Over the Hills and Far Away… The Kerala Highrange Landscape

The blue hills loom in the distance stretching for as far as the eye can see, in the wee hours of the cold monsoon day at Peruvanthanam just after Mundakayam on the Kottayam – Kumily (KK Road), now the Kollam – Theni national highway no 183. The location is idukki district though the view will contain parts of Kottayam distraict also. The high ranges of Kerala, as the Western Ghats are popularly known in Kerala form almost all of Idukki district and are breathtakingly beautiful as they lie mysteriously shrouded in mist. The highranges are populated by hardy, no-nonsense people as life is harsh here, but the experience of traveling through these roads is mind blowing. Beyond the farthest hills shown here lie the waters of the Idukki Hydroelectric project, or the “Idukki Dam”.  I feel a personal connection to these hills, somehow for reasons I can’t explain…