N. Nagaraj

The jaunt into the breadbasket of Tamil Nadu continues through to Tranquebar where an era of past glory coupled with cultural aestheticism awaits the avid spectator.

We left our readers somewhere along our eventful journey to Vaidheeswaran koil, and, now it's time to pick up the trail as we head towards Tharangambadi (the official name of Tranquebar).

By the time we left our hotel, it was well past eight. We went to Mayavaram to take a bus to Tranquebar.The trip to Tranquebar takes about 45 minutes and, if you can, make a stopover at the famous Thirukkadaiyur temple en route. At the end of a rather stifling 45 minutes — no matter where you go, you just can't escape crowded buses — we reached our destination, and after a 10-minute walk, the gates of the Danish settlement loomed large and bright.

An altogether different era greets you the minute you set foot on the settlement — bungalows with towering ceilings, sprawling verandas that would make a super deluxe flat in the city look small, sweeping arches, huge doors and imposing colonnades.

The settlement is concrete testimony to the extravagant luxuries lavished on its inhabitants. It's easy to imagine people gathered together catnapping in the huge rattan chairs or biting into refreshments. But the days of leisure high-teas have gone and with them some of the settlement's sangfroid majesty, for, today most of the colonial houses are being used as schools and orphanages.

Though, these are decently maintained, they are just fading reminders of an ancient marvel that has, sadly, been allowed to fall into ruin. But for the random obituary notices plastered on the entrance walls, which seemed to be doing a good job of supporting the building! Ideally, (it was our opinion) these huge colonial dwellings should have been restored and converted into museums or resorts.

We got some respite from our tour of the two churches on the road to Dansborg, where the beautiful Gothic styled epitaphs and the ancient belfry engaged us for about an hour. It is worth dwelling on the sublime architecture of these churches, which was living proof of a classic era long gone. During our tour of the churchyard, we noticed that the vaults of the church were a lot similar to the kind that you see in old temples.

Soon it was time to carry on towards the fort of Dansborg, which shocked us with its diminutive and compact size. But what it lacked in size it made up for in strength — the inner walls are about 20-25 ft thick and the outer walls span a width of about three to four ft.

There is a small hall that has been converted into what we felt was a poor excuse for a museum. It is a pathetic offering to someone who has come a long way expecting to see, learn and appreciate some history. The entire collection of `artefacts' comprised a couple of canons, some swords, a lance, some broken china, pipes and a few maps and documents about Tranquebar. Even more at odds with the expectant `militariness' of the fort was the thaka-thimi-tha of the thavil and the crooning of the nagaswaram that cut across the silence. Turning in the direction of the sound we saw a silk-attired deity being drawn on a bullock cart. It was Maasi Makham and a procession was leading the deity on a bullock cart to a near-by lake or river to be immersed. During such times, it is not uncommon to witness similar sights in and around Tranquebar, of immaculately dressed deities being taken on a procession to the nearest lake or river.

Near the fort, behind the collector's bungalow, is an almost entirely dilapidated temple, and it pained us to see the area being used for public convenience and as a haunt for local miscreants. Take care when you walk around the place and don't go near it if you are not in a fairly large group. The same goes for the beach, too. The local people are friendly enough, but quite a few tourist groups in vans and mini-buses settle near the beach for a drinking binge.

Tranquebar gets very hot in the afternoon and there is absolutely nowhere you can get some shade. So, the best thing to do would be to plan your trip early in the morning, and leave the place by lunch-time. Remember to carry sufficient drinking water and snacks, as Tranquebar doesn't offer any decent restaurants.

That evening, we went to Vaidheeswaran Koil, which is a 10-minute walk from our resort. The temple is huge and magnificent, but Bijoy was unhappy for the roof around the Prakarams hid almost everything from view — the vimanam, gopuram and even the temple sculptures — upsetting his photo session.

The time had now come for us to bid goodbye to an exhausting yet exciting trip and on the way back we couldn't help reliving the frenetic excitement of the previous days.

You think that after those most hair-raising bus-rides we would have second thoughts about repeating the experience? But no, not even the threatening stares from fellow travellers could deter us, and the conversation was well into planning our next trip!

Note: Don't miss the Pitchavaram lake, which is about half-an-hour from Chidambaram. Also make some time for Thirukkadaiyur on the way to Tranquebar.

A few things to bear in mind when you plan a similar trip are: While taking a bus, make sure you take seats between the front and rear wheels; you will have a comparatively more stable and less scary ride. If you plan to drive down, be warned: the roads are long, winding and narrow and you will be hurried by the speeding traffic.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

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