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Flamingo country
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But there's more to Point Calimere than these pink-plumed birds
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FROM THE shores of Point Calimere (Kodiakkarai), which sits at the edge of the Palk Strait, the gently diffused light from a sickle-shaped moon traces the outlines of a lighthouse and a police watchtower. The coastline is punctuated by fishermen's hovels. Moored far out in the sea, their boats are illuminated by what look like cressets. The stench of dry fish assaults the nostrils, but the scene is arresting, even impressive.
Early next morning, I stir myself to revisit the spot. Now, it has a dramatically different impact, creasing my face into wrinkles of disgust. For what night had concealed, dawn has revealed. Last night's stench did not emanate entirely from dry fish. The Kodiakkarai shoreline is a toilet without a working flush.
Kodiakkarai's charm lies in the vast stretches of salt water that are separated from the sea with sandbanks. During winter, exotic migratory birds congregate here. In the evening, I proceed towards what is called "the pump house bird-watching site". Countless birds have assembled in what clearly are mixed colonies. The flamingo, however, has not put in an appearance. I determinedly focus my telescope on distant birdlike images, but the results are unsatisfactory.
On being told that the flamingos generally fall astern by a few kilometres, I zealously hire a bicycle and pedal on treacherous bunds under a sullen sunless sky the following morning. The effort proves barren. Lesson learnt: Do not go to Kodiakkarai with the single-point agenda of watching endless flocks of pink-plumed flamingos. The Kodiakkarai flamingos play hard to get.
Interestingly, this attitude seems to have rubbed off on to the blackbuck as well. I could see neither hide nor hair of this animal after walking for a couple of kilometres within the black buck sanctuary. The same reason is trotted out: "The black bucks are found in the interiors." Evidently, flamingo-and-blackbuck-watching in this reserved forest calls for a patience that is sometimes beyond even avid naturalists.
Let me be fair though. Like a coy bride, Kodiakkarai takes time to reveal its charms. For this reason, it deserves more than a weekend break. If you spend a week here, Kodiakkarai is bound to disclose its secrets — fawning dolphins, thickset mangroves, dancing flamingos, retiring blackbucks, belligerent wild boars and knots of medicinal herbs.
Getting to Kodiakkarai is easier than falling off a log once you reach Nagapatinam. From here, buses ply round the clock to Vedaranyam, five km from Koddiakarai. A better option would be to hire a cab. This way, you can pitch tent at places like Marudhur and Kalimedu, where shocks of grains ripple beautifully in the wind and streams flow in channels to the sea. On my trip, I saw tourists in Tata Sumos bivouacking near scenic locales along the way.
A word of caution for bus travellers: Do not break the ice with your bus-seat neighbour. Most people on this route are helpful to a fault. For the one question you ask, they will volunteer a thousand unwanted, unrelated facts. Staying over at Kodiakkarai is never a problem.
The Forest Department has two rest houses — Thambusami Illam and Poonarai Illam (also called Flamingo House). Another rest house is in the works. You may book suites and rooms by calling 04369-272424. Not wanting to be outdone, the Kodiakkarai Panchayat Union has also built a rest house, which has two capacious suites.
Pic & text by PRINCE FREDERICK
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