The following is an account of Ooty life in 1920) 

“July was a gay month in spite of a good deal of monsoon rains and August promises  finer weather and an equally festive time.

The two Chief events in July were the Bachelor’s Ball and the staging by the Children’s Dramatic Society of the play ‘Where the Rainbow Ends’. The Bachelor’s Ball was given in the dining room of the Ooty Club. There were nearly 200 people and dancing was kept up till dawn. The fair sex had donned their prettiest gowns and Lady Willingdon (Governor’s wife) was in a lovely brocade of green and silver.

Early during the month of August,  Mrs. Richardson gave a riding gymkhana. This was held on a portion of the Downs not far from the golf link. There were three events and they were interesting not only to the competitors but to the spectators as well. After the events the hostess and the guests adjourned to the Gymkhana Club for tea where the tables were decorated in mimosa flowers. Mimosa flowers excellently in Ooty and in August and September the trees are laden with the pretty fluffy yellow bloom in great masses.

Hunt meets three days a week and there have been some glorious runs.

The golf links are in good condition for the monsoon rains have softened the ground. There has been several competition  of late albeit not of a very serious nature. There is usually a golf meeting during September when various interesting competitions and matches take place.

Tennis is, of course, only practicable spasmodically during the monsoon. During the break the tennis enthusiasts make hay while the sun shines  and get in as much tennis s they can.

Ooty is undoubtedly a sportsman’s paradise. He can shoot a tiger if he wants huge game or have a jungle-sheep  if his ideas are modest.

Fishing is also a very favorite pastime, the rivers being well stocked chiefly of trout. The cool and bracing climate  of  Ooty make it an ideal place for shooting trips. There are many dak bungalows were the sportsmen could put up for a few days within 10 or 12 hours of Ooty and civilization

There is a project on foot for starting a new club next year. At the club members can play tennis, badminton, billiards and bridge and dance too. (The project in the original gymkhana grounds (present Race course) never came through. Dance and entertainment moved to Assembly Rooms. Golf moved to present gymkhana and racing stayed in the grounds)

Images: British life in Ooty in the 1920s

Nilgiri Documentation Centre

The following report recalls the Ootacamund Season of 1961. The Police Cultural meet was unforgettable. Police troupes from different states excelled against each other. One troupe danced with every one wearing suits of lighted bulbs from head to toe with the auditorium lights turned off. The Madras team gave a vigorous Karagattam. To think that someone thought of a Police Cultural Festival is commendable. And what talents they displayed.)

The curtain has come down on the 1961 Ootacamund season with the advent of the South-West Monsoon and the departure of all the visitors. A few visitors, mostly Europeans, who like the monsoon weather, are staying on. Strictly speaking, this year’s season was one of the poorest and dullest on record from the points of view of the number of visitors and benefits to local trade and commerce.

The vast multitude of people that one witnessed on the Nilgiri Gold Cup Day at the Ootacamund races and at the Flower Show cannot be taken a as evidence of a successful and busy season since over 50 percent of the those people had visited Ooty just for the day. Further as a result of the date of the Flower Show having been advanced by a week, most of the visitors left the station earlier than usual since, according to popular belief, the Flower Show marks the end of the Ooty season. The Agri-Horticulural Society would do well to hold the Flower Show on the third Saturday of May henceforth in order to sustain the interest of visitors to this summer resort at least till the third week of May.

National Police Festival

The only event of the season that is likely to endure in the memory of the people for a long time to come is the All India Police Cultural Meet held on the local Government Arts Collage ground. People returned satisfied after witnessing excellent programmes of vocal, and instrumental music (classical and modern), folk dances, classic and modern dances etc contributed by the police officers, men and the members of their families from the various states of the country. The Madras State Police deserve congratulations for having undertaken the stupendous task of organizing this National Police Festival here under conditions that would have dissuaded persons of lesser courage and determination.