[darklord]

"A white horse slowly emerged from the thick blanket of fog. The man sitting on the horse gripped his rifle in easy familiarity and readjusted his pith hat. He surveyed his people working on his tea plants, the women plucking and the overseers yelling instructions. He felt swelling pride. His estate is a bustling hub of activity. His plants are strong and healthy. He provides for hundreds of people and their families.

The sun is on his back. He is the lord of the land."

This is the sequence that runs through my mind when I hear of old tea estates. I did not realize how time has changed the picture drastically until I visited Braemore Estate near Palode in Thiruvananthapuram.

[darklord]

The entire family wanted a get together vacation. Being the last week of December, almost all the touristy spots were booked out, being a 20+ member group was not helping either. Scrolling through Google results, the name Braemore Estate caught our attention. At just about 50 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, it looked promising as a 2D/1N location.

We called them up; yes, they have 4 bungalows that they rent out. Yes, they have a couple of them available in close proximity to each other. No, they don't serve food. Yes, they can arrange an outside guy who can cook and deliver it.

So, we (blind) booked two bungalows, one a 2 bedroom and one a 3 bedroom. The total was 18K and advance was transferred.

Not much information is available in the web about their accommodation, and their website is superficial.
http://www.braemorehills.com/

An a/c Force Traveller was booked (8 K) for the trip, and we decided to make a stopover at Mankayam Waterfalls just before the estate.

On the designated day, we started at 9:30 a.m. from TVM.

The usually busy Peroorkada junction:


Hill Highway works going on in many stretches:


The Palode-Braemore road is upgraded and freshly relaid:


At Idinjar, the Forest checkpost/ticket counter for Mankayam Waterfalls (and onwards to Braemore) comes up:


The road onwards passed through thick woods:


A few minutes later, we reached Mankayam:


Description of the falls:


Wise words:


There is a snack bar, a couple of resting huts and restrooms/changing rooms. There is no designated parking space per se, but there is enough by the roadside:


There are three falls, one big and two small ones. Viewing all of them requires walking uphill for a bit (~5 mins). Then walk back to the bathing spots near the parking space. There are two bathing spots, one each for ladies and gentlemen. They would not allow bathing during rainy season as there is a high risk for flash floods, being in the forest area.

The path to the falls have been made people-friendly:


The lowest waterfall. The pool here forms the bathing spot for men (the ladies' spot is a bit downstream from here; needless to say, no photos of that!!). The rope is not to be crossed while bathing as the depths are treacherous.




The stream leading into the fall:


Another small/middle fall:


The top/main fall:




The outflow from the main fall:


After spending time admiring the falls and clicking photos, we began our walk back to the bathing spot:


These guys don't need a ticket:


The men's bathing spot (base of the lowest fall):


Crystal-clear water:


The water is ice-cold and super-clean, perfect for a refreshing bath:

[darklord]

By the time we finished bathing, it was nearing noon, so we decided to go back to the checkpost and pick up our lunch instead of waiting for it to be delivered. The food was arranged from a hotel near the checkpost and we did bring vessels to get the food. The rates were reasonable.

We continued our drive to Braemore; approximately 5 km from Mankayam.

The woods were now thick and invading the carriageway:




After a few minutes, we reached the fringes of the estate, this area growing rubber:


We had gained some altitude, starting from ~4 m MSL of TVM:


Braemore:




We were met at the estate office, paid the rest of the amount, and got keys for the two bungalows.

Attractions in Braemore. We planned to cover just one or two:


After ~1.5 km into the estate, we found one of our bungalows, named 3 Roses:


Just below it was one of the staff quarters (layams):


A short climb of 100 m to the second bungalow:


The second bungalow was named Lotus. It was way better than 3 Roses. The staff referred to it as Superintendent's Bungalow:
















After clicking photos, we walked down to 3 Roses to have lunch:

[darklord]

We had a hearty lunch and after catching up on life stories, we decided to visit the helipad and the Madam Waterfalls in the evening. Since our driver had left, we decided to walk. We were told it was approximately 2 km one way, but we think it was more than that.

A peak:


Geography:


Coconut seems to be one of the crops:


Coffee:


Pepper:


One of the many streams:


Narrow estate road:


Another staff quarters:


Blue and green meet:


A hairpin bend paved with hard rock:


Rubber latex:


Another stream on the way:


Crystal clear water:


Clove:


Nutmeg:


The road to helipad and Madam falls is a dirt track of about a km from tarred road. High GC vehicles should do it quite easily.

The light was fading at this point, so in my haste to reach the waterfalls, I forgot to take pictures of the helipad. There are a few benches and what looked like a snack bar (not open); the only facilities. There is an open pipe supplying spring water so you get to quench your thirst.

Madam falls is a couple of hundred meters from the helipad. The path is rocky, yet not arduous:


The path to the fall passes underneath an overhanging rock. There are remnants of fire, so I guess people may be camping out here. It is extremely secluded though and there are no people or habitation around.


There are steps leading down to the fall. The water is thinning out being end-December.


Madam falls is a charming little fall:


Outflow from the fall:


We walked quickly back as it was almost nighttime and we were in an unfamiliar secluded place with only the lights of our mobile phones to guide us. Still one could hardly miss the beauty of this sunset:


Even though the walk was manageable, the onward path is a climb, so that had drained us out by the time we reached back. The rest of the night went in a jiffy, with food being delivered and eaten, children running around, and stories and memories rekindled.

The driver is supposed to come back at 7 a.m. tomorrow and we are scheduled to leave about then.

[darklord]

I woke up well before the planned return and took a walk around.

Early morning:


Yet another stream:


I walked further and reached the gate/factory/office premises.

One more bungalow that they rent out, River View. Somebody was staying there, so I did not venture inside the compound:


A rivulet:


The old tea factory and the bridge over the rivulet:


Still functioning:


The gate to the factory was open:


The old tea factory and its nemesis:


The Braemore Estates Ltd:


136 years and counting:


The factory is no longer functioning in its primary role. The machines are still there and they let you visit it during office hours. Very little, if any, tea cultivation remains in the estate.

Only if the building could speak..


Cloud Physics Observatory in the compound:


Remnants of an old building. A meeting hall or a church perhaps?


There is a trek path, starting from near the main gate as can be seen in the last photo, leading to Ponmudi.

I walked back and clicked a few pictures of 3 Roses Bungalow before leaving:






These guys were sad to see us leave:


The driver was late. As I sat waiting, I remembered a blog that I had read earlier.

The Ponmudi Tea and Rubber Company Ltd was formed in 1900. The property consisted of three estates – Ponmudi, Bon-Accord and Braemore, all of which were in the district of Ponmudi in the native state of Travancore. The estates spanned an area of 3276 acres with the cultivated portion totaling 1710 acres, featuring tea and rubber. Mr J.S. Valentine, the managing director, had arrived in India in 1875. At that time, the area was planted with coffee but all that coffee was lost in the blight that hit Kerala’s coffee. Subsequently in 1884, tea was planted in Ponmudi and in portions of the other properties. The climate was good for tea; the rainfall of almost 160 inches experienced annually was heaviest in June, July, August, October and November. The yield of tea was highest in Ponmudi followed by Bon-Accord and Braemore in that order. In January 1915, when these observations about the estates were penned, the region had about 1510 acres under tea and 200 acres under rubber at the three estates. There were tea factories at all three properties and the produce was shipped under the company’s brand through the ports of Kochi and Tuticorin for sale in London. Two thousand laborers worked in the plantations; they were drawn equally from Malabar, south Travancore and Tinnevely, the Tirunelveli district of present day Tamil Nadu. Mr Valentine lived in Ponmudi, Mr R. Ross with Mr David Welsh, assistant, was in charge at Bon-Accord and Mr I.R.N. Pryde looked after Braemore. The company’s registered office was at 4 Lloyd’s Avenue, London.

The three estates are now separate. They draw their lineage from the Ponmudi Tea and Rubber Company. When I was a school student in Thiruvananthapuram, the Ponmudi area was identified with tea and as I understood in retrospect from my inquiries, foreign managers were still there. They were present in Ponmudi till the late 1970s. It was also from these parts that I first heard the name Birla. Jayasree Tea, a company belonging to the B.K. Birla group and a leading tea company in India, had come to own a plantation called Merchiston in Ponmudi. But there was trouble brewing, scripted possibly by paradigm problems visiting the tea business in the state. In fact, while I was still living in Thiruvananthapuram and yet to be journalist, reports had commenced of labor problem and slow decay at the tea estates.

Source/You can read the excellent blog for the story of tea estates in Thiruvananthapuram district. He has written a three-part blog on the subject.
https://shyamgopan.com/2014/08/09/a-...-story-part-2/

From our short stay in Braemore, it is difficult to draw conclusions. Yet, I got the impression that the estate was just "getting by." It does not exude an aura of prosperity. There is no lord of the land, there are no workers plucking tea, or even tea plants , no overseers yelling instructions, and definitely no firearms or horses involved. There was a notice on the factory's notice board detailing various problems ailing the estate and the industry in general. Apparently, they haven't plucked tea in 15 years, the factory has long stopped working. The rubber trees are long past slaughter and replanting, but the forest department has not given them clearance. The estate is struggling to provide work for even half of a week to their staff, yet the notice outlines how the estate is trying its best to stay afloat and look after their people with the other crops they have in the estate. Considering how the Bonacaud and Merchiston estates shut down and went to the dogs (there were even poverty deaths), Braemore is putting up a brave fight. I hope and pray that they pull off a miracle and get the glory days to return.

A few things about visit and stay at the estate. They don't have any facilities for tourists, except bottled water. Bring everything; food, snacks, water, extra sheets and pillows, glasses, utensils. The maintenance and facilities in the bungalows leave a lot to be desired. The estate seems to have made only a half-hearted approach to promote tourism; they miserably fail to exploit the heritage of the estate. The bungalows even have significant voltage shortage. Lotus Bungalow is way better than 3 Roses, but there seems to be a beetle problem (bane of rubber estates). I don't know if that is the case on all days, but it was during our stay.

As I sat contemplating, our driver returned and we started our journey back by 8 a.m.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[RK79]

Thanks for sharing your experience,beautiful pictures and nice write up. Its an opportunity to look back in time. This place is some what close to my place and definitely will plan a visit along with the family. Going through their website, the room tariffs are at a premium with limited facilities. Hope they provide better facilities to attract more tourist which justify their tariff. The beetle problem is severe in summer and quite troublesome,which is common in all rubber estates.

[BloggerMathai]

Originally Posted by darklord

The Ponmudi Tea and Rubber Company Ltd was formed in 1900. The property consisted of three estates – Ponmudi, Bon-Accord and Braemore,...

I'm from Trivandrum and my whole life I was under the impression that Bonnacaud was spelled similar to Thycaud, Manacaud or Vazhuthacaud.
Never seen it in print till now

[Mysticeyes]

Lovely writeup and pics Sir. Had been planning Braemore trip for years now, but always ends up at Bonacaud

Originally Posted by BloggerMathai

I'm from Trivandrum and my whole life I was under the impression that Bonnacaud was spelled similar to Thycaud, Manacaud or Vazhuthacaud.
Never seen it in print till now

It's based on the place name Bon Accord (Ireland, I believe) since they wanted English name as they had set up the estate Later, it was 'mallu'fied to Bonacaud

[Thad E Ginathom]

Lovely write-up and pics, Darklord.

Originally Posted by BloggerMathai

I'm from Trivandrum and my whole life I was under the impression that Bonnacaud was spelled similar to Thycaud, Manacaud or Vazhuthacaud.
Never seen it in print till now

And I always thought that those names were prounced like Thike-aur, etc! So the -caud is pronounced like -cord? Well, I can also check with my wife, who speaks Malayalam as well as Tamil.

(OK, she says something more like -card. Please allow for my English ears!)

[dev2deva]

Hi there OP! Beautiful writeup and before you wonder why you got a reply for your old thread, let me tell you why I got the urge to write - I work for the company "Travancore Estates". I'm not employed at Braemore but I work at a much bigger estate in Kollam district, owned by the same group.

You might know that no major cultivation or production operations are done in Braemore estate but the last fully operational Orthodox Tea Factory in Kollam District belongs to the Travancore Group. The name of the estate is Ambanad Estate, in the KL-TN border, 95 km from Kollam and 35 km from Senkottai. Major produces are Tea and Rubber and other minor crops are also cultivated.

You might have visited the place before, if not please do. I've read many number of travelogues on TeamBHP about nearby places Rosemala, Thenmala, Tenkasi, Sengottai, Jatayu Earth Centre, to name a few. I would definitely love to read a travelogue on this place, home to my family for the past 4 years.

Dearest fellow TeamBHPians, consider this post as an invitation to Ambanad Estate. Pictures, posts and articles about this estate are limited on the internet. Believe me when I say, you will never forget this experience.

**Note: Since the estate is a private property, entry is prohibited for outsiders or tourists. Text me up well in advance, if you plan to visit as I can arrange for your entry and stay (we have an overpriced guest house!) I'm just an employee here, also a human with a love for nature, wishing to share my experiences to fellow Team BHPians. I'm not trying to advertise tourism here.