Pichavaram - World's Second Largest Mangrove Forest

''Dasavatharam trips - Take a boat ride through the spots where the movie was filmed'' - This signboard greeted us as we alighted at the Pichavaram Boat House.That is when the connection between the movie's first song(Kallai Mattum Kandal) and Pichavaram struck us.For those not familiar with Tamil movies, Dasavatharam is a movie starring the popular Tamil actor Kamal Hassan.

Pichavaram starts appearing from 2:37 minute in the song.

(Just to add some context to the song, here is some history. This song is  apparently based on events in 12th century when the Chola king Kulothunga Cholan was ruling the region. He was a Shaivaite, or devotee of Lord Shiva, and was very intolerant against Vaishnavaites, the devotees of Lord Vishnu and is believed to have destroyed the Govindaswamy Idol from the nearby Chidambaram temple. The song shows the king harassing a staunch devotee of Vishnu and drowning him along with the Govindaswamy Idol).

Let us turn a bit into the geography of the place. The backwaters is interconnected by 2 river systems and is only a few feet in depth at most places. The mangrove trees are rooted in the water and is home to several birds. Pichavaram, along with nearby Vedanthangal, is also the home for migratory birds between September and April every year. In all, Pichavaram covers an area of 11 Sq. km.

Now, back to the trip. Paddle boats and motor boats were available and the trip duration started from 1 hour to more than 4 hours. We chose to take a paddle boat for 1 hour(2 kilometers/Rs. 250 for 2 people) so that we could drift along the waterways. We were told by one of our friends who had been to Pichavaram earlier that the boatman will take the visitors to some interesting places which are not part of the itinerary for an additional sum. Not surprisingly, our boat paddler made the offer and not surprisingly, we agreed :)

The initial 10 minutes was anything but exciting, with no unusual sights except a crane perched on top of a mongrove bush.

The vegetation started to grow thicker and the waterway started narrowing.

The trees became denser and formed a canopy above the water. It became darker and more silent. There was also hardly any wind inside these ''caves''.

 We had to be quite careful about the overhanging trees.

We managed to take a video of our drifting along these mangrove forests.

We encountered a couple of motorboats along these narrow passages and our paddler skillfully gave space to these boats to pass by. Soon, we came out of this thicket of trees and were in open waters again.

We were told that by travelling another 4-6 kilometers, one can reach the sea. Typically, only the motor boats go all the way to the beach. By this time, we were already in the boat for more than 45 minutes and we had to return in another 15 minutes. Once in the open waters, it became very windy making it tougher to paddle. Nonetheless, we were back at the boathouse quite happy with our experience. No wonder this place is a favorite spot for shooting movie songs(including Idhayakani by MGR, Suriyan by Sarathkumar and Chinnavar by Prabhu).

We will be back in Pichavaram, to spend more time, especially on the beach!

Location:
From Chennai : 230 km South(Ideal for a one day trip)
From Pondicherry : 75 km South
From Trichirappali : 180 km North East

Nearest town : Chidambaram(20 km)

Tranquebar - A Danish charm in Tamil Nadu

Tranquebar - what kind of name is that? I was intrigued when I saw an advertisement about a photo exhibition about Tranquebar at the Dakshin Chitra. We were on a one day leisure trip early this week to Mahabalipuram from Chennai and had stopped at at Dakshin Chitra as part of the trip. The advertisement had the pictures of an old colonial style gateway, an expansive fort on a seashore and a temple on the edge of the sea. It also had a a caption '' Tranquebar - place of the singing waves''. For the rest of the trip, I was left wondering about this place I had never heard before.

After reaching home, I googled Tranquer and one of the first results that came up had this to say about Tranquebar ''

Tranquebar…the exotic name is an apt driveway to what lies beyond the baroque Town Gate. Placed as a dreamy patch at the confluence of a distributary of the river Cauvery and the Bay of Bengal, since the 1600s, this small town has been the drawing board of numerous trysts that have lent Tranquebar a steep culture and heritage. An exquisite playpen of Danish aspirations in India, Tranquebar, in its modest alleyways that throw their bosom open to the sea, preserves a rustic mood splashed against a captivating backdrop. Crisp mornings…the ever tranquilizing sea…perceptions related to the British rule, the Danish settlement, the German cultural link and nearby former French colonies of Karaikal and Pondicherry, greet you in this heritage space which in its heyday could have easily passed off as a fragment on the European coast.

Tarangambadi, as the place is known in native Tamil, literally meaning, “The land of the singing waves”, is a perpetual paradox. ''

Need I say more? A few days later, I was on my way to Tranquebar or Tarangambadi along with my wife and kids. We planned a 2 day trip and stopped at Chidambaram temple, Pichavaram lake and Poomphur before arriving at Tranquebar by about 4:30 pm in the evening. The day was very cloudy and the sea was quite rough. That only added to the suspense to our trip.

As we arrived the small village, the gateway welcomed us. The gateway was built by the Danish more than 200 years back.

As we moved past the gateway, we went through a narrow street which looked quite different from what one sees in small towns in Tamil Nadu. The street, known as Kongensgade(or the King street), has some interesting buildings that showcase the influence of European architecture.

A few hundred meters from the gateway stood a Church, which was built in the year 1718 and is currently thronged by the locals. The Church is well maintained and was well decorated as part of Christmas celebrations.

We drove further and could see the sea and the fort. Before getting into the fort premises, we sighted the statue of one of the christian missionaries that was built to mark the 300th year Anniversary of the Tranquebar mission(1706-2006).

We finally arrived at the fort. After paying a token entry fee of Rs. 5 per person, we entered the fort. The fort is quite small compared to many other forts we had been to. But that did not take away the charm of the fort. Overlooking the Bay of Bengal, the fort has stood there since the 17th century. The fort built by Danish East India company is known as Fort Dansborg and was initally established mainly for exporting pepper from India. Tranquebar came under Danish control in 1777 and was briefly under British control(1801-1814) before the British restored it to the Danes. In 1845, the British purchased all Danish settlements, including Tranquebar. The town used to be a busy port with good amount of trade. In fact, several Danish ships have landed here before the other neighbouring ports became popular.

Some of the rusted cannons lay proof of how aged the fort is.

Most of the interiors of the fort is not accessible to the public, except for a small part, which is now a museum. The museum has some interesting artifacts, including a copy of the treaty signed in 1620 between Denmark and the King of Thanjavur. It also has a list of all the Governers of the fort(including the British), the list of the ships that arrived at the fort, and a few sculptures and items brought from Denmark.

A few more pictures of the fort are below.

A few meters away from the fort is the building which used to be the Governer's Bungalow. Apparently it was crumbling, but the Neemrana group of hotels bought it and have restored it. (The tariff for the hotel is about Rs. 6000 per day/person). The hotel is now called '' Bungalow on the Beach'' and the hotels website has some great pictures of how the Bungalow looks before and after restoration(Can be accessed here).

There are a few other officers' buildings and churches(including the oldest Protestant Church in India-The Zion Church)

We completed our trip after a visit to the nearby temple facing the sea. The temple, known as Masilamaninathar Temple, was built during the Pandya regime in the 14th century is among the oldest buildings in the town.

Now I know that Tranquebar is not very intriguing and is indeed a charming little town.

Trivia - The Neemrana group of hotels claim that Tranquebar has the highest ozone content in India which ''relaxes, rejuvenates and prolongs'' one's life.

Location:
From Chennai - 280 km South
From Pondicherry - 120 km South
From Chidambaram - 30 km South
From Tiruchirappalli - 150 km East

Some additional information can be found at the blogs mentioned below.

a. http://tranquebar.in/about-tranquebar/history/ - It has some old photographs
b. http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/blogs/traveler/tranquebar-town-singing-waves-042732852.html
c. http://travel.sulekha.com/my-visit-to-tranquebar-danish-colony-in-tamilnadu-history-photo-blog_travelogue_3590