HIGH IN THE WESTERN Ghats on the road, NH85, that connects Munnar in Kerala with Theni in Tamil Nadu, we passed the check post at the border of the two Indian states.

As we drove across the border into Tamil Nadu, I noticed a small greyish building on whose facade there is a crest (with a depiction of an elephant’s head) and the words: “Travancore Custom House. Bodi Meti”. Bodi Meti (now ‘Bodimettu’) is the name of the settlement at the border crossing.

Travancore was an independent kingdom between c1729 and 1949, when it merged with what was to become part of the current state of Kerala. Therefore, the custom house on the busy mountain road is a relic or souvenir of a kingdom that exists no more.