimbatore-based K. G. Hospital. Over 200 students and 25 members of the faculty participated.

  Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam the Ex-President of India addressed and interacted with the Students of CSI College of Engineering Ketty, Nilgiris - Ooty, on Feb 21, 2012. He quoted "I was reading about the college and was happy to know the mission of the college is to equip the students with Technical Knowledge, skill and ability" He also told "Leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path" India’s first astronaut Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma participated in a function organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering to inaugurate its student's association Auritz.

OOTY STONE HOUSE

                                                     
                                                        OOTY STONE HOUSE

Stone house was the first bungalow constructed in Ooty. It was built by John Sullivan in 1822 and was called Kal Bangla by the tribals. Today it is the official  residency of the Principal of the Government Arts College Ooty. The tree in front of the bungalow is known as the Sullivan's oak.

By 1822, Sullivan had started building Stonehouse in what was then known as Wotokymond, acquiring land from the Todas at one rupee an acre. He would quickly corner huge tracts of land, many times more than all the other European settlers put together. All the while, Sullivan was peppering his superiors in Madras with letters about the unusually temperate and healthy climate in the Nilgiris and its suitability as a sanatorium. By 1828, there were some 25 European houses, not to mention churches and the houses of immigrants from the plains. This was also the year that Ooty was made a military cantonment. Sullivan's dream of making it a sanatorium for British troops had been fulfilled, but the Government's action meant that Ooty would no longer be in his control but in that of his rival Major William Kelso.

The Stone House in Ooty is one of the most significant and ancient monuments of Ooty that was inadvertently instrumental in the further development of Ooty into a prominent British and European Summer alternative that fostered the Hill Station to presently become one of the most visited Tourist targets in India and worldwide.

The Ooty Stone House was the first building or rather Mansion to be constructed in a modern and yet colonial style in Ooty that indirectly caused further modernization of Ooty with numerous elegant cottages crop up showcasing similar colonial architecture.