For city people it is so difficult to imagine a life outside of it. Ok no, let me rephrase that – Although people may imagine their lives outside of a city, they can only do so for a couple of weeks of holidaying, after which your hand reaches out for the phone and you call all the people you did not and get a quick update on other peoples city lives, or lots of random surfing on the internet which takes you far away from your surroundings… its so difficult to imagine a life devoid of cities!

A recent stay at a beautiful house in the Hills, South of where I am currently, brought all these thoughts into my mind. Coonoor is a biggish town nestled in the Nilgiri Hills – actually, I can’t say much about Coonoor because I was very fortunate to stay a little outside of it, where the hills are greener and the people live in large spacious houses, many of them antic homes from the times of the British. Coonoor I hear, is very crowded and polluted now. But just a little outside of it, are lush slopes of tea estates and occasional wooded areas where the Bison roam free and the smell of fresh air is almost intoxicating.

The beautiful house we stayed at belonging to Rakesh and Madhu Sharma (parents of a very dear friend, Krittika Sharma) was atop a hill, overlooking one of the lush valleys and town areas of Coonoor. Below are some of the sights from around me.

The view from the balcony at day time

The view from the balcony at night

This is an old house halfway up the hill which dates back to the times of the British, the interior walls still adorned with animal skin is slightly unnerving at first, but the layout and the design is so beautifully “anglo”,with dust ruffles, and fireplaces, and anterooms… makes you feel very warm inside.

Its so beautiful to settle anywhere to talk or to just sit and look around you. This is a little path we found leading into the tea estates, which was perfect for some conversation and photography.

Quick shot taken from inside of the Qualis we were in, of the box like houses on the slope of a hill filled with clouds.

(for more pictures of the people I went with – http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=197024&id=501271026)