Research Catalog

Title

The story of Munnar / Sulochana Nalapat.

Author

Sulōcana, 1940-

Publication

Kottayam, Kerala State, India : DC Books : Distributors, Current Books, 2010.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

144 pages : color illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

• "This is a love story. This is the story of a land that has systematically encroached into my heart over a lifetime spent within its embrace. A story that now demands a telling because it is the hour of evensong and I need to divest myself of the baggage collected over a lifetime. Some 45 years ago I married Unni, an Assistant Manager on one of the James Finlay tea estates in Munnar. We walked these dusty roads through the James Finlay, Tata-Finlay and Tata Tea eras of these tea plantations. It is well over 14 years since we retired and settled here in Cochin. It has now become my need to tell the story of the Kanan Devan Hills as I see it and know it. It happens to be my husband's house, I entered 45 years ago holding his hand and I have a love-hate relationship with it, the former predominating. This is a story chronicling the development of tea plantations in these hills over 130 years ago."--adapted from Foreword, pages [5]-7.
• "Just like the three rivers Muthirapuzha, Kannimala and Nullatanni that give Munnar its name, 'The Story of Munnar' itself is a confluence of three sources : journal entries and historical facts nimbly woven together with Sulochana's memories and sharp observations. This curious yet charming blend of sources paints images and coins phrases that will forever stay etched in the readers' minds. Undulating hills, gushing springs, grey skies protecting carpets of lush tea plantations and people from all over the world. This colourful canvas is populated with people and events that defy the silent and linear progression of time. The ominous roar of the JCBs that tore down illegal developments in 2007 suddenly makes way for the silent migration of the muduvan's who first came to inhabit this place. Just as the reader is introduced to the first European surveyors, the Wards, in the year 1817, the narrative darts back 6 centuries to when the first Pandian King Manavikraman had to flee Madurai, his pride deeply wounded having been defeated in a war by the Chola King around AD 1250."--adapted from Publisher's Note, page 10.

Subject

• Sulōcana, 1940-
• Tea plantations > India > Munnar
• Tea plantations
• Munnar (India) > History

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Foreword -- Publisher's note -- Introduction -- The Kanan Devan Hills. The Europeans arrive ; The original surveyors ; Muniyandi's domain ; A recent pilgrimage -- Genesis. Poonjar royalty ; More Europeans arrive ; Mrs. Violet Martin ; Coping with change ; First impressions ; Finlay Muir & Co. -- Kanan Devan Hills Produce Company. Eleanor's story ; Historical development of tea cultivation ; Tea gardens : A world apart ; Important development projects ; Exit of the expatriates -- The Tales the Hills Tell. The Muduvans or the Back People ; Social graces ; The old timers ; M.R.P. Lappin ; The Ganesha Temple -- Food and Other Essential Supplies. Marvellous gadgets -- Transport. Kundale Valley Light Railway ; Munnar-Top Station Ropeway ; Buses arrive ; Shrinking distances -- Communications, Power and Labour. The first post office ; Telephones ; Powerhouses ; Labour from Tamil Nadu ; The UPASI ; The industrial relations scene ; The CLWS ; The welfare audit -- Warm Hearts and Special Memories. Memories of Madupatty -- The Health and Welfare Scene. Mahadevan time ; The link worker scheme -- The Tata Era. Expanding horizons ; Administering the Tata philosophy ; Changing attitudes -- Education. Down memory lane ; Tragedy strikes ; The old estate schools ; Srishti ; Rebecca's story ; Vocational training centres and DARE ; The High Range School -- The Scientific Department. Innovative ideas ; Fuelling the tea gardens ; Reviving research and development ; Wealth from waste -- Conclusion -- What Munnar is all about -- Notes -- Glossary -- Index -- Acknowledgements.

ISBN

• 9788126426904
• 812642690X

LCCN

2012339572

OCLC

• ocn730997957
• 730997957
• SCSB-14496755

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library