subject: Indias Queen Of Hill Stations: Ooty [print this page] The hill station of Ooty is known by many names Udhagamandalam, Udhagai, Ootacamund or simple as Ooty. This region is a town, a municipality and also the capita of the Nilgiri district in Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state in India. The district is situated around 80 kilometers to the north of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund which is located on top of the Nilgiri hills is visited quite often by tourists because of its serene atmosphere and cool weather. A long time ago, this region was under the control of the Todas who later handed it over to the British at around the end of the 18th century during their rule over India. The economy of the town now thrives on agriculture, tourism and manufacturing of medicines and photographic films. Ooty is known for its educational institutes and schools that provide high quality education. The standard of education imparted here is known to be the highest in India. The region is connected to other parts of the country via rail and road. The airport nearest to Ooty is Coimbatore International Airport.
There have been different explanations to why the name of the town is Ootacamund. The name Wotokymund was first used referring to this region in a letter to the Madras Gazette by an unknown correspondent in the year 1821. Some people believe that mund is the Tamil word for toda village explaining the origin of the latter section of the name. Another likely origin of the name is form the loca language Otha-Cal which literally means Single Stone. This may refer to the sacred stone which the local Toda people have been known to worship. A simpler explanation states that the name Udhagamandalam was probably just shortened to Ootacamund during the British rule, which was later further shortened to Ooty.
Ooty is known by the epithet Queen of Hill Station and is located within the Nilgiri Hills, which is known as the Blue Mountains probably because of the bluish haze that eucalyptus trees covering the entire area produce or might be because of the kurunji flower blossoming here once in every twelve years. An interesting fact is that nobody knows whether Ooty was ever part of any kingdom or under any ruler. It is known that the region was inhabited by a few tribes, Toda and some more, who coexisted through trade and some other specialized occupations. Frederick Price, a historian, states in his book Ootacamund, A History, that the region now known as Old Ooty was occupied by the Todas who later on, handed that region of Ooty to the Governor of Coimbatore, John Sullivan. This Governor further developed the region and encouraged the plantation of tea and chinchona andteaktrees.
