Hi there Kodai Chronicle!
Just read some of the articles in your first edition and felt I had to reach out to commend and congratulate your for your truly wonderful initiative. I first visited Kodaikanal in the summer of 1969 and fell in love with it. It has changed so much over the years, sadly not always for the best. The Kodai Chronicle will be a very useful platform to record and highlight what is happening all over the Palani Hills.
Hopefully the information you give will create more awareness among all those who love Kodai. So congratulations once again and wishing you all the best for the future.
Dimple Khanna, Chennai
Thank you for this wonderful gift! I love the news, insights, reflections, and activities you record here! As someone who used to live in Kodai and wishes she could live there now, this gives me a bit of a vicarious feeling of being there. I look forward to the next issue.
Rebecca Trautman
[I] commend Ms Whitaker for her introductory appeal to make this very welcome initiative a voice and a platform for everyone who lives there! Look forward to reading views and suggestions about conservation and preservation from those who’ve lived in Kodai for generations.’
Shobha Verghese
Compliments [on] a well done and great to read magazine. When away from Kodai ts nice so see such an effort, and some good info, like the story on the dolmens and the foraging lady.
Andreas Deffner, who lives between Berlin and BL Shed
The Kodai Chronicle… is very nice. This mail is just to wish you and your team all the very best for the publication.
Minoo Verghese
We also got a few of these:
Can I come to Kodai now (I believe you’ve to get an e-pass from Dindigul Collector, an IAS Lady) I’m dying to. I’ve been a Kodai regular for 50 yrs now. I stay @ the club.
And this heartfelt tribute from Radhika Williams:
I lived in this heavenly town, Kodaikanal, for about 37 years plus. I am married to Ramesh Williams ( F&B Manager, Kodai Resort Hotel). I have been working with different associations in Kodai. Later, I had to move to Bangalore for seven years as I was working at an International School. I thought it will be okay for me to stay away from Kodai for a while but it made me realize how much Kodaikanal occupies my mind! Now, I have a reason to be here and all the more reason to stay. There’s a lot of stories here when you peel back layers!
I miss the beautiful, pleasant morning walks around the lake. The fresh, cool breeze that always calms my mind and soul. I miss the virgin air that knows no pollution.
I miss sitting in my favourite place, where I start praying besides listening to the sounds of nature.
I miss going by walk everywhere and not relying on public transport. I miss that life in which everyone would know everyone and you could see only familiar faces everywhere.
I miss those bright-hued flowers, the clouds sailing across the sky, the dew-covered peaks of those green mountains, the scenic beauty of the sunset, the slanting rays of the sun that makes it ways through the trees and the clouds. I miss watching the stars in that frozen weather.
I miss Kodai more than ever. It holds a special place in my heart and nothing can ever change that.
Radhika Williams
