By Lt Col Thomas Varghese (Retd)
“Every cloud has a silver lining”, is a known phrase of hope and promise, particularly in times of adverse circumstances. Similar to that saying is “Every hill has a valley beside”, likewise every mountain carries tales, fairy tales, fables and tribal folklore. These nature’s mysteries and stories of spooky spirits create curiosity among enquiring minds. Such inquisitive people possess a zest in them to reach the end of the tunnel to see the light on the other side. If you search your mind you may come across such novel experiences in your own life.
Nobody in this world has ever seen an “Immortal Queen”, even the long reigned queen of the England Queen Elizabeth could not remain so. On the contrary, our queen belongs to the mystic world of nature and hence death has no access to her doorstep. My familiarity with the Queen’s estate and my escapades there in my younger days have given me loads of sweet memories to cherish. I belonged to Gudalur, an important tri junction of roads leading to Mysore and Kerala, about 50 km down the winding roads from Ootacamund in the Nilgiris. Interestingly, I was the only Army Officer from there in the 60s and 70s, which gave me an easy access to the office of Collector on my visits to Ooty, as a matter of courtesy.
Nilgiris (“Nila” means blue and “Giri” means mountain) stands conspicuous among all hills in the Western Ghats of southern India, otherwise called the “Blue Mountains”. Nilgiris has three distinct hills namely, Ootacamund, (natively called Udhagamandalam), Coonoor and Kotagiri (where Kota tribe lives). They look like sisters of identical beauty; however Ootacamund (shortly called Ooty) is larger and more attractive and hence called the “Queen of Hill Stations”. Besides its unique bluish shade, Nilgiris is famous for Kurinji plants (Strobilanthes Kunthiana) that flower every 12 years, Nilgiri Tahr, a rare species of mountain goats seen only in NIlgiris and Munnar in India, and a conducive climate for health and convalescence. Ooty has an elevation of 7949 ft (2240m) while the highest peak “Dodabetta” stands at 8650 ft.
This gem of a nature’s wonder was shrouded in darkness before its actual discovered by a man of enterprise named John Sullivan, though an Italian priest and explorer by name Rev. Jacome Forico was the first European to visit Nilgiris in 1603, but there is nothing much on record about his itinerary and adventure. It has dense forest with tall and large teak and eucalyptus trees having a rich wild life of rare species, mostly blanketed in mist and fog in winter months, having extreme cold climate. Nonetheless, it has a salubrious climate for the rest of the year, which beckons people from far and wide for health and fun. But, the biodiversity of the entire region has undergone certain ecological changes now due to commercial tourism and migration. Still the “Queen of Hill Stations” has its old charm tempting people to say, “Oh! What a place, I love it”.
John Sullivan, a man of grit, ambition and vision came to Madras (Chennai) from England in 1803 at the age of 15 to be a “Writer” with East India Company. He became Collector of Coimbatore district in 1817. His father John Sullivan (senior) was the Resident in the court of Tanjavur in India then. Sullivan had heard many tales of the mountains of Nilgiris and got totally mesmerized by the enchanting beauty of the Blue Mountains, which he wanted to see for himself.
In order to accomplish his dream, he set out to explore the Nilgiris in 1819, after obtaining an order from the British East India Company, “charging him with investigating the origin of the fabulous tales that are circulated concerning the Blue Mountains to verify their authenticity and to send a report to the authorities”. He had sent two surveyors, Keys and Mc Mohan to do an initial reconnaissance but neither could go beyond the foothills. So, he took out an expedition on January 2, 1819 to assess the potentials of “Neilgherry” (as Nilgiris were known then) and its eco systems. His contingent consisted of several dozens of elephants, hundreds of dogs, ponies, dozen English huntsmen and detachment of European and Madras sepoys.
It took six days of foot journey through treacherous terrain during which few lives were lost, and finally they reached a plateau called Dimbatti, north of Kotagiri, about 34 km from Ooty, where he hoisted a British flag. Sitting at Dimbatti, surrounded by the hazy whispering mists of the morning, Sullivan then aged 31 years sent an interesting message to Sir Thomas Munro, the Governor of Madras, “My dear Colonel, I have been in the highlands for the last one week. This is the finest country…it resembles I suppose Switzerland more than any other part of Europe…it freezes here every night, this morning we found ice in our water chatties (clay pots)”.
On return, he sent a report in which he specifically mentioned that the unique climate of Nilgiris was conducive to establish a sanatorium for invalid soldiers. Because of his persistent persuasion, the Madras administration instituted a medical board to verify his claims, besides stationing 50 soldiers to test the region’s salubrity. The outcome was positive and thereby the government accepted his views that the “unusually temperate and healthy” climate was ideal as a resort for the invalids, primarily the soldiers.
He made a second visit to the Nilgiri hills in May 1819 and reached the village Hosatti near Kotagiri, where he camped to gather more information about the place and people, and made useful contacts with the original inhabitants, the Toda, Badaga, Kota, Kurumba and Irula. Among them the Badagas now constitute the largest population, and they are more advanced in the field of agriculture, business and education in comparison. In fact, they stand forefront socially and economically now.
So obsessed with the panoramic place and people that he built a house at Kannerimukhu near Kotagiri, the first building made by a European in the Nilgiris known as “Sullivan’s Bungalow”, with the help of the locals on a 5 acre land bought by him from the Todas at a price of Re. 1 per acre. His wife along with their infant son had moved to this Bungalow in 1823.This happens to be the only memorial now in his name in the hills, which had been donated to St Stephens Church, Ooty by Col & Mrs Gilhan in 1872. Interestingly, Sullivan was married to Henrietta Cecilia Harrington, aged 17, daughter of Reverent William Harrington and Anne Collet Forde, and their wedding took place at Madras on 2nd January 1820.
At this juncture, Sullivan’s attention turned to Ootacamund, which was seen to be having higher potentials for habitation, development of horticulture, and more importantly as a settlement for Europeans in India. To have a foothold there, he built his second house in Ooty named “Stone House” (Kal Bungalow) as his residence, and the Oak planted in front is an attraction for visitors. Since it falls within the premises of the government college it has become the residence of the Principal of the college later, yet it continues to be a popular tourist spot because of its unique aesthetics.
Furthermore, Sullivan created road accessibility to Coonoor and Ooty from Kotagiri, besides making the Ooty Lake of a length of 2.5 km covering an area of 65 acres, in 1824 for irrigation purposes, which has become a major tourist attraction for water sports now. Introducing English vegetables like cabbage, carrot, beetroot, turnip, radish, etc., and the much used potato was one of the biggest contributions by him to the horticulture development of Nilgiris. He taught them how to cultivate wheat and barley in the valleys towards Mettupalyam.
He was the first to promote plantation of Tea, Coffee, Teak and Cinchona trees in Nilgiris which had changed the ecosystem of those ranges as a whole. This also impacted the development of Tea plantations in Munnar and Wayanad in Kerala in later years. The government Botanical Garden designed and established by William Graham Mclover in 1840 at the lower slopes of Dodabetta could be viewed as an extension of Sullivan’s horticultural vision.
John Sullivan, the “Founder of European Settlement in Ootacamund and Modern Nilgiris” was the first person who truly understood the “Blue Mountains”, better known as the “Queen of Hill Stations”. He made Ooty a self reliant township with administrative buildings, connecting roads, market, courthouse, hospital, post office, bank, police station and a jail too. All roads lead to one prominent junction in the town known as the Charring Cross; the reclamation to raise the ground of that area where the Adam’s Fountain adorning the Gandhi statue seen now, was due to the forethought of Sullivan. His pioneering efforts for developing the economy of the region and welfare of the tribal people undoubtedly are remarkable achievements.
Gradually, number of British people made their residences in Ooty and nearby hills, and as a result the nascent community attracted lot of visitors in search of health and leisure. A sanatorium for invalids already established in Ooty and Coonoor had led to the creation of Cantonments at Ooty and Wellington where military units like the Madras Regimental Centre and Defence Services Staff College came up subsequently. Prestigious public school named Lawrence School established in 1858 at Lovedale near Ooty by the British exclusively for wards of military officers was a distant outcome of Sullivan’s interest in promoting education. Sullivan encouraged Christian Missionaries to establish quality English schools in Nilgiris, which directly impacted the transformation and empowerment of the local society.
At the peak of his career, he was struck by a personal tragedy in which his wife and daughter aged 16 died within ten days time in 1838, which was a big blow to his life. They were buried in the premises of St. Stephen’s Church in Ooty; visitors see their graves with curious eyes even now.
Sullivan was of the opinion that the indigenous people were the owners of the land, and that view paved way for the introduction of “Ryotwari System” (Pitta- Patta System). Later Sir Thomas Munro, who was Governor of Madras Presidency from1820 to 1822, granted ownership of land to the original inhabitants. However, Sullivan’s closeness to the local community and his total control over Ooty were not fully endorsed by some in the Presidency. Hence, the control of Ooty was gradually shifted to Major William Kelso, known as his rival. Consequently, Sullivan was appointed as a senior member of the Revenue Board of Madras, a position held by him till he retired.
On retirement from service, a sad Sullivan returned to England along with his eight children in 1841. He died in 1855 as an unsung hero there and was buried in the churchyard of St. Laurence Upton-cum Chalvey Church; Berkshire in England, the tomb was later shared by his second wife Frances who died in1876. The Church was magnanimous in dedicating its “West Window” as a memorial to him. Though his mortal remains are in England, the people of Nilgiris love him and continue to keep him in their hearts as an immortal figure, while the Queen lives forever with them. What an Irony!
In due course of time, Governor Sir Thomas Munro and many from Madras Presidency visited Ooty. Ultimately, Ooty became the summer Capital of Madras Presidency under the colonial administration, which brought sizable white population as permanent settlers to Ooty.
Following his footsteps, one of his sons Henry Edward Sullivan was also a Collector of Coimbatore in the 1860s, who was a prominent and effective civil servant of Madras Presidency later. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin had invited Orien Sullivan & Jocelin Mary Smith, fifth generation descendents of John Sullivan for the bicentenary celebrations of Nilgiris in 2023. People of Nilgiris commemorate John Sullivan’s birthday every year on 15 June. The 236th anniversary celebrated this year witnessed the Collector garlanding busts of Sullivan at Kennerimukhu at Kotagiri and Garden Road in Ooty. It is learnt that a proposal to build a permanent memorial in his name in Ooty is on the cards.
The development of Nilgiris as an iconic tourism destination by Sullivan and the resultant increase in population in the hills caused the construction of a meter gauge rail line under Nilgiri Mountain Railway in 1908 from Mettupalyam to Ooty, on which the “Toy Train” called the “Blue Mountain Express” runs 46 km through the mountainous steep terrain, offering a picturesque journey to the travelers. This steam engine train with wooden bogies has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
It is heartening to note that the people of Nilgiris are proud to maintain the exquisiteness of Queen’s dignity and the legacy of John Sullivan, forever. Constant efforts being undertaken by organizations like Nilgiri Discovery Centre, Nilgiri Documentation Centre, Save Nilgiri Campaign, Keystone Foundation and the District Administration towards this end are really noteworthy. Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India made a famous statement after his visit to Ooty in 1903, that he “came, he saw and was conquered by the charm of Ootacamund”.
Arguably, the development of Modern Nilgiris is all because of John Sullivan’s uncanny foresight, innovative mind, unwavering dedication, unyielding commitment, relentless pursuit, empathetic humane approach, and more so his true love for the Immortal Queen. Well known anthropologist and Nilgiris expert Paul Hocking has aptly remarked, “His impact was widespread and permanent”.