I've explored several locations in my quest to follow in Kenneth Anderson's footsteps. Interestingly, I overlooked a spot known as Masinagudi and the Segur Area. Although I've made multiple trips to Gudalur and Ooty, I never took the route through Masinagudi. It's quite close to my hometown, yet I never managed to visit. So, let's set our sights on the Swami of Valaithothu next.
"The Swami of Valaithothu" is a captivating tale from Kenneth Anderson's book "This is the Jungle" (1964). It tells the thrilling story of a wandering Sadhu in a superstitious farming community on the edge of the forest, coinciding with the sudden appearance of a tiger in the area. The Sadhu instills fear in the villagers by pretending to transform into a man-eater at will. Kenneth Anderson arrives on the scene, leading to the eventual hunt for the tiger. This results in an entertaining narrative filled with unexpected twists and turns. I highly recommend reading the book, though it's not part of the Omnibus collection.
This location, which encompasses Masinagudi, was Anderson's beloved spot. It also appeared in the tales "Man-Eater of Segur" and "Queer Side of Things." We'll delve into those stories in a future post.
The Name
The place called "Valaithothu" cannot be found on any map. Because of it is nonexistent. KA has misspelled here too. I have heard Valai- thoppu may be the correct word for that hamlet which means Banana Plantation in Tamil. But Instead, a place called Valaithottam -Vazhaithottam is present in the exact place where Anderson described as Valaithothu. Vazhaithottam. It seems a mixture of Malayalam and Tamil word for banana Plantation is derived, probably due to the proximity of Kerala border.
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| Ooty road. Turn left to Vazhaithottam, and Anaikatty.Photo courtesy : TBHP & Lalu KS |
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| The place is well in Nilgiri District in TamilNadu, |
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| the tiny hamlet of Banana plantation, But now a little village |
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| Map from the book |
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| Ootacamund is just another name for Ooty.Another name Udagai is used only in Tamil, I don't know why |
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| If you coming from Bangalore towards Ooty, you should turn left from NH at Theppakaadu to Masinagudi -Ooty road in order reach this place. |
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| Mudumalai, Bandipur and Moyar gorge make this area a wonderful biodiversity sphere. Its a meeting point of 3 south Indian states, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Kerala. |
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| A reverse view of Moyar gorge in relation to the Road to Ooty, as you traveling from Bangalore. Bifurcation at Theppakadu in blue and Masinagudi in Black is marked. |
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| A sudden dip in land,the Moyar river running deep down in a narrow gorge has made the location famous as Moyar Gorge. Also called the ‘Mysore Ditch’, this gorge affords a breathtaking view. |
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| 3D view of the area in our story Nilgiri hills in profile |
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| As a depicted 3D view from the upper hills of Nilgiris. Steep Ghat road and Swami's hut is marked. |
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| Same view including Moyar gorge in a distance |
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| Close up view of the valley of Vazhaithottam. Important places mentioned in the story |
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| Comparison with Google map with Anderson's Map. Masinagudi, Moyar, Segur river, Nulla etc are marked and they matching accurately. Swami's hut also in the correct position. |
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| A sadhu with banana leaf plates. Source: Wikipedia |
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| A reverse view of the area, If we heading to Ooty, sadhu's hut must have been in the right-hand side, connected by a small clearing or footpath, before the bridge, as per the book. It seems accurate. But the area which mentioned as banana plantation is now thick forest, at least as of now. |
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| An all-male elephant group runs into a banana plantation. Photo courtesy of Nishant Srinivasaiah |
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| The area of man eater's operation. Ghat road coming from Ooty, Segur river and clearing around banana grove in a rough rectangle. A reverse view |
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| Valaithottam hamlet and Anaikutty road to deep forest. A reverse view. Normally Bananas planted in flat fields where water is abundant. So Kantha's plantation may be situated besides the river as shown in the pic. |
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| A file photo of a tiger walking on a stream bed. |
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| Another satellite view in a different season. Firelines are clearly visible. |
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| A sample footpath of the locality, zoomed. Just imagine a Tiger started his career as a man-eater here. The poor Irula was searching egg of a peahen which flapped behind a tuft of grass, and hastened towards the spot, only to met an astonished Tiger. It cost the Irula's life. |
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| A 3D reverse view of the Ghat road and Nilgiri hills, where plenty of Badaga settlements, where human prey is abundant! |
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| Anderson treked 12 miles down from Ooty and made his camp somewhere near the Banana Grove. Glanton's Resort is marked in a circle. Just instinct told that this clearing may have some association with the story. But I can't relate to a specific one. Need more research! |
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| On the road towards Ooty, this bridge marks the beginning of the ghat section. This is the same spot where the story associated. Photo courtesy to TBHP & Lalu KS |
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| There is a number of wild mango trees on the bank of the river. KA never says exact location and is misleading some extent. |
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| If we consider all details, it's easy to arrive in a conclusion that, Anderson's Wild mango tree is beside the river and opposite to banana grove. Swami was laughing at the direction of the road means audible distance only from the road. He pelted to Banana Grove and KA ran for Sadhu to catch red-handed but reached second only at his hut. All of this-this indicate a, a place at the red circle must be his campsite. I am not sure of any mango trees there. The tiger roared and walked in a half circle. |
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| Later tiger circled the campsite, hoping a meal. but fire around the camp prevented to come closer. later he killed a sambar somewhere at the riverbed. |
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| All the places marked as per descriptions in the book.where it nearly matches.. KA and Boora spend a fearsome and tiresome night. |
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| Nearest Patty must be this village. which lies at a small distance from the Bridge.and the road.KA could not buy a buffalo from there. |
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| So he walked 5 miles to Masinagudi to get live baits, but he was too late to tie them. |
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| The spot on road(pink circle) where a loud and harsh sound came from to frighten KA and Boora(red dot). |
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| The probable place from where the tiger was roaring, and Fakir's position on the road. Anderson ran along the footpath to road. He then turned left, to reach the hut. The course of the dash is depicted with relative positions. |
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| KA giving again a detailed topography of the valley. Nilgiri hills and its spur on the west. The road is marked, and Valaithothu plantation lies at the base of main Nilgiri ranges. Segur river is adjacent to Valiathothu. Without any map available at that time, it is an amazing, accurate description. |
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| But he tied only one bait and a machan because of lack of time. It was at a nullah which ran down the hillside and turned eastwards to join Segur river. |
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| Proposed positions of Baits no1,2 and 3 |
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| Probable Position of Machan and bait. It will give a wild berth of views. |
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| View of the hill with nulla, in a dry season of 2013. Photo courtesy to TBHP & Lalu KS |
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| Maneater roared somewhere near the road to the east. Anderson ran towards the hut along this footpath. |
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| Now, KA reached Fakir's hut, and Maneater was walking along the roadway, less than a furlong to the east. The sadhu was in between KA and the maneater. Hearing Anderson's calls, Sadhu ran back to the hut in confusion, followed by the tiger. Eventually, he was killed by the tiger before Anderson could act. |
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| The road and bridge where the Tiger Swami of Valaithothu last walked, and then attacked the Sadhu, before shot dead by Kenneth Anderson.Photo courtesy to TBHP & Lalu KS |
