Afew hours from Mettupalayam, via a steam locomotive, we arrived to a sad and wet Ooty. Like many other villages, towns and cities in India Ooty has people with their own unique culture and trade. They have been under the rule of many dynasties including that of Mysore, before the arrival of British, who in their bid to avoid the summer heat and tropical diseases, based themselves here for periods of the year. Between 19th—20th centuries, they founded more than 80 mountain settlements from the foothills of the Himalayas to Western Ghats and the Nilgiri Mountains. One of those hill stations was Ooty.
The British constructed railroads to reach their settlements where they recreated elements of British culture and customs through, architecture, tea drinking, hunting, theatre, dog shows, cricket and jam making. Every summer, right up to the division of British India, high officials and military men with families and servants, as well as many Maharajas moved from Kolkata and other cities to Ooty. After Indian independence Ooty developed into a popular hill resort. Which might seem strange now, because the town itself looks quite ramshackle, grey, smelly and damp.
