Organic Cheesemaking Farmstay in Coonoor, Nilgiris, India.
Organic Cheesemaking Farmstay in Coonoor, Nilgiris, India.
The Family at Acres Wild when we first bought it.
We moved to Coonoor in June 2004 from Mumbai. Our family is Mansoor, Tina (Lisa) and our children Zayn('93), Pablo ('95) and dog Rhea ('02).
It was my obsession to live outside the city and preferably close to nature. It took a long long time to get here, with one aborted attempt to live in Mandwa - a seaside haven across the harbor in Mumbai. Luckily I was able to convince Tina and then the kids about moving to Coonoor where we have had a house since 1994. We used to visit Coonoor annually for holidays and stuff. I am so lucky and grateful that my family agreed to make the move and that now this is happening. I felt I was reborn and living for the first time.
Luckily this kind of climate is great for cheesemaking too. And that helped Tina find a vocation and we started exploring the possibility of organic gourmet cheesemaking. Now we are selling our cheese from several outlets in Coonoor, Ooty and Coimbatore. Check the cheese outlets from the Our Cheese page for details.
Zayn and Pablo - 2008
Zayn and Pablo started at Holy Innocents School in Wellington but have now shifted to Riverside School in Kotagiri.
We are also assisted by Vinod (cheesemaking), Raja (cows), Geeta (farm animals and nursery).
Joseph joined us for transport that is still petrol based - till Peak Oil kicks in.
Together we intend shaping a small cosmos that we call Acres Wild. A wild kind of a farm that will take us back to the primitive - where things were far more 'in balance'.
Mansoor and Pablo preparing for Peak Oil.
Born in Mumbai in 1958 and studied at Bombay Scottish High School. Did several years of engineering at institutions like IIT, Cornell and M.I.T. to finally decide that I would never pass my Bachelor of Science
So took leave from college in 1980 and ended up writing and directing 4 Hindi feature films -
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak - 1986
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander - 1991
Akele Hum Akele Tum - 1995
Josh - 2000
All this was while I was plotting about how to run away from Mumbai City and live on a sailboat and sail around the world..............
.....but that did not happen..........................
And so twenty-four years later I did get away.
So now it is Acres Wild and whatever it entails.
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Some more info
Oct 2007 to April 2008
I had the opportunity to help as co-producer on Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na produced by Aamir Khan Productions, launching my nephew Imran Khan and directed by Abbas Tyrewalla.
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My Ham Radio Equipment
My oldest and most favourite hobby. My call sign is VU2MHK.
Ham Equipment
Yaesu FT-900 HF Transceiver
2 Element HF Beam
Hy-Gain Antenna Rotator for HF Beam
VHF Kenwood TM-733 FM Dual Bander.
My 20m HF Beam
HAM LINKS
Indian Call-sign Database Search Page by VU2NCT Club Station. Seems fairly updated.
Ham Radio India - Another good India Ham Radio Site
A.R.R.L. Home Page is a great source for Ham Info including world wide Call Sign Search.
DX Atlas - one of the best Electronic Atlas for Hams. I use this one and am very pleased with it.
QRZ - You can’t be a ham without needing QRZ.com.
Ham Radio India - One amazing loaded ham radio web site by Dinesh Gajjar (VU2FD).
VU3RDD Station Log - a personal Ham web site with lots of useful info and well put.
You can download a freeware software to practice code on you pc from here.
Morse Code Practice Online - Page by KF4KVG where you can practice code online.
Born 1960, Santacruz, Mumbai City. Schooled at St. Joseph's Girls School, Bandra and graduated from Sophia College.
Tina went to New York for a two month course in ceramics and stained-glass in 1989.
Tina learnt cheese making at Cinnabar Farm, Kodaikanal from Bala Krishnan. This is a very personal homestay run by Bala and his wife, Vasu.
Zayn and Rhea - March 2008
Born in 1993 in USA. Zayn has now completed her 10th (90%) from Riverside School but continues to waste her days there by attending as few classes as possible. Looking at the track record of most of the top Bollywood artistes I figure she has a great career ahead.
Pablo at his new drums
Born 22 July 1995. Pablo is now in 9th standard at Riverside School, Kotagiri. Pablo has picked up a driving passion for playing the drums - inspired by the on-steroids drummer of Green Day.
Coonoor Town
Coonoor History
In the lap of nature and the Nilgiri Hills Coonoor is a picturesque hill resort. Since long the hill resort of Coonoor has attracted holidaymakers, nature lovers, adventure seekers and film directors. The rich flora and fauna add to the beauty of the hill resort. The other famous hill resort of the Nilgiris is Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund (Ooty).
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Besides nature spots Coonoor offers opportunities for adventure sports like trekking and hiking too. In the summer months the hill resort is crowded with refugees from the hot and dusty plains.The hill resort of Coonoor has attracted people since long. It was way back in 1819 that the British were attracted to its temperate climate. The beauty of the nature accelerated its popularity. The settlements, tea plantations and the railway line followed the British at Coonoor. Till date the hill resort remains popular with the tourists.
Map of Nilgiri Region in Tamil Nadu State.
Places to Visit
Beside Acres Wild Farm, of course
, there are quite a few places worth visiting. In order to enjoy the beauty of nature you must visit Sim's park. The beautiful park is spread over twelve hectares of land. While in the Park you can check out as many as one thousand species of plants. There are the magnolia, pines, tree ferns and camellia, which are worth seeing. It is a nice idea to capture the beautiful botanical garden in cameras and videos since photography is allowed inside the park. Sim's Park is the venue of the fruit and vegetable show held each year in the month of May. It is mentionable that the Park gets its name from J. D. Sim who was the secretary of the Madras Club in the year 1874.
Close to the Sim's Park lies the Pasteur Institute. The Pasteur Institute was founded way back in 1907. The institute is renowned for its research in the field of developing vacancies against diseases like rabies and polio. Since it is not a public place in Coonoor you need to follow the timings decided for visiting the institute. You may seek approval of your visit from the Director of the institute. The guided tour of the institute is indeed an experience in itself.
Then there is the landmark of Pomological Station in Coonoor. The Pomological Station is in fact a research centre of the State Agricultural Department. The centre carries in research for persimmon, pomegranates, and apricot. The Bird watchers visiting Coonoor will be delighted to spot species like the cormorants, pipits, thrushes, parakeets, skylarks, Nilgiri verditer, etc.Sites Near by
The hill resort of Coonoor has several excursion options. While holidaying in Coonoor you may plan up a trip the sites near by that are worth visiting.
Just a walking distance below Acres Wild are the lovely waterfalls of Law's Falls. Really worth a visit and not frequented by most tourists.
Past our Tiger Hill house and within 3 kms is a point called Lamb's Rock. From the Lamb's Rock you may check out the spectacular sights of the surrounding landscape. There are several tea and coffee plantations that add beauty to the vintage point.
On the same road one can reach Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint, about 10 km from Coonoor town. The natural beauty of the Dolphin's Nose viewpoint attracts several tourists. From this viewpoint you panoramic and breath-taking view of the Nilgiris. On the way are the famous Catherine falls.
Besides nature spots there is the excursion to Droog. Droog is a place of historic importance. Just thirteen km from the hill resort of Coonoor Droog is trip in history. At Droog you must visit the 16th century Fort of Tipu Sultan that lies in ruins now.
In the Nilgiri Hills itself besides Coonoor there is the other popular hill resort of Ooty. Ooty is nineteen km away from Coonoor and us also known as Udhagamandalam and Ootacamund. There are several places of tourist interest in Ooty like its lake, gardens and structures revealing colonial architecture. For the adventure seekers Ooty offers opportunities for boating, horse riding, trekking, hiking et al.Coonoor - How to Reach.
Local transportation within and around Coonoor is not a problem. You may choose from taxis, buses and auto-rickshaws that are readily available in Coonoor at reasonable rates.
The Airport at Coimbatore caters to the air transportation to Coonoor. It is the nearest airport to Coonoor, at a distance of 71 km. The hill resort of Coonoor has a toy train station. Coonoor lies on the toy-train line between Mettupalayam (28 km) and Ooty (19 km). The toy train leaves Mettupalayam for Ooty and reaches Coonoor in between. You can enjoy the train ride though it often gets disrupted due to the monsoons. The excellent road network links Coonoor with other important places. There are regular bus services that link the hill resort of Coonoor with Coimbatore and Ooty.Coonoor - Places to Visit
Coonoor experiences cool and pleasant weather all through the year. The hill resort has summer months from April to June, which are mild. Though the winters that last from November to February and are cool. Between July and September the southwestern monsoons hit Coonoor. Thus making the time from October to March the best to visit Coonoor.
Coonoor - Fairs and Festivals
The hill resort of Coonoor hosts several interesting festivals. Firstly there is the annual fruit and vegetable festival that is hosted at the Sim's Park. Tourists from across the globe get attracted to the festival organized in May each year.
Then there is the tea and tourism festival hosted in Coonoor. The annual festival attracts tea connoisseurs from the world over in January at Coonoor. It is noteworthy that the hill resort of Coonoor lies in the Nilgiri Mountains that are renowned for tea plantations. Some of the better-known tea brands from Coonoor are the Orthodox, CTC and Green Leaf.
