21/feb Dr. Premnath Punja

I started walking towards the abbi falls, 9km north west of madikeri. After leaving the town, with the burkas and saris, cows and rubbish, I step into another world of smells and pure air. Madikeri has those drawings under the doors drawn by the Brahmins again, that had disappeared for while, at least in the touristic areas I had been, where tradition and religion is harder to see, a bit more blurry. Everything is so silent over here, no car horns, just birds, sometimes a cow, or the waving hands of the people. After 40 minutes walking, an old man stopped his car, and took me with him for a couple of km. After that, he invited me to his house, not far from the waterfalls. And it’s nice to see that you are in the right way, just by the sound of the water. First you realize that there’s a river, then the water became noisier, and afterwards you discover the waterfall, where the ambient is cooler. There is me and 3 more men, Indian, next to the water. The waterfall is not high, and there’s not a lot of water coming down, but the place altogether is very relaxing. I sat down and wrote for a while. After that I went to towards Dr. Pramnath Punja’s house. On my way I met a few Indians, and all of them knew about him and his family. And that’s because the family is one of the most powerful of the area, and it has been like this for the last 3 generations, since the british empire time. One of the roads has the name of his grandfather… Once inside their property, I realized that they live on another Indian reality. I’ve always met people just living, never rich, but never poor. After more than one kilometer, I reached his house, leaving other smaller houses behind (workers houses), big trees, beautiful plants and flowers, and the nice view of the coffee fields. And if the outside it’s amazing for the nature, and for how they keep it, in perfect conditions, the inside of the house is also amazing, just like a museum, a part of the history of the area, from the region of coorg, with lots of anecdotes, a few explained, many other forgotten. Walls full of pictures (all of them ib black and white, with a thin layer of dust), art pieces, sculptures, novelty titles, a huge billiard table, big spider lamps… and lots of rooms, 2 assistants…
He received me very effusively, alone in that big living room. I was still recovering from all the beauty I had seen in those last minutes. Once sitting on the sofa, and with snacks on the table, he started explaining me about the family and about the house. He, very aristocratic, was delighted to know that I was an architect from Barcelona, one of the few places he hadn’t been in Europe.
The house was built in 1848, under the british empire’s government, by J.P. Hunt, a rich Scottish man. And he showed me pictures of the house on a interior design british magazin, and on a book, with an article talking also about the family. His grandfather bought the house in the beginning of the 1900. He was the first Indian judge in India. He was the judge of the coorg’s district, and after that moved to mangalore, a bigger city (that has changed too much, he told me). His father followed the tradition of educated people, and studied at the university. He was also judge, and named by the british, member of the legislative council of coorg, during 40 years. And I would say that it was something important, because he was so proud about it. Furthermore, the grandfather was also named rama raobahadur, an important title higher than sir in England. He is, or was, now he’s retired, doctor, psychiatrist, and had been working many years in England. His family is living abroad, England, usa.
The pictures in black and white, were quite interesting. His relatives seemed to be maharajas!! Men with tourbans, jewels, and women with saris, and more jewels. After chating for a while, we had some food, and after a coffee. He has more than 100 people working in his coffee plantations, and that’s his job now. He explained me the differences between arabica coffee and robusta coffee. He told me the names of all the flowers and trees…
A part from all this, he also owns a golf course, quite big, and he would take me there on the sunset time.
We kept on chatting for a while, and when we said goodbye he apologized to me because he would have loved me to stay in his house, but he was leaving to bangalore soon. I’m eternally invited, he told me, and better with my wife…that was funny!
His driver took me to see the golfcourse, that was big!! And yellow instead of green. IT’s supposed to be nicer after the monsoon time. There were 4 old Indian men playing, and they, as well, were very wealthy people. On our way here, I was dreaming on an India of palaces and maharajas, because of the sunset time, the colors of the sky, Indian music on the stereo, that nature outside…
So, again, a very intense day, totally unexpected, that is filling my days with light and color, giving still more sense to the trip, and of course, to my life.

9/3/05