06th February 2017.
As per an official note in the March 1821 CE Madras
Gazette, Udhagamandalam was called Wotokymund. In early times, it was called Ottkakalmandu, and Mund means a village in the Toda language. The present name is
a corruption of the local name. The local tribes, Toda, lived with Kota, Irula, and Kurumba. The hill was referred to in the 2nd-century Tamil work Silapathikaram, in which Chera King Senguttuvan ruled this place. He
also stayed here for some time on the way to the Himalayas.
After 1117 CE, this place came under the rule of
Hoysalas, Satavahanas, Cheras, Gangas, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, Hoysalas,
Vijayanagara Empire, and the Rajas of Ummathur. Tipu Sultan captured the Nilgiris in the
eighteenth century and handed them over to the East India Company by the Treaty of
Srirangapatna in 1799 CE. In 1819 CE, John Sullivan, the collector of
Coimbatore, visited Kotagiri and described this place as looking like
Switzerland, in a letter to Thomas Munro. A Road was laid in 1823 from
Sirumugai to the newly built Bungalow at Dimhatti, which was later
extended to Coonoor in the years 1830 - 32 CE.
Ooty served as the Summer Capital for the Britishers'
Madras Presidency. Wellington has become the home for the Madras Regiment of
the Indian Army, and after independence, it was developed as a Hill resort and
called the Queen of the Hills. The names of the Places and streets remind me of British
rule. This post does not cover all the heritage buildings and structures,
but only the buildings I visited.
The Details of some of the places
visited are...
CHARING
CROSS.
It was said that this
fountain is very similar to the one available in London. It will be very
nice to see water flowing and light.
MUNICIPAL OFFICE
The municipal office of Ootacamund (OOTY) was
constituted in the year 1866, and this office was constructed in 1894. Then the
building was extended in 1946. The building was constructed by the contractor
M. Joghee Maistry. The Commissioner, the Engineer, Health Officer, Town Planning, the PA to the Commissioner, and the Manager's offices are functioning in this building. The first
floor and steps are constructed with wood.
TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY BOARD OFFICE.
The single-floor office was constructed in
1923 CE with tiled roofing. ADE, DE, and Bill collection offices are functioning
here. Except for the age of the building, there are no special features.
BRIDGES:
On the way to Ooty, we have to cross 3 iron bridges
constructed from 1900 to 1923 with riveted joints by a contractor from
Calcutta.
---OM
SHIVAYA NAMA---
I specially liked the history of Ooty that you have given at the beginning of this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks amit
ReplyDelete