Thadiyendamol stood tall. For centuries, he had been the lone sentinel, towering over lesser peaks and serving as a landmark to seafarers. The tallest peak in Coorg, on a clear day he could see as far as the coast. Over time, he had seen spices from Coorg being exchanged for salt from Kerala. He had observed also the subsequent exchange of culture. How the open shrines of Coorg acquired the typical Kerala roof. And he watched the rain god Igguthappa, along with his brothers and sister, migrate from Kerala to Kodagu. Soon after, the sky darkened. Igguthappa had smiled. Along with him, he had brought rain. A Malabar whistling thrush, his blue-black coat ruffled, was caught unawares by the fat drops of rain and his melodious off-key whistle seemed trapped inside his throat. Thadiyendamol had covered himself in a giant white cloak and disappeared from view.... Now it is just you, the amplified sounds of a rainforest come alive and a faint mountain trail, with no end in sight.
Not too long ago, this little village in the heart of the south-west Kodagu rainforest used to be the largest honey producer in South-East Asia. But a chance virus wiped out the resident bee population. What you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts. This crisis deflected attention to something more than honey the bountiful nature that produced it. Birdwatchers and backpackers soon realised that there's more to Kodagu than Madikeri. And proceeded to march through the clouds to rediscover Thadiyendamol, and the sleepy Kodava village of Kakkabe in the shadow of the great mountain.