Kovai Paradiso. Review on Coimbatore

The Industrial City is a nature's paradise too, and it has not been explored by many. Within an hour or two drive, you can reach a green forest from the city, and if you are lucky you can view a panther or an herd of Elephants. Am I giving a different picture? But it is true.

Coimbatore has always been illustrated as an Industrial city with textiles, machineries, pumps, businessmen and what not. Now the communal tensions have given a new picture, after the 1998 serial bombs that rocked the city. But Coimbatore has never lost its spirit, and marching towards a more bright future and is destined to become a software city soon. Compared with other cities, Coimbatore is a small town. You can reach from one corner to another of the city within Rs.3.50 fare in the town buses, which are very frequent and ultra modern. Visitors, don't ever dare to engage an auto rickshaw; better go for a call taxi. Auto rickshaws here fleece the passengers to the extent, they have to pay Rs.70/- for a distance you may pay Rs.10/- and meters are a distant dream; and till date no govt. authoritiy could tame them. Reaching Coimbatore by Air, Rail or Road is very easy. Accommodations are plenty and moderate and the people, except auto drivers, are very friendly and helpful.

With the technical colleges boom, plenty of colleges have sprung all over and around the city, and most of the 'Placement Institutions ' are situated here and students from all over India can be seen everywhere. It is metropolitan in nature. You won't believe, Tamils are a minority here. Malayalis, Telugus, Kannadigas, Marwaris, Gujaratis and other North Indians form a chunk of the population. As Kerala border is within an hours drive, Keralites come and go, and many have settled here. The famous Sashi Tharoor's mother lives here, and he visits Coimbatore every year to see her. Telugu Naicker community has contributed in a large way to the growth of educational institutions like PSG, Hospitals, Industries and Textile Mills, in and around the city. As the Karnataka border is also very near, i.e. 2.5 hours drive, Mysore is easily accessible. And once upon a time this was Tippu Sultan's territory.

Eateries are in plenty according to the budget. Angannan Biriyani Hotel is a must for non veg lovers. And there is the Krishna Sweets Mysore Pak which is very costly (God knows why) and very popular. The Annapurna Chain of Hotels provide good tiffin and Lunch can be avoided there. And every 10th shop in the old town area will be selling Paani puris, which is very popular here. Bakeries and Tea shops are richly interior decorated and supply piping hot teas and many varieties of pastries. These types of tea shops cannot be found anywhere in the State, maybe even in the country.Rare items like Kaskas Halwa are available only in the Vysial Street. And of course there are plenty of Hi fi eateries for the newly rich.

For the religious minded, there is the ancient shrine of Patteeswarar at Perur, just 4 kilometres away. The sculptures of the Nayakka period are a treat to eyes. Marudamalai Murugan temple is atop a hill and is a beautiful place to visit. Anuvavi Subramaniyar temple is also on a hill and is in the midst of natural surroundings. And there are plenty of Swamijis around, who are very famous all over the country . Isha Yoga Centre headed by Jaggi Vasudev is a beautiful place to relax, visit and learn yoga. And all Swamijis have built huge Ashrams and attract the devotees from all over the world. The gospel king Dr. T.G.Dinakaran owns a vast area for his Karunya University near Siruvani .

And when we talk about Siruvani Dam, we have to talk about the sweet water it supplies for the entire town, and there is a talk that it is the second sweetest water in the world, and I really don't know which is the first one. And quite below the dam is Kovai (Coimbatore) Kuttraalam, the beautiful and dangerous waterfalls 28 km from the city and a must see for the visitors. But be careful, Elephants are a common sight here, and many casualities have occured .

There are limited cultural activities, and India's biggest private Textile museum and Art Gallery under the name of Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery is busy throughout the year exhibiting art exhibitions by eminent artists of the city and country. And for your information Coimbatore was once the capital city of cinema studios and many movies were produced here. The Dilip Kumar-Meena Kumari starrer 'Azaad' was produced at the Pakshiraja Studios. Ooty is a three hours drive from here and everyone will know what a beautiful place it is, and how many movies are shot here. The cream of the Tamil filmdom are from Coimbatore. Sivakumar, Bhagyaraj, Satyaraj, Raghuvaran and plenty of VIPs are from here. The Cinematographer V.Manikandan who shot 'Kuch Na Kaho' and 'Main hoon Na' is a Coimbatorian, and with modesty, may I add, he is my younger brother.

And now I will come to the main part I described in the first para. Geographically, Coimbatore is situated near the Western Ghats and near the Palghat pass. The Kerala wind and showers enter this territory through this pass. So, the climate is excellent, only next to Ooty and Kodaikanal, the hill stations. If you travel by train or bus, and when you cross Tirupur, you will find a sudden change in the climate and a cool breeze will fondle you even in the hottest summer. And that's why a Coimbatorian loves to live here 'forever', and NRIs put their parents in many of the newly sprouting Old Age Homes around the city. The city is surrounded on all the three sides by forests. If you go to Pollachi, the next small town, there is a ghat road to Valparai, with monkey falls and Azhiyar Dam, a treat for the eyes. If you take another road, it will lead to Top Slip Indra Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary, where you can can see rare plants, trees and animals like Nilgiri Tahir, Nilgiri Gaur what we commonly call Byson, Panthers, Elephants, Wild boars on the roads like the Asterix village, and there are beautiful cottages for accommodations and elephant rides and friendly game wardens. And on the Siruvani Road a lot of games could be sighted. And if you take the Thadagam road to Anaikatti village on the borders of Kerala, and cross it to Mannarkkadu, you will have to pass through the famous 'Silent Valley' sanctuary. In some seasons millions of butterflies can be sighted in particular areas and what a sight! On the way you will have to cross the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary run by the central govt. and don't ever miss it. And for trekkers, it is a territory that should not be missed at any cost. Now we will take the road to Ooty. There are two other ways to reach it apart from the popular way. One, you can go through Kotagiri and the other through Karamadai, Mulli and Katteri with the permission of the EB. And you will be really wonderstruck of what you are going to see. Either an Elephant or a Nilgiri Gaur may block your way, ot you may encounter any other animal. You may think that I am crossing territory to Nilgiris, No, we are still in the Coimbatore districts.

And why don't you plan a visit here. Welcome.