After a long hiatus owing to Covid-19, NNHS began the culture trails with a walk to Kodithenmund, keeping in mind Covid protocols of social distancing, wearing masks and keeping to small groups.
A group of 11 individuals took the forest trail to Kodithenmund looking out at the Shola trees, lianas and birds on the way. At the mund, after a short break for a cuppa, Rajesh took the group around showing them their sacred temple, the practices and rituals related to the temple activities, the old grand syzygium tree of the mund, and the other sacred syzygium under which marriage rituals are conducted. Many of our visitors were amazed at the beauty of the place, not to mention the close connections the Todas had with their environment (plants, buffaloes).
This time around, we could not stay back for lunch and headed out on the forest trail back to Kotagiri for lunch. We hope to be able to continue these short Covid safe trails as a way to enrich our understanding of local cultural practices as well as support conscious community-based tourism.
