Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu

Mysticeyes · 16th November 2010, 10:58

Another long 3 day weekend (November 5,6,7), nothing to do and the only thing that went on was the scratching of head thinking what to do over the weekend..nothing went through and finally a thought came up – a drive through twisty curvy smooth roads.

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-img_7749.jpg

A simple drive? No way, I thought. Looked at the calendar and guessed it was time for the fields to get active in Tamilnadu for the second half of crop season. Images of the rural life & work flashed through my mind and finally my head got respite..

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07593.jpg

Sometimes, spur of the moment decisions turns out to be rewarding than long drawn decisions and this was one case. Next day morning, fabia rolled out again in search of the emerald land. It was a trip to the farmlands near shenkottai & thenkasi once again and my guess didn't go wrong..

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07611.jpg

Surprise · 16th November 2010, 12:24

Have you been to Sundarapandiapuram (link) Beautiful place. On your left, its a beautiful lake & to your right, wide opened paddy fields...Lots of tamil movies were shot in this place (Ex-Roja/Anniyan)

Mysticeyes · 16th November 2010, 12:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise

Have you been to Sundarapandiapuram (link) Beautiful place. On your left, its a beautiful lake & to your right, wide opened paddy fields...Lots of tamil movies were shot in this place (Ex-Roja/Anniyan)

passed through sundarapandiapuram two months back. might drop and wander there tomorrow as we are planning another trip

swiftnfurious · 16th November 2010, 13:12

So this promises to be out-of-the-box ! Great! And rural sights are a pleasure to go thru ! More photos please....We are waiting.

MX6 · 16th November 2010, 13:41

Mystic eyes will put Bharathiraja to shame! And the road in the first photo. Man. this is going to really rock. Flood us with the photos!

nkrishnap · 16th November 2010, 13:55

Lovely first picture there. What a way start off a travelogue.

By the way is this road that goes from Punalur to Senkottai?

Mysticeyes · 16th November 2010, 14:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

So this promises to be out-of-the-box ! Great! And rural sights are a pleasure to go thru ! More photos please....We are waiting.

I always feel to be 'in the box' while in office eventhough I love what I do for a living. Yet, there is a longing in me to be out in vast open lands where time still ticks very slowly. May be that's why I tend to look out to rural TN where the pace of life is slow

Quote:

Originally Posted by MX6

Mystic eyes will put Bharathiraja to shame! And the road in the first photo. Man. this is going to really rock. Flood us with the photos!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Lovely first picture there. What a way start off a travelogue.

By the way is this road that goes from Punalur to Senkottai?

@ MX6 - Bharathiraja movies have always been an inspiration for me to explore the rustic places. Now I've become an addict to such places

@ nkrishnap - The location of the pic is just before thenmala on the trivandrum-shenkottai SH

@ surprise - this must be the lake you had mentioned. excuse me for the poor pic quality. this was taken from a hairpin bend at full zoom under cloudy condition

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07446.jpg

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07447.jpg

inch perfect planting..it was a treat to watch the workers planting them with such precision

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07517.jpg

people who feed us keralites. if it wasn't for their toil at the fields, we wouldn't be eating rice

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07498.jpg

country roads, take me home..the paths that never met

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-dsc07528.jpg

Gansan · 16th November 2010, 14:39

Beautiful photos! Man, I almost mistook them as picture postcards at first glance. Kudos!

I also love the way you liberally sprinkle your travelogues with Ilayaraja songs!

live360 · 16th November 2010, 23:39

Mysticeyes,
Excellent pictures, I can almost smell those wet paddy fields. It brings back lot of memories.
Thanks buddy and please keep them coming.

maddy42 · 17th November 2010, 04:42

Wow awesome to see this. Always love standing in the fields watching as inch by inch is filled with greenery.

prince_pervez · 17th November 2010, 07:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Lovely first picture there. What a way start off a travelogue.

Absolutely! Very nice pictures there. Something like we used to draw in school. I hope there are more coming, and fast!

Fauji · 17th November 2010, 21:14

Nice pics......the rice bowl of Tamil nadu - Thanjavur, Kumbakonam etc - makes a fabulous road trip during this season. It is greenery everywhere and roads are generally good.

Mysticeyes · 18th November 2010, 13:00

For those who are new to the area, Trivandrum – Shenkottai (106km)- Thenkasi is 113 km. From Trivandrum, the path to take is the Trivandrum-Shenkottai (TS) State Highway. The major diversion comes at Chullimanoor Juntion, where the road splits into two, the right side road leading to Ponmudi (hill station). Entire stretch is in pretty good shape except for few rough points here and there, especially near thenmala area. Trivandrum - Thenmala is 72km, Thenmala-Thenkasi distance is 41km, taking travellers through one of the picturesque roads in india making its way through forests, streams, rivers, hairpins and finally it opens into the emerald land with fields on either sides, palms swaying in wind and the majestic mountain overlooking the whole scenery

@ gansan, one can't keep put IR music from the rustic tamilnadu, right? standing at certain places, we feel like the music was composed as IR stood at same spot. In the film ‘Mudhal Mariyadai’, there is a song “Raasave unnai nambi rosapoo iirukathinge..”. It was shot at night and bears some resemblance to the following pic:

this is where I want to live, amidst the fields and trees, below the mountain. at evenings, I would sit in the rock with friends recounting the stories of the day as the breeze cools us. let the night be lighted by moon as I walk along the narrow path to home, let the only voice at night be the humming of a lady making garland with roses, let the wind & leaves conjure lullabies and put me to sleep as I listen to the crickets in the fields make their own music..

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-73079_152790904765965_100001051681089_280519_2115109_n.jpg

One of the rare occasions when we see man made beauty that complements the nature..but often, creators of such fine things are relegated to sidelines of life..We stood there watching how these ladies changed the landscape as they went further and further away.

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-planting.jpg

a travel through tamilnadu would always include the rest under the 'puli maram' (tamarind tree). it would be everywhere-by the road side or at the middle of a field..here a lone tree lords over the field. as royal it seems, it often gives the shade for the 'gounder' to sit and watch his fields turn from emerald to gold or give the final verdict for a regional matter. how much we wish to sit under this tree on a fine evening as the winds carry the aroma of tamarind and the nostalgic ilayaraja songs. or even the typical murugan song from the temple across the field..that’s tamilnadu

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-tamarind-tree.jpg

all powerful deity - lording over the farmland behind, it was the blessings from God and toil that rewarded the work

Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu-img_7809.jpg

sanjayc · 18th November 2010, 13:39

This is simply gorgeous! A treat for the eyes. Brings back memories of 20-25 yrs back when used to visit own village every couple of years...but alas no camera then with me.

getsriram · 18th November 2010, 13:45

Hey Bro,

You have got a good sense of photography too!!! looking forward for this thread... I am going on a vacation next week... will try to post my experience as well... keep those great pictures coming in...

16th November 2010, 10:58	#1
Mysticeyes BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 396 Thanked: 748 Times	Witness to the Start of A Farming Season in Tamilnadu Another long 3 day weekend (November 5,6,7), nothing to do and the only thing that went on was the scratching of head thinking what to do over the weekend..nothing went through and finally a thought came up – a drive through twisty curvy smooth roads. A simple drive? No way, I thought. Looked at the calendar and guessed it was time for the fields to get active in Tamilnadu for the second half of crop season. Images of the rural life & work flashed through my mind and finally my head got respite.. Sometimes, spur of the moment decisions turns out to be rewarding than long drawn decisions and this was one case. Next day morning, fabia rolled out again in search of the emerald land. It was a trip to the farmlands near shenkottai & thenkasi once again and my guess didn't go wrong..
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 12:24	#2
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	Have you been to Sundarapandiapuram (link) Beautiful place. On your left, its a beautiful lake & to your right, wide opened paddy fields...Lots of tamil movies were shot in this place (Ex-Roja/Anniyan) Last edited by Surprise : 16th November 2010 at 12:26.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 13:12	#4
swiftnfurious Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 7,203 Thanked: 9,661 Times	So this promises to be out-of-the-box ! Great! And rural sights are a pleasure to go thru ! More photos please....We are waiting.
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 13:41	#5
MX6 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands. Posts: 2,877 Thanked: 231 Times	Mystic eyes will put Bharathiraja to shame! And the road in the first photo. Man. this is going to really rock. Flood us with the photos!
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 13:55	#6
nkrishnap Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,983 Thanked: 7,407 Times View My Garage	Lovely first picture there. What a way start off a travelogue. By the way is this road that goes from Punalur to Senkottai?
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 14:39	#8
Gansan Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,535 Thanked: 5,551 Times	Beautiful photos! Man, I almost mistook them as picture postcards at first glance. Kudos! I also love the way you liberally sprinkle your travelogues with Ilayaraja songs!
	() Thanks

16th November 2010, 23:39	#9
live360 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: VJA Posts: 44 Thanked: 4 Times	Mysticeyes, Excellent pictures, I can almost smell those wet paddy fields. It brings back lot of memories. Thanks buddy and please keep them coming.
	() Thanks

17th November 2010, 04:42	#10
maddy42 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Coorg Posts: 2,131 Thanked: 1,328 Times View My Garage	Wow awesome to see this. Always love standing in the fields watching as inch by inch is filled with greenery.
	() Thanks

17th November 2010, 21:14	#12
Fauji Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,471 Thanked: 994 Times	Nice pics......the rice bowl of Tamil nadu - Thanjavur, Kumbakonam etc - makes a fabulous road trip during this season. It is greenery everywhere and roads are generally good.
	() Thanks

18th November 2010, 13:00	#13
Mysticeyes BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 396 Thanked: 748 Times	For those who are new to the area, Trivandrum – Shenkottai (106km)- Thenkasi is 113 km. From Trivandrum, the path to take is the Trivandrum-Shenkottai (TS) State Highway. The major diversion comes at Chullimanoor Juntion, where the road splits into two, the right side road leading to Ponmudi (hill station). Entire stretch is in pretty good shape except for few rough points here and there, especially near thenmala area. Trivandrum - Thenmala is 72km, Thenmala-Thenkasi distance is 41km, taking travellers through one of the picturesque roads in india making its way through forests, streams, rivers, hairpins and finally it opens into the emerald land with fields on either sides, palms swaying in wind and the majestic mountain overlooking the whole scenery @ gansan, one can't keep put IR music from the rustic tamilnadu, right? standing at certain places, we feel like the music was composed as IR stood at same spot. In the film ‘Mudhal Mariyadai’, there is a song “Raasave unnai nambi rosapoo iirukathinge..”. It was shot at night and bears some resemblance to the following pic: this is where I want to live, amidst the fields and trees, below the mountain. at evenings, I would sit in the rock with friends recounting the stories of the day as the breeze cools us. let the night be lighted by moon as I walk along the narrow path to home, let the only voice at night be the humming of a lady making garland with roses, let the wind & leaves conjure lullabies and put me to sleep as I listen to the crickets in the fields make their own music.. One of the rare occasions when we see man made beauty that complements the nature..but often, creators of such fine things are relegated to sidelines of life..We stood there watching how these ladies changed the landscape as they went further and further away. a travel through tamilnadu would always include the rest under the 'puli maram' (tamarind tree). it would be everywhere-by the road side or at the middle of a field..here a lone tree lords over the field. as royal it seems, it often gives the shade for the 'gounder' to sit and watch his fields turn from emerald to gold or give the final verdict for a regional matter. how much we wish to sit under this tree on a fine evening as the winds carry the aroma of tamarind and the nostalgic ilayaraja songs. or even the typical murugan song from the temple across the field..that’s tamilnadu all powerful deity - lording over the farmland behind, it was the blessings from God and toil that rewarded the work Last edited by Mysticeyes : 18th November 2010 at 13:01.
	() Thanks

18th November 2010, 13:39	#14
sanjayc BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 952 Thanked: 8 Times	This is simply gorgeous! A treat for the eyes. Brings back memories of 20-25 yrs back when used to visit own village every couple of years...but alas no camera then with me.
	() Thanks

18th November 2010, 13:45	#15
getsriram BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 69 Thanked: 6 Times	Hey Bro, You have got a good sense of photography too!!! looking forward for this thread... I am going on a vacation next week... will try to post my experience as well... keep those great pictures coming in...
	() Thanks