Vagamon, also spelt Wagamon, is a hill station located in Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam district and Peerumade taluk of Idukki district of the state of Kerala. Today, we had decided to reach the green hills of this unique Kerala heaven. This sleepy green hill town is full of lush green meadows, pine forests, tea gardens and natural waterfalls. It is cool in climate and the hills carry with them hovering clouds of mist. The town flourished due to the early British missionaries who made churches and schools in this hill town. Vagamon has all faiths, Hindus Christians and Muslims living in this green paradise.
For us, the drive took more than 4 hours to reach from our base station in coach. Today, my cameraman was Rijin from team Infynith along with my GoPro champion. We took an Uber cab this time to and fro and it cost me Rs 5,800 for the trip but it was worth it. There were a few hitches on the way as my taxi stalled while we skidded down a hill. Yes, the car’s bonnet went up in smoke and we had to wait for things to cool down before we started for our onward journey. Then it was a hill climb as we reached the town full of meadows and pine forests.
I was in my trademark yellow t-shirt and a brown corduroy jacket with my wavy hair all over the place. It began to rain on the way in the afternoon and we had to stop over at the local eatery that served us fish curry, mutton and paratha. It was a traditional Kerala food, all the way spicy and full of coconut and curry leaves, but man, it is chilli!
We used to frequently stop for ice cream brakes and then shoot on the sidewalks even when the rain was pouring from the heavens above. I narrated travel stories, my vision and meaning of my book Survival. I raised some issues about the social media scene as it unfolds in front of us. I stood on a stone near a lake in the middle of the muddy water and explained to my audience on how to promote and monetise one’s blog. I explore technical aspect of blogging as well as give the audience the scenic view of the Kerala hills.
We then stopped to shoot in front of a giant waterfall. I was told by my crew that the entire area covering the waterfalls was owned by one famous Kerala actor. We captured a lot of the greenery of the tea gardens and the meadows.
It became evening as we drove back through the highways capturing the skyline as it set yellow with the coming of sunset and the sky turned from red to tangerine. The drive back was arduous as we were tired from a long excursion and all of us had worked hard to get the shoot done as well as we could. We kept changing locations and went right up to a place called the Flat Hill which is a steep hill with a flat top. I gave my two bit of gyaan on life and spoke on philosophical stories. All the collected footage of the day was being downloaded and sent for editing immediately at night so that we could start again with full battery and memory.