Udhagamandalam (Ooty)

It took our poor, sick, hundred year-old steam train eight hours to get us to Ooty as we had to pause for breath every half an hour - it kept running out of steam! but we got here in the end. The journey was breathtaking, up through Eucalyptus forests and tea, but to be perfectly frank, Ooty's not very impressive.

Since Independence the government has allowed all sorts of industrialisation developments that have taken over somewhat. What was once a quiet Toda village (and then became a quiet English village when we kicked the Toda out) is now a busy polluted town. Only a few buildings of the Raj are left and these are badly cared for and run-down. The churches are fabulous though, even if they are so English you forget where you are!

It was at one of the churches, St Stephens, that we met Mr Franklin Stevens who took us under his wing and gave us a room for half the price we paid for last night (Rs 150 instead of 300). He's the most amazing character and one of those tremendously talkative people who is always full of energy. He took us to lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant and has organised a tour for us, as well as our bus to Mysore.

Uncle Frank (as he is affectionately known)'s grandfather was a Hindu priest. When he was eighteen, he was approached by a missionary who said, Son, you must know Jesus. He scoffed and went back to his Puja. but the missionary came back again and again. He told the missionary that he would pray to his Goddess to have the missionary's eyes put out and then we'd see who was right. The missionary still came everyday and after two months of fasting, offerings and Puja to his idol the missionary's eyes were as beautiful as ever. So Uncle Frank's grandfather did the only sensible thing¹ and asked for a bible. He became a minister in the church and his descendants have all followed.

Uncle Frank's brother is pastor of the biggest church in Bangalore (guess where we're staying!) and everyone in his family's names begin with 'F'. Even the dog, Fido and the cat, Fluffy. Nine of his family are dead. His sister had a deformity in her nose (his words, not mine) and Uncle Frank promised his mother that he'd see her through plastic surgery and that he'd live with her until she was married. Now that she's married it's his turn (he's 68) and is probably going to get hitched later this year. His future wife is a widow whose sons have become like his own since their father died. I'm so glad he's getting wed, someone like him shouldn't be alone.

He's also VERY against smoking and has these leaflets which he gives to everyone he sees with a cigarette. After he's made them put it out. The leaflets have a story on them about a man who's been told that he's got one year to live because of 'tobacco heart'. The man can't believe it and stops smoking straight away. He goes to see another doctor and begs him for treatment to postpone his demise. The doctor can't help because the man is beyond repair. The message of course, is stop now before it's too late. Oh - and Jesus makes it easier.

Apparently it works as well, he's been giving them out for more than thirty years and has had several teetotallers and a few conversions to his credit.

...

We had dinner in a real English style tea room place, sharing with a Burmese-Austrian girl called Daniella who is studying at an international school here and a Canadian woman from the same school. Delightful company, but Daniella is interested in music so we left C. a bit behind there. There was a brief moment of excitement when we thought we all knew Rev Jothinayagam but it turned out that only we did, theirs was a different person who works with fishermen in Rameswaram. Dinner was fish and chips, which is only natural, seeing as it's Friday and this is England after all.