I first heard about Penstock from my uncle. My grandpa was an engineer who was involved with construction of many dams in the Nilgiris and he used to take his family to these dams located in remote places. Penstock was one such place.
My first reaction on hearing about it was how did Penstock earn itself such a name. When I asked around, I got diverse explanations. Someone said it was because "it looks like the part of a pen holding the ink", but I wasn't convinced with that explanation. Others suggested, a bit more accurately, that "it is nothing but a water tank". A penstock is basically a sluice or floodgate to regulate the flow of water. The word originated in the early 17th Century from Pen (in the sense of `mill dam') and Stock (presumably of water). The penstock I visited is said to be one of ten in the Nilgiris and is located in Nickval Town. The energy from the water, channeled through cast-iron pipes, is used to run a turbine and generate power at the Canada power station in Geddai.
Located seven kilometres from Manjoor and at an altitude of 1,885 feet, the place is a picture of calm. Five main pipes snake down the hillside before emptying the water at great force into the Geddai power station. There is a view point, somewhat ill-maintained, which provides a panoramic view of the Nilgiris from the comfort of a concrete bench with flaking green paint.
Down below are acres and acres of native shola forests, an overwhelming view. The winch station is only a five-minute walk away. From here, a car makes its way down a four-stage route, dropping engineers and workers off to check the pipes. The old machinery that holds the car has been working since 1956. A board announces the country of origin: England.
The three-kilometre trip by winch to Geddai takes a total of 80 minutes, 20 minutes for each stop. Once the winch at Penstock reaches the next stop, the next winch car there takes over. To hop aboard one, you need permission from the Electricity Board. A little away from the winch station is a Forest Department trekking shed, also with a view point. We explored our way into the forest area and had some great views of the forest. As we went deeper, we could not escape the feeling that a herd of elephant was somewhere close by. We saw some fresh elephant dung and my uncle mentioned that he could sense the presence of animals. Every step after that made me anxious and I could almost hear my heartbeat in the absolutely still and silent forest area.
Fearing that we will overstay our welcome in the wildlife infested area, we retraced our steps back to the main gate. As much as I love observing wildlife in their serene surroundings, this walk in the area frequented by elephants, bisons and leopards was stretching my idea of fun and it made me very nervous. As we hurried to the relative safety of our car, we encountered a big problem in the form of a wild bison which had chosen the exact same time to have a siesta. We did not know what was the exact protocol here. Trying to distract the bison or chase him away was out of the question, as it risked the possibility of making him violent and chase us down, we were scared to pass silently in front of him as we were not sure of his reaction. As this route was the only way out, we were hoping the bison would move but it was really adamant (or lazy!) and was in no hurry. It was in trance mode and we debated our next move. There was no mobile network and we could not call the forest guard to help us out as well. It was one of the most uncomfortable 20-30 minutes that I had spent and the only good thing about the whole scenario was other bisons (or elephants, for that matter) did not enter the fray, which would have made it very uncomfortable for us. Thankfully, the forest guard came on his own as he figured that we had been missing for a long time now. He guided us as we slowly walked past the bison (distance of 4-5 feet) without making any sudden movement, which would risk a reaction from the animal. He was really helpful and gave us the courage to walk our way out or else I don't know what we would have done. Thanking my lucky stars, I escaped from the forest in one piece.
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