Kovai, the Tamil name for Coimbatore, sits on the banks of the Noyyal River.
While I don’t claim to know everything about the district, I do have a good sense of the region I lived in, having trekked the hills and swum in the rivers countless times with so many friends of all ages and backgrounds. Also, I had the Joey car with me the whole time, which made it easy and fun to explore many nooks and crannies in the area.
I lived in the village of Madampatti from September 2020 until November 2022. It is a place after my own heart, where life is slow, air is clean, and traffic is basically non-existent. When I lived here, there was 1 general store; a few retail shops; a mobile shop which served for all things tech; some beauty parlors and salons; a couple of tiny bakeries; 1 perishables stand (fruits and veggies); and an Indian Overseas Bank. Over time, as Covid issues subsided, a few more beauty parlors popped up, as did some bike showrooms, larger darshini style eateries, and 1 more bakery-cum-general store. Recently, a bar/ club has been added on the main road, in addition to several new shops–hardware, electric, even a couple of nice outdoor cafes. While all this detracts from the natural beauty and becomes a safety issue for the seniors (primarily the bar), it helps with local economy; plus, there’s a few options in town. Plus the fruit stand has a slightly more permanent structure, making it a little more pleasant to shop for veggies and fruits.
Loving fresh air and exploring, when I first landed here, though we were on partial lockdowns, I still managed to get out in the wee hours of the morning and walk past the town into the countryside, where I found myself in the midst of the tail end of the Western Ghats. In the villages of Karadimadai and Kuppanoor, I came across many little country roads which pave the way between farms, and into the forests that become the mountains. A large hillock called Ayyasami Malai on one end is a wonderful place to walk around, and even up to the temple filled with tridents and a few lingas and naga (serpent) statues.
This area is well-known for Isha Ashram (Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s organization) and its pristine human-made bathing ponds with waterfalls set in an elephant and other wildlife corridor. It’s about 20 km away, which takes about 25 minutes to drive on an average day (weekends and festivals excluded).
I prefer to bath and meditate in a lotus pond with fish pedicure in a small private farm owned by my good friend and resident of the community I stay in. The property butts up against the mountainside which is government property. The walk in from the farm house building down hill about 30 meters takes you to an electrical fence (meant to keep large mammals like elephant out) with a gate. Opening the gate, I’m standing in a stream that has fallen from the mountains. At certain times of year, when the water levels are right, it’s perfect for walking upstream into the mountain, which is tribal/ Adivasi land.
