Anoop Chinnappa, owner of Dawn guesthouse, Madikeri, Karnataka.
Anoop with his two woman doggies Pinko and Snowie.
The reason why I came to Anoop’s place is because – other than cheap accommodation – of the introduction of the Lonely Planet, which said `` This is the home of enthusiastic ecowarrior Anoop Chinnappa, who can also organize treks. It’s 1km from the bus stand, and although the rooms are basic, they have personality.’’
I had been imagining how did an ecowarrior look like since I was on board the train in Cochin, Kerala. I immediately took an autorickshaw to the place once I had reached Madikeri bus station.
The rickshaw driver stopped in a road which was not paved with concrete, and told me that the red house was Dawn. I found that the house was empty and I was questioning the accuracy of LP when I reached the gate.
I opened the gate, walked through the garden and heard some noise behind the door. I kept knocking the door, and I heard a person running from upstairs. Then I saw a man with a shining face who greeted me ``Hi, I am Anoop’’ with resonant voice.
The rooms at his place are really simple, and there is nothing else except the bed. But I appreciated the elegance of the house after staying there for a few days. I had once sitting in the living room a whole day almost doing nothing. Normally, when I am traveling alone, I will still turn on the light when sleeping for better sense of security. However, switching off the light is not a problem for me at this place.
I told Anoop that I found the place because of LP. He seemed very excited as if he had discovered new things, and showed my LP book to others.
Then he took me out for lunch. He was aware that I was exhausted after spending more than 10 hours in train and bus, and he had asked me whether I want a hot shower. A hot shower is not an easy matter. It is not as simple as turning on the water heater or gas. It took him 20 minutes to heat a bucket of water. He did the same thing almost every night, and he also prepared coffee every morning.
On my first day of arrival, he took me and a French couple out for a 45-minute short walk to the hill. He showed discontent with the government plan to cut down trees for building a park.
On the same night, he showed us the slides he had taken, which were the scenery around India.
His voice is always resonant, and it seems that he always has endless stories and plans to share. Visitors are not only tourists, but also his witnesses.
He is buying lands in the villages for the elephants. These elephants could originally live in peace with human. However, they started invading village lands as their living places were destroyed, leaving them no food. The farmers of the villages were annoyed and hated elephants. To tackle the problem, Anoop is buying lands from these farmers for the elephants.
Anoop, himself a farmer before, was also once scared of elephants. But he changed his attitude and started the conservation work after mingling with foreign tourists who had knowledge of animals and plantations. He wants to launch more conservation works in his family lands in the village, but fails to win family members support. He had even fought a battle in court against his family members over the use of family lands. But Anoop is a lucky man, who has constitutional right to inherit the lands because he is the eldest son. Without him signing the document and with him staying at home, his family members can neither sell the lands nor build anything on it.
There was once an Italian offering to buy Anoop’s ancestor home, but Anoop refused the offer.
Anoop said he was a man with no planning, but he was full of different ideas to be accomplished. He wants to make a movie on elephants, and build some simple huts on his family lands in which electricity and beers will be forbidden, and only vegetarian food will be provided.
He also wants to go traveling in China and crossing the China-India border with one of his Land Rovers, or maybe entering China via Pakistan with the Karakoram Highway. I am interested in such idea.
It seems that Anoop is always a lucky man. His US partner in the travel trade industry had died of a disease, and Anoop inherited his eight Land Rovers, which was an unimaginable thing in India in the 90’s.
He was taking me and the French couple to his village with one of such Land Rovers. He explained in details the plantations in the village, and eagerly told us what he had planted and what would be planted in the future.
The natural environment is a source for energy. When glazing at the sky and trees at the village, he says ``I can sense the energy.’’
I wonder whether those who love the nature are egocentric as Anoop is reluctant to be in partnership with others. The 2005 edition of LP said he was an eccentric ecowarrior. He said he would need to rely on his partners, which might affect his own will, if he was involved in partnership.
But it also seems that he has a lot of friends as he keeps chatting with and greeting people when going out.
