Mysore to Mudumalai Forest

As dramatic as the departure from Gokulum Grand Hotel was, it was to get on board a train to Mysore at the very last minute, after a prolonged buffet breakfast, the collection of valuable information from the hotel authority to reach the train station, and finally, a quick checkout from the hotel with all our bags and baggage and valuable travel papers.

After all the hustle and bustle and the tension amid irritated traffic, as it was office time, we reached the station at the eleventh hour and bought tickets as the train arrived. Very quickly, we hired porters to help us get on board the train. Bowing down to their demand, we did not care to pay them extra money.

But what a cool environment inside the AC compartment! However, I chose a different way to enjoy the entire journey. As I closed the door behind me, I stood at the very gate of the compartment and started taking videos. But I was not alone, as I found a boy from Mumbai who was travelling with his family and three other families and whose destination was also Ooty via Mysore. What I used to do in my travels during my whole life was to be acquainted with local people to know unknown cultures and places better, so I started exchanging my experiences and views with that Mumbai boy when I visited Mumbai in 2019 (I had never before seen so many long coconut trees one after another), and at times, a wave of green originated from large sugarcane fields.

office. We reached Mysore at 11 am, and without any delay, I asked someone at the ticket counter to find a suitable way to reach Ooty as soon as possible. I never knew anything about the tiger reserve forest called Mudumalai that lies in three Indian states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. That person called another person, who led us to an office called SOS Tours and Travels in the railway station, Mysore. There, with their advice, we booked a package worth 6600 INR for a whole-day ride through the Mudumalai Forest to Ooty and, the following day, to visit almost all the tourist spots of Ooty. We, without any prior knowledge, agreed and, as the driver, called Afroj; all of our tension disappeared immediately. And the rest that followed was one of the most memorable days in my life.

Trees have always been and are my best friends, and when I look at a small plant, or a green tree or a grove or a wide range of vegetation, and I look at them deeply with emotion to understand their existence in relation to habitats of animals, insects, birds and fish, and the comfortable habitation of human beings.

In the Indian subcontinent, honey and repeatedly boiled sweetened condensed milk are considered favorite foods for food lovers and are regarded as sources of youth and strength. I was utterly surprised at its name. But undoubtedly, my eight-hour trip from Mysore to Ooty via Madumalai Forest was the best tour through an open, wide reserve forest.

The Mudumalai forest nestles in three Indian states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The most beautiful part is situated on the mountaintop along with the Nilgiri Hills in Kerala, bordering Ooty, the most beautiful queen of South India. But the following videos feature the plain land, part of the Mudumalai forest that is absolutely unique with its vibrant green and thousands of trees, plants, herbs, foliage, creepers, flowers, and fruits. You can try to make a checklist of trees, but it will take you years to count. It’s better if you come here and feed and live amidst exotic, stunning, and scintillating greenery.

It was a bit risky to take those snapshots in a tiger reserve forest. I request the tourists not to do such photography. But I could not help restricting myself from the temptation of an ever-alluring natural beauty that prompted me to stop my car and stroll inside the forest occasionally.

Neither am I a professional photographer nor was I a YouTuber during that exciting, eye-catching, and mind-refreshing trip; and I had only a cheap Android Symphony cell phone that I utilized best when I felt the storytelling via a website derived from retrospection in the following years. And as I could not stop my car except for a few resting stations because of an impending danger of being attacked by tigers at any time, in most cases, I had to take the snapshots and videos through the window of my car, and maintaining the accurate angle and focus on a particular object or scenery was very difficult in a speeding car. But our driver, Afroj, a man who spoke Kannada, was very experienced and judicious, and he helped me perform my tasks ably. But for a Bangladeshi, it was a rare tour, as my countrymen seldom can think about such a tour.