Munnar
John Daniel Munro introduced the world to Munnar in the 1870s. He came across the place by accident. As the British Resident of Travancore kingdom, he was called in to solve a border dispute between Travancore and its neighbour Madras. He fell in love with this new found area immediately. Though the Munnar region fell under the jurisdiction of the Travancore kingdom, it was the jenmam (birth) land of the Poonjar Royal Family. Since it was a ‘jenmam land’, the royal family enjoyed absolute powers over the land as the landlord. Munro convinced the royal family to lease the land to him and started transforming the area. Munro formed the North Travancore Land Planting & Agricultural Society in 1879. They started the cultivation of crops, including coffee, cardamom, cinchona and sisal in various parts of the region.