1. Trip to Ooty

Coimbatore
20.11.2017

Dear Malli,

 

     Thanks for your letter and it was great to hear from you. You asked me to tell you about my trip to Ooty with my friends. I had the most wonderful time. Twenty girls and boys from class six went on the trip. Our class teacher Geetha madam and two others took us.

 

     My grandmother has told me about the beautiful journey to Ooty by the toy train many times. She said that it was a spectacular trip up and down the slopes with birds and trees dancing along. Ooty is so close to Coimbatore but I have never been there nor seen that train. So I was really thrilled when the school arranged this trip. You can imagine how excited I was when I stepped into the toy train with my friends.

 

     I looked around at the wooden chairs with cushioned seats and oil painted walls as I put my bag on the mesh of the luggage rack. I was bubbling over with excitement.

 

     “Hi Fatima, isn’t this fun?” I called out as my friend came into the compartment.

 

     “Come, sit here. I have kept a seat for you. You can keep your bag next to mine. What have you brought to eat?” “Parotta and delicious chutney. Did you see the train? It’s so beautiful!” Fatima replied.

 

     Our teacher, Geetha madam, came around to see if everyone was seated properly. “The train is about to leave so take your seats everyone,” she said. Just then the train started with a jerk. It moved very slowly, leaving the station with a long hoot. Everyone clapped. The train went snaking up the steep hillside, weaving its way through forests of tall trees swaying in the breeze.

 

     One of the boys, Muthu, said, “It is going so slowly, I can walk along its side.” And he got up to go to the door.

 

     From the other end the teacher saw him and said in a firm voice, “Muthu, go back to your seat at once.” The girls sniggered and Muthu sat down with a long face.

     The scene outside was beautiful with the purple-blue mountains forming a lovely backdrop to the green fields and tea estates. Monkeys were racing all along the tracks. Some were in groups and some had babies clinging onto them.

 

     “Look Fatima, doesn’t that monkey look cute holding on to its mother’s stomach?” I pointed excitedly. The monkeys were really bold. One of them tried to snatch a banana that a girl had in her hand, as she leaned out of the window to look at the train curving behind on the track. She let out a scream and moved back. Now it was Muthu’s turn to snigger.

 

     I looked entranced at the misty clouds which covered the mountains and moved in and out of the forests. It looked just like a dream sequence in a movie. Fatima pointed to a bubbling stream with a small waterfall.

 

     “Look Merlin, can you see that bird there? It is such a pretty blue and has such a lovely crown,” she said. Just then the train stopped suddenly with a thud.

 

     “Oh, what happened?” asked a boy. “Hey, why has the train stopped?” shouted another passenger.

 

     But, nothing could stop Muthu. He and his friends were the first to step out to see what had happened. Geetha madam tried to stop the children running out but they were too excited and begged to be allowed to go out. In the end the whole compartment stepped out. And what a sight greeted their eyes!

     There was a cute baby elephant sitting on the track! The mother elephant was nearby trumpeting loudly. The engine driver tried to coax the baby off the track with a bunch of bananas. The mother didn’t let anyone near the baby. So, people stood around trying to make the baby move by making all kinds of sounds. The baby just sat there looking frightened and the mother kept trumpeting. Finally, Muthu, the naughty boy of the class, went up to the baby with a bunch of bananas. Just as it moved to eat it, he moved backwards. He kept doing this till the baby was out on the side of the tracks. Luckily, the mother too, stopped trumpeting and watched the whole show. Everyone cheered as the baby started eating the bananas. Many bunches of bananas were piled near the baby and the mother. As they were eating, everyone got into the train and it left after a delay of half an hour. Geetha ma’am had told us that we would see elephants if we were lucky!

 

     “Madam wouldn’t have imagined we would see a wild elephant this close!” said Fatima.

 

     It was such a fantastic trip. On a normal fast train ride, we do not notice the scenery or the landscape. It rushes by so fast. But slowly chugging up and down the beautiful mountainside was different. I will never forget the wide, wind-swept tea estates, cloud covered mountains or the swaying trees. It was enchanting to listen to the murmur of streams and waterfalls and musical bird calls. We even saw an elephant and its baby! Our whole group was so excited by the trip and they still talk about it.

 

Your loving friend,
Merlin