Road trip to Dhanushkodi (some mythology included)

Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu, India is an abandoned small town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island and is the closest point on the Indian coast to Srilanka.

Dhanuskodi is a place famous for the bridge or Ram Setu that helped Lord Rama along with his brother Lakshmana, Hanuman and Ravana’s brother Vibhishana to reach Lanka to rescue Sita from Ravana, a tale from the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Dhanush in translation means bow and Kodi means end which further suggest that Vibhishana had asked Rama to destroy the bridge post victory and Rama did it with a Dhanush (bow) and hence the name.

One can see the Bay of Bengal on the left and the Indian Ocean on the right.

Dhanuskodi must be on everyones bucket list.

Photo Courtesy: @droneholic_ (Instagram)

More stricter implementation of lockdown rules in Tamilnadu w.e.f 2020-04-26

Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Tirupur, and some more towns in Tamilnadu are going in for total lockdown for a couple of days w.e.f Sunday, 2020-04-26 as an intensive measure to check the spread of Coronavirus.
Dear Indian Roadie page fans and group members, please Stay At Home for your own good and for the safety of your dear ones.
Kindly read all the attachments (4 pages). 

Indian Roadie Preferred Hotel in Ooty, Tamilnadu - 1 brand

A chance meeting with a corporate professional turned hotelier at a seminar culminated into a collaboration between IndianRoadie and the gentleman's hospitality chain presently limited to Tamilnadu and Karnataka.

Indian Roadie followers/ members will now have the privilege of enjoying their stay in Ooty, Tamilnadu at a premium luxury Indian Roadie Preferred Hotel at mid-budget hotel tariffs and facilities.

It's a strategically located property with well appointed spacious rooms, veg & non-veg food, courteous staff, ample car parking space within the compound, banquet hall, etc.

The property owner himself is very excited about the meticulous way how IndianRoadie and it's associated forums are being nurtured. He will be too happy to render every help related to road routes in the region and vehicle service related issues, if needed.

Revert to me (Deep Banerjee) for bookings.

*Terms & Conditions Apply.

India by bus - Chennai (TN) to Ahmedabad (GJ) and vice-versa

There's 1 daily Volvo air-conditioned bus service on:
Chennai (Tamilnadu) to Ahmedabad (Gujarat) route &
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) to Chennai (Tamilnadu) route.
The bus operated by National Travels traverses the entire distance of 1850+ kms in a little less than 32 hrs.
It leaves Chennai at 22:00 hrs.
The ticket price in early August 2018 was  ₹5250. 

This is an Indian Roadie initiative guiding road travel lovers for hassle-free Backpacking India On Road.
Information provided in this series has been collected through extensive primary and secondary research. Nevertheless, interested persons should recheck with competent authorities and respective operators before finalizing their travel plans on various routes.

Fuel for motorized fishing boats being ferried in bullock carts in Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu, India

Bullock carts with plastic jerry cans filling up fuel from an Indianoil filling station at Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu, India for onward transportation to far flung remote fishing villages to fuel motorized fishing boats in mid 2017.

Photo: Navtej Singh (@nattysingh on IG)

It's not a simple fill it, shut it, forget it for a large chunk of the Indian populace whose life would come to a grinding halt without regular supplies of petrol, diesel or kerosene.
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#IndianRoadie #GlobalRoadie #ShetravelsIndia #BackpackingIndiaOnRoad #HowIndiaTravels

Fernhill Palace, Ooty, India

The first Fernhills bungalow was built in 1844 by Capt. F. Cotton. It changed hands over a period of time till mid-1860 when it was temporarily named Moonesami and served as one of Ooty's earliest country club. During the time of the British Raj, the English elite would flee the hot and muggy plains of the Madras Presidency and take sanctuary in the refreshing cool climes of Ooty, with its expanses of undulating hills and terraced tea gardens.

Fernhill Palace was the erstwhile summer residence of the Maharaja of Mysore. The palace resembles a Swiss Chalet. Its carved wooden bargeboards and ornamental cast iron give it that characteristic appearance. The palace grounds accentuate the alpine look of the place with its manicured gardens, firs and cedars. There is an interesting church like indoor badminton court on the grounds.

The Palace is spread out over 50 acres (200,000 m2) of green lawns, stylized gardens and dense woods with spectacular views of terraced tea gardens and lush verdant valleys.

Presently its a luxury hotel in Ooty named WelcomHeritage Fernhills Royale Palace.

Kodaikanal - Palani 16 kms trek on 2016-05-29

On the 29th May 2016, Sandeep Banerjee had an excellent trek with his son Sankha and daughter Dipavali from Kodaikanal to Palani (in Tamilnadu), a 16 KM trek through the mountains and forests of the Western Ghats.

The trek is mostly along wild elephant trails. Though they did not have any sightings, however, this trek is not allowed by the Tamil Nadu government without the permission and accompaniment of either forest officers or someone knowledgeable of the forests.

They were lucky to be accompanied by the Vilpatty Gram Panchayat Joint Secretary and two other friends of the Gram Panchayat Joint Secretary.

Following are some photos of the trip for Roadie friends.

Photo credit: Sandeep Banerjee.

'Only Coffee' chain serves filter coffee on National & State highways in Tamilnadu

Thanks to the efforts of G. Samyraj, you can now drink hot filter coffee when you are driving on the National and State Highways in Tamil Nadu.
G. Samyraj and his fellow-villagers identified spots on the National and State highways in Tamil Nadu, sat there from six in the morning to eight at night to count how many cars passed that way per hour. If the math worked, they opened a coffee outlet there. Not just any coffee, but Kumbakonam Degree Coffee!
G. Samyraj who came up with this initiative belongs to Zameen Devarkulam, a village 10 kilometres away from Kovilpatti. He worked for nearly a decade in the Middle East before returning to his village, where, he was pained to see fellow farmers struggling and in debt. He decided to do something about it. Eight months ago he set up his first Only Coffee outlet at Mangalamedu. Today, he has eleven of them up and running, and manned by people from his village.
The outlets are called ‘Naidu Coffee Inn' and as 'Only Coffee’. A dark blue board announces their presence. “We picked quiet spots where people in cars could stop and enjoy a refreshing cup. I am a coffee priyan and I love the idea of others like me enjoying a satisfying coffee, in the middle or end of a long drive. Kumbakonam Degree Coffee is a trade mark of Tamil Nadu and we serve that. It is like coffee made at home.” Frothy, piping hot, filter-coffee is served in gleaming pithalai davara tumblers. There is sugar-free substitutes for diabetics. “Sabari Malai pilgrims, and so on, are served in disposable cups,” explains Samyraj. The beans are procured from Chikamagalur and roasted at Virudhunagar from where they are delivered to the outlets where they are ground. Now Samyraj plans to go a step further to standardise flavours. He is working on setting up a unit where the decoction is centrally made. “So that the coffee will taste the same in all our outlets.” The R& D is underway and Samyraj hopes to get this plan off its feet soon.
What’s coffee without an accompanying snack? “Vegetarian bajji bonda will also be available. And we plan to centralise the grocery supplies as well. Only the vegetables will be sourced locally,” says Samyraj. The outlet proudly declares that it uses sunflower oil for frying and that the oil is not recycled. There is also a telephone number on teh board in case anyone has complaints. “We want feedback. That way we are alert about the service we provide. And we have communication with our customers.”
Samyraj insists Only Coffee stands for transparency and quality. Along with his business partners R. Anandhan and A. Kalpana, he is now on the lookout for franchisees. “We will set up the outlet for them and even have two of our trained staff to be with them for a month to show them how the café is run. We will supply the coffee powder and the grocery items too. Investors need approximately two lakh rupees that includes a deposit.”
Samyraj hopes that not too long in the future there will be at least a hundred Only Coffee outlets in Tamil Nadu. Till that time, he says, he and his team members will ensure that hot filter coffee priced at Rs 15 is served to the customers with a smile.

For details email akvfarms@gmail.com or call 9940627322/ 9443911011

Content source: The Hindu.