Day 4, March 10th, 45kms
Chikyelchatti to Gudalur, via Bandipura and Mudumalai
We got up, had the jaggery tea made by the hosts, said our good byes, and rode off in the cold morning air.
The sky was overcast, and it was a nice time to ride before the heat got started.
I rode Nishita's MTB until Bandipura, may be for about 5 kms. It was really
tough work, especially once we hit a proper road. I guess that the road
bike takes less than half the effort compared to an MTB on a good road!
After some tea and buns, we rode through Bandipura and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves.
On the way, we spotted an adult elephant with two children very close to the road, but didn't stop to take pictures as I was on a bicycle!
Just before the Mudumalai gate, I saw a peacock in full majesty, but it was a little far.
We had a couple of punctures as we reached Theppakadu, so it took some time to fix. We then rode on the Thorapalli, where we had Masala Dosa ready and waiting for us! As it was my wife's birthday, I asked the whole group to sing and wish her on her birthday on the mobile phone speaker.
We were a little late already, so we quickly rode on to Gudalur, which was about 7 kms away. We got to Gudalur town, which was full of weekend traffic.
As we turned the last corner, we were pleasantly surprised to see lots of children waiting for us. The kids welcomed us by throwing flowers, whistling, shouting and hugging, The "captain", Nishita, was garlanded.
There was a small session at the school where we were introduced, and presented with a medal (a tiny cycle)! The kids sang their folk songs to entertain us. Stan showed a slide show of selected pictures from the ride, and also a couple of videos.
After lunch, we did a small Origami session with some of the kids and teachers, which was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed making the variety of newspaper hats, and had their picture taken in them.
After some rest, we went to Stan and Mari Thekaekara's house for dinner. They are founders of ACCORD, and have been working with the adivasis of Gudalur since the 1980's. They live up on a hill, in a lovely house. We had a great dinner, and also did a debrief on the whole ride.
Day 5, Drive back to Bangalore
On Sunday morning, I went around for a walk and saw the hospital run by ASHWINI. After breakfast, we went back to the school and packed all the 13 bicycles into the pickup for the trip back to Bangalore. We then drove back to Bangalore via Mysore, and got home in time for dinner.
Day 4, Chikyelchatti to Gudalur
Non-Profit Organizations working at Gudalur
VIDYODAYA
The
Vidyodaya school currently caters to about 100 children in Gudalur,
which is a small town. They have an option now to build a school much
closer to some of the villages, which would make it possible to reach
many more children. The funds we are raising go towards purchase of the
land for the new school.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
It
was quite inspiring to see all the people who are working on various
issues at Gudalur. These are some of the non-profit organizations, all
working together in the Gudalur area. I did not have enough time to
really understand a lot about each of them during my short time at
Gudalur.
ACCORD - the umbrella organization at Gudalur, working on Adivasi issues.
AMS (adivasi munnetra sangham) - the main organization of the adivasis themselves, which runs most of the organizations.
Ashwini - runs the hospital at Gudalur.
Just Change
- produces tea, spices, soap, etc. and sells them direct to consumers
such as fisherfolk at Nagapattinam. Also provides support and training
for similar community initiatives.
Shola Trust - works on environmental issues in Nilgiris, including wildlife.
Go MAD - Go Make a Difference, set up to organize the cycle ride.
Learn more about all these at http://www.adivasi.net
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