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Journalism of Courage
It8217;s odd how some names stick like limpets despite the passage of time. In and around Munnar one finds several places with intriguing names 8212; all reminiscent of the hill-resort8217;s British origins. There8217;s Director8217;s Leap 8212; a precipitous point overlooking a deep valley. It is said that a British director, depressed by his tea company8217;s recurring losses, tried to jump off this cliff but landed on a grassy patch, unscathed. The name has stuck ever since. Then there8217;s Cigarette Point where, during the Raj, young British tea planters used to meet to gossip, over a cigarette, about the latest scandal rocking staid Munnar. Apparently, it gave them a much-needed break from their overbearing bosses who no doubt would have frowned on this 8220;socializing8221; during working hours.
Many of the local planters8217; bungalows 8212; well preserved heritage buildings dating back to the early 1900s 8212; still bear evocative British names like Ladbroke, Lockhart, Earlston, Ailsa Craig, Benmore, Ben Lui, etc. No name-changing spree is ever likely to hit Munnar. At the core of the Eravikulam National Park near by are Turner8217;s Valley and Hamilton8217;s Plateau 8212; named after two British adventurers who explored these hills in the 1870s to check out the possibility of opening plantations here. Then there8217;s Inaccessible Valley, hemmed in by precipitous cliffs, which too owes its name to British explorers. However, it didn8217;t remain inaccessible for long 8212; thanks to intrusive poachers!
All in all, the Brits certainly did have a flair for names.
