Inclusive Trip to Kodaikanal!

Sanjeeta Kakati

Didn’t we all wonder as a kid if we could touch the clouds and feel that cold yet soft touch against our cheeks? But as we all grew older, we all seemed to be a little lost in the daily hassle and most of us seemed to have lost touch with the inner child while taking part in the rat race. We needed to be reminded of that carefree, innocent soul and WinVinaya pushed us towards that by arranging this wonderful weekend trip to Kodaikanal this month with a little twist: it was truly inclusive!

In this trip, we had people with and without disabilities and people from different age groups starting from an infant to a bunch of kids, teenagers, adults, and elders. You might wonder what is so unique about it? Well, WinVinaya loves taking challenges and making everything inclusive and accessible. In this trip we arranged for off road trekking activities, bonfire, games, sightseeing and other activities- all inclusive!

We boarded the bus from Bangalore on 19th August, Friday and reached Kodaikanal on Saturday. A cool, pleasant breeze hit our faces the moment we got off the bus and we couldn’t just hold our excitement to see what is coming next. We all quickly went to our rooms, kept our luggage, and gathered in the park for some morning refreshment and breakfast. In the park, there were 2 swings, 2 see saws and 3 fun slides. Our wonderful friends with Visual Impairment just had to touch the playing equipment once and then without any help from anyone, started playing with them. It was amazing to see them guide and include others to play with them as them. After having breakfast, we went for some local sightseeing. For this trip, we ordered some official shirts for all our associates and their family members. The shirts were also made accessible so that our Visual Impaired friends can touch and feel the characters printed on the shirt. Like I said before, the trip was “truly inclusive!” 

On the first day of the trip, we went to Palani Viewpoint, had some Lemon Soda, and headed to Poombarai Mahalakshmi Temple and Kuzhanthai Velappar Temple. We then went to visit the scenic Mannavanur Lake. Without even realising we spend hours there. The place was full of wildflowers, pine trees, green valleys and some horses and sheep near the heart shaped lake. It was picturesque. We arranged for a small picnic there, played with soap bubbles, danced our heart out and captured a lot of memory through the camera lens. Feeling refreshed and overwhelmed by the beauty of nature, we returned to Kodai Heaven- our resort, stopped on our way to buy some local chocolates and reached the resort at around 8pm. We then had a small party around the bonfire and went to our rooms. We needed a goodnight sleep before all the trekking adventures stored for Sunday.

At around 5am in the morning, we started our off-road trekking to experience the magnificent Sunrise from the hills. We had people with Visual Impairment and Locomotor Disability joining us for this trek. Together we made it to the Sunrise viewpoint and it was so worth it. After spending few hours there, we returned to the resort, had breakfast, and started our journey to take a bath in nature. We originally planned for another long offroad trek to visit the waterfalls but since it was not accessible for everyone, we made some changes and had an inclusive plan instead. We went to another waterfall where we all could be together and have fun. It was full of slippery stones, muddy roads and there were broken twigs and thorns. We had to be extra careful and helped each other finally reach our destination. It was in the waterfall when we completely let our inner child out to play. We splashed water at each other, enjoyed natural waterslides on the slippery rocks and even took a bath in the ice-cold water. Satisfied with the fun filled adventure we reached our resort just in time for lunch. It was drizzling a little on Kodai that day and the warm food was all we needed at that time. We were almost done with everything we had planned for the weekend except for one thing- our dearest Baskaran Sir’s birthday. We decorated the balcony with balloons and ribbons, ordered cakes, candles and confetti along with a special birthday gift and threw a small surprise party for Baskaran Sir. And just like that, weekend was almost over.

We left for Kodaikanal with few clothes and essentials and returned home with a bag full of memories. Our experience from the trip is that it is always a pleasure to take a break from the daily hassle and escape a little amidst the nature’s wonders. Let your inner child feel alive, worry a little less and live the life a little. And of course, include everyone in the fun, make it truly inclusive! If you are reading this, this is your clue to take a break, get in touch with nature, enjoy the cool breeze and stimulate your inner child.