Through the Land of the Cholas - Part II

Continued from Part I

The bus ride from Thanjavur to Vedaranyam is through one of the most spectacular landscapes - lush greenery of the fields on either side of the road interspersed by large expanses of water. (We wondered why we talked about drought and water shortage in the state). The weather was perfect for travel too with rain clouds hovering on the horizon.

We stopped at a few small towns and villages on the way, even in a town on a shandy day. When we reached Vedaranyam mid-afternoon, we found it to be a small town: one main street, the bus stop, a bazaar, an old temple and that was it. We were getting anything with amused to gaping looks from the locals what with our jeans, shoes and backpacks. Only the knowledge of Tamil saved us. A conversation with the bus stop official later, we found out where to find lodgings and food, and how to get to Kodiakkarai.

We checked into Thevar Lodge, the one decent hotel in the town, just opposite the bus stop. But not before the guy at the counter gave us suspicious looks and asked us our purpose for being there. Perhaps he was convinced that we were really there for bird-watching only after he saw us trooping out ten minutes later, binoculars in hand. The rooms were basic: two steel cots, a table and a chair and an attached bathroom, and cost us Rs. 100 per night!

We found the mess that the bus stop guy had recommended: it was actually run by a family, with one room in their house turned into the dining area. We had a wholesome meal and thus refreshed, took a bus to Kodiakkarai. It was a local bus and we reached in 30 minutes. Kodiakkarai is a tiny village on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and so we were very near the sea. There were salt flats on both sides of the road and the vegetation was sparse. We started sighting birds on the way itself: there were many Brahminy kites, magnificent golden rust-coloured birds with white neck and head, which Navin and I enjoy spotting.

We got down at the last stop and walked down to the Forest Office to see if we could get help in visiting the Point Calimere bird sanctuary. The office was an old, sprawling building in a large campus filled with trees and plants. There was a man-made pond and fountain in front of the building, but it was neglected and dry. In fact, we saw a handwritten board propped up on one side of the building which said "This building is under self demolition!" So it was with apprehension that we stepped in.

It was a big long room with an old desk and the usual Forest Department pictures and posters on the cracked walls. Seemed like it was the only room in use - the rest of the building was dilapidated, the roof having fallen in, the doors rotten and walls broken. There were some men sleeping in one corner. There was a helper who told us that we had to get tickets to go into the sanctuary - he got out maps and a bird checklist only after Navin threw some names in the Department at him which the chap recognised. Turned out that the bird sanctuary also had lots of black buck, which we were eager to see because we had never seen it before.

The helper helpfully told us that it was slushy inside the sanctuary because of the rains and all trails would be flooded, so the best way would be by jeep. He could accompany us only if we went by jeep because walking would take up too much of his time! We couldn't hire a jeep there, so we got tickets and set out on foot.

To be continued...