"Flamingo Adventure"

Hey ppl! I’m back after a long time.. College’s reopened and my results are out too.. well… let’s not talk about that just now… What exactly I wanna tell you guys about is my trip to Kodikkarai. Kodi means ‘the very end or tip’ and karai means ‘shore or coast’. The name is very fitting considering the fact that this place is what the British called ‘Point Calimere’. The main reason for this trip was to watch the Flamingoes that have migrated there for the season. But the sad thing is that we were in Kodikkarai for just over 3 hours. ‘We’ includes my Photography Teacher (Photo Sir or just Sir), my Dad (Pa) and of course, ME.
The basic plan was to take the Janshatabdi Express to Thanjavur and then reach Vedaranyam by bus and then take some local transport to Kodikkarai. We just had no idea how freaking awry this plan was gonna go. The train trip was pretty smooth… I read ‘Violets Are Blue’ and listened to some nice music and even managed to catch some sleep. In Thanjavur, we took an autorickshaw to the Old Bus Stand and had lunch someplace close by (“All good hotels are near the Old Bus Stand!”). Now, we had to go to the New Bus Stand for our bus to Vedaranyam. We had to wait for a looooong time for a connecting bus to the New Bus Stand and when we did reach there, we learnt that there was no direct bus to Vedaranyam. After three really tiring hours in the cramped bus, we reached Thiruththuraipoondi . Another bus ride and an hour later we were finally in Vedaranyam! It was already 1745 hours and it was too late to check out Kodikkarai. So we checked into the best (!) lodge in Vedaranyam. After sometime we went to the Temple (Pa & Sir’s idea). The resident deity is Vedaranyeshwarar and the Temple has a rich history. Too bad it isn’t properly maintained. Actually, the one thing that I’ll never forget is the sculpture of Nandi. The artistry is totally mind-blowing… If I’d seen the Temple in broad daylight, I guess I’d be able to say the same thing of the whole Temple complex. But I’ll look up stuff and write more about the Temple sometime later.
We had dinner at a home-mess near the Temple and returned to our room. The extra bed that Pa had ordered for me came and I just couldn’t wait to hop onto it. Well, that is on move I’d regret for the rest of my life. I felt something moving and some teeny weeny bites on my skin. I said, “Pa! There are bugs in my bed!” No one took me seriously (“Bedbugs have been completely eliminated.” “Do you have any idea what bedbugs look or feel like? No? Then, how can you say that it’s bugs? It’ll only be the mosquitoes.”). So I had to shut up and go to sleep. But, sleep I couldn’t. I felt bites all over my neck, arms and legs. I kept turning and tossing around in bed for a long time and I have no idea how or when I slept. When I woke up next morning, I was scratching all over. I had angry, red, swollen bite marks on my neck and arms. Pa saw those marks and declared that there are bedbugs in that bed. Bugs and what else, I still have no idea. This is just another thing that makes this trip unforgettable… getting bitten by bedbugs for the first time in my life (I really hope it’s also the last time!). This incident thought me two very important things. One, there are some places in TamilNadu that are so backward, so isolated that bedbugs breed there. Two, there is a first time for everything and you need to cherish such rare firsts. ;)
Let’s not forget the BIGGER things while looking at the smaller, trivial stuff. That morning, early morning, we took the first bus to Kodikkarai. I’d been thinking that there’s only the Forest Office and the Forest Guest House, Ponnarai Illam (literally, Flamingo House). How bloody wrong I was!!! There was a nice little fishing village, a booming fish market, an old temple and even a broken down petrol bunk! First we headed to the beach to photograph the sunrise, but we got much more than just the sunrise. The native fishermen were heading out to the sea an Sir got some really nice candid shots and silhouettes. Well… me being me, didn’t get too excited looking at all those fisher-folk. I just took some shots of the sunrise and the fishing boats (still life, not candid or portraits!). After sometime, we couldn’t stand the stench of all those dead fish and crabs and so we left to find the Birds.
Talking of birds, the official list has 270-something birds (resident and migrated). The most popular migrated bird is the Flamingo (“The Flamingo is not a bird. It‘s an Angel from Heaven!”). There is good diversity of the Brahminy Kite and the Pariah Kite. We spotted terns, storks (painted?), seagulls, some species of ducks, bee-eaters, mynahs… and some other birds I can’t identify. I enjoyed walking through the slushy-slushy sand, looking at the birds and looking for insects and spiders. With help from the locals, we reached the edge of the backwaters… to see the Flamingoes. The water’s very shallow and the local women fish for prawns there. The women say that they’d get around ten or twenty rupees for half a day’s catch. That’s way too less when you imagine what people will charge you for the same kind of work in Coimbatore. The Flamingoes were far off from the bund we were on so Sir and me decided to wade across the small strip of water to another bund so that we’d be able to get some decent pictures of the Angel Birds… It is this small part −the wade – that I’d never forget (Sir likes to call it ‘The Flamingo Adventure’). One local guy said, “You can’t walk in this water. You are not used to it. It is very difficult. You will fall.” Thanks to that guy, and another nice lady who encouraged us on, I decided that I will do it.
I quickly removed my shoes, rolled up my jeans and ran to the water with my cam in one hand and Sir’s binoculars in the other. The first few steps were kinda easy and got some confidence. But a few steps later my feet were sinking lower and lower in the slush and it was becoming tougher to pull my foot out for the next step forward. Putting my hands high above my hand for support (or balance or whatever you call it), I took one scary step after another. Scary? You’d probably be laughing at me right now but those moments were real scary, atleast for me. I was thinking of quicksands and the Flamingoes in the same thought. The Angel Birds took over and I got the strength and courage to keep moving. That, and the fact that the ground was becoming harder and felt more solid under my feet. I was almost at the other bund (my destination) and Splash!!! I fell into the water, face down. I couldn’t risk putting my hands down to bring myself up because of the Camera and the binoculars. So I crawled onto the bund on my elbows, Commando-style. Seeing me struggle, the Nice Lady came to help us (Sir had started his wade and was taking calculated steps). When I was finally on solid ground, my jeans and the front of my tees were completely soaked. And yeah I was shaking like I’d gotten a fit or something. I’d been that scared. The Nice Lady helped Sir and then he realized that it’d be easier if he was on all fours, and he too crawled across. He wanted me to take pictures of him crossing and crawling so he could show Aunty how crazy it was. But I just couldn’t hold the Cam straight long enough to take a few snaps. I was still shaking bad. When I’d stopped shaking I realized that my dear little cell phone had been in the pocket of my jeans through all this. It didn’t survive. :(
They say,” After a tough mountain climb comes a breathtaking view.” So goddamn true. The Flamingoes really look heavenly. Their feathers are a unique shade of pink and some of the males had just started developing the breeding colours. The large flocks dine together, putting their beaks under water catching plankton, algae and prawns.
Sir and me saw the Birds and learnt some things, took some photographs and walked along the bund, moving closer to the Birds (Pa had stayed on the other side standing watch over the remaining equipment.). We kept watching the Birds for some time and decided to get back to Pa by walking around the stretch of water instead of wading across it once again. We had to walk almost two kilometers to reach Pa. During this long walk, I collected shells for Minnie and even took some nice photos of the shells strewn across the sand.
When we were back at our starting place, I was too hungry but we had to still walk another three kilometers to reach the nearest hotel. At the so-called hotel, there was nothing but tea and packaged bread. Anyway, the place was too dark and looked unclean. A small loaf of bread and two bottles of Slice… that was my breakfast. There are a few species of mammals (including blackbucks) in Kodikkadu, but we can watch them only with the permission of the Forest Officer. Pa wanted to see the animals but it’d be too much trouble to get all those permissions on the same day. So we decided to return to Vedaranyam and start for Coimbatore in the afternoon.
Back in Vedaranyam, we had lunch and then returned to our room. Pa and Sir took their noon naps while I washed away all the sand and salt from my legs, then I read my novel. At around three-thirty, we took a bus to Mannargudi. We reached Mannargudi in time for dinner and after that, we boarded a bus to Trichy. We reached Trichy by ten-fifteen. The bus journey was long, tiring and boring (My music player had run out of charge!). There was a bus to Coimbatore at ten-fifty that we took. I saw the Malaikkottai and the Srirangam Temple in full lighting (for Karthigai deepam) and then fell asleep. The window was troublesome and I couldn’t even sleep properly because of the cold air. When we finally reached Coimbatore very early the next morning, I was cold, tired, sleepy and very hungry. Finally we reached home at six-thirty and Pa said that I shouldn’t be sleeping after that time. I also had to go to College. But I fell asleep at eight-forty and woke up at nine-fifteen. Left home by nine-forty and I was in College at nine-fifty seven for my ten o’ clock class.
Well… that’s it about my most recent trip to Kodikkarai. The best part of the trip was the ‘wading’ part to watch the Flamingoes. The worst part? The return journey! I seriously wish to get back to Kodikkarai sometime later, stay at Ponnarai Illam instead of some dingy lodge in Vedaranyam and watch all the Birds and Animals possible and document them in photographs. I hope that day isn’t too far in the future.
Till I find time and stuff to post again,
So long! Adios.
P.S.: All references to Birds and Animals is in CAPS as a mark of respect to the Creator and His Creations. Thank You God, for everything You’ve done.
P.P.S.: A few photos are on 'Happy Snapping' !!! Adios, once again.