Tags
“SShuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”
“don’t move……”
“Hide behind the bushes…”
“What a terrific site”
“watch out for the rumbling around u”
If u are wondering what is this all, these are some of the sentences Mr. Panna Lala had a bison 300ms away in a sight…. Here is the pic we took of course zoomed in like crazy else the bison were just 2 black spots
This is what is Panna Lal Bellikal walle… Quite an amazing being, I don’t think I have ever seen such a hyper character (and coming from me that is quite something as I myself am quite hyper J ) I am sure Panna lal will be devastated if he knows that later on the way back we spotted 2 bison’s on the road just 2 feets away stopped the car there and took a pic…
Actually he would so easily fit in a character in the malgudi day’s kind of book…. He will surely be a writer’s delight…. If he can make me to write something than any good writer will be truly inspired…
Here are the few of his characteristics I will like to dwell upon and sight some interesting stories on that….
1. Hyper active and hyper reactive basically a hyper guy: as I have already mentioned before he is quite a hyper guy… Every time he sees a good view he will loose his breath and then “say what a terrific site” and this is when he is living there from ages…. I was amazed at the passion and dedication he had for nature and beauty and at the same time wondering was it put up? Was it artificial? Can’t say for sure… seemed more towards reality…
2. Fear is his strength: seriously not kidding, I think he is a extremely darpook guy but has made his fear his strength… u should see him jumping on the slightest voice from the jungle and then he will make it look like he is excited and not scared….
3. Excellent wardrobe: this guy has a set of clothes and shoes for everything he does, when he came to receive us he was wearing something else, when he took us for first walk he was wearing something else, for the second walk something else, for the night camp fire something else… and this never ends…. Quite a cloth buff I must tell u
4. fear playing a game again this time for real: in the night we all decided to have a couple of drinks to beat the cold and to keep in the mood of vacation…. We asked him if he would have a drink and he said “no thanks” when Naren asked him u don’t drink he said “never had chance to” and then my sister aparna suddenly decides that she wants to be extra happy today (basically she is one of those characters who become merry and happy after a drink) and took some 5 drinks and then u should have seen our dear panna lal…. How I wish I could have taken a video of him… poor guy was shit scared and was sacred till the next morning and wanted us to let her sleep as long as she wanted….
I would really urge u all to go visit Bellikal once… one it’s a lovely place and two but the more important one… U HAVE PANNA LAL THERE J u got to meet him to understand what he is… no amount of words (atelast from me) can do justice to him………
I dedicate my post to Mr. Panna Lal… who made our vacation to Bellikal a total hiliariuos one………… Wow !!!! Mr. Panna Lal… Keep it up
PS: this post is to be taken in sporty manner…. No pun intended… its just that u don’t find some passionate and sincere guys these days and when u find them they leave u totally amused and so did Mr. Panna Lal… I really admire his passion and sincerity
Monika's World 
Silver Stone estate in Bellikal is an extremely unspoilt and undisturbed location barely 18 odd kms from the hustling bustling Ooty. It will be an ideal weekend getaway if what you are looking at is complete relaxation. The place has three rooms and can cater to a max of around 10-12 people at a time.
The rooms have a tin and clay tiled roof and have neat and clean toilettes and that is almost all that they have in terms of amenities ! There is no electricity either, but then you are provided with kerosene lanterns at night.
Mr Pannalaal, who hosts the guests most often at the estate is a well read and well behaved person and he knows the place well. However, most of the stories that he recounts about his encounters with wild animals seem just that..’stories’ ! He does add a personal touch to your stay but does not offer you any privacy at all. You are not allowed to go on a treks or walks in the forest unless he accompanies you.
The views of the Mudumalai forest from the hilltop are beautiful although probabilities of spotting animals in the wild there are rare. However, you are bound to hear story of a bear/bison/barking dear coming right up to the stay place only the previous morning or the night before ! What you can see quite frequently in your treks, is elephant/dear droppings strewn all around to prove that the animals had visited the place sometime in the past.
I would recommend this Rs. 1250 per person per night place for a getaway only for people whose only exposure to nature is national geographic and who would feel excited, amused and challenged by the absence of city life comforts like electricity, fan, A.C,fridge, heater,TV,geyser etc.Food served is veg and Shanti Sagar mini meals type, but for the claim that most of the things used to prepare it are ‘farm-fresh’. Alcohol is not served(of-course), and is also discouraged.
The place is completely an outdoor place as you would hardly want to spend time in the servant-quarter like rooms. The tragedy, however, is that there is nothing much you can do outdoors but for bonfire in the night and the treks in the ‘wild’ which get repetitive almost right after the first trek.
I would not recommend the trip at all if you are looking for even a bit of privacy as Mr Pannalaal is almost always with you.
While sitting atop the hill, and, with a beautiful view of the sprawl below and in front, you would have loved to have some idle or even serious chat with your beau/friend/family etc…but all that is rendered impossible with the presence of Mr Pannalaal around you !
Also, it’s a tad too heavy on the pocket and you are left with the feeling of being burdened by an over-expensive guide trying desperately to make things sound and seem exciting and interesting with his stories.
The surroundings and ecology of the place are eco-fragile and If the intention of your group is some boisterous merry making you are better off staying away from this place.
The access roads to the estate are pathetic to tackle with a small car and require a vehicle with decent ground clearance. If you are a good driver, you can manage with a small car as well, but you are almost sure to take a few blows on the under-side of the car. However, Mr Pannalal is helpful enough and can pick you up in his jeep while your car is parked safely somewhere in the village that you are required to pass to reach the estate.
To sum-up, I would say you can visit this place if :
1)You are looking at lazy-ing around doing nothing or maybe reading a book while sitting in the sun
2) You want to breathe some un-polluted air
3)Your want to give your ‘city-bred’ kids some first-hand experience of a ‘forest’ or closeness to nature.
Hello Monika,
Could you help me with the phone number of the estate. We have been trying to find the phone number, but it is not available online.
thank you for the post.
Regards,
Ashutosh
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Hi Monika,
Would you mind sharing Pannalal’s numberif you have handy or mind sharing where can i get his number as i had been there 5-6 years ago and lost his numbe….r .as few of my friends want to go there and chek the availability
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