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Play of green and pink
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Dotted by lotus ponds and fields, says Soma Basu
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PhotoS: Soma Basu
Flower power At Chunkankadai
Interestingly, Chunkankadai in Kanyakumari district finds mention in few odd travel pamphlets for an old church, an engineering college in a picturesque setting and miles of lotus ponds. But nobody, particularly the locals, ever suggests the place fo
r an outing.
The world simply passes by this less known place on the busy National Highway that connects Nagercoil to Thiruvananthapuram.
A green takeover
Barely out of the hub of Nagercoil town, a landscape of lush green trees, paddy fields, plantain groves and coconut farms takes over.
And just three km further down, the endless stretches of emerald farmlands suddenly give way to a pink profusion.
May be if you are a regular traveller on this road you can ignore the sight.
But I can’t resist myself from stopping and admiring this riot of pink. For more than a km, white and pink lotuses bob in the water that is separated by patches of green bund into ponds.
The dense greenery encircling these lotus ponds is equally breathtaking.
The banks and beyond are dotted with majestic peepul and palm trees.
Beds of lush green grass tempt me to walk around the bank.
Of course much of the pond water you cannot access. So the only other option is to sit down on the banks of the lotus pond.
The natural beauty of the peaceful land grows on me as I watch the flower hopping bees.
Nature’s concert
Despite the highway noise, I can hear the humming of bees.
Beautiful buds and flowers in full bloom rise over the surface of water waving gently in the breeze. Up above wispy clouds speed through the sky. Then suddenly clouds gather and a violet haze envelopes a ring of canopied hills at the foot of the Western Ghats.
A mild drizzle wets the earth and its fragrance fills the air. As the drops fall gently on the surface of round and flat lotus leaves, they stay on like drops of tears for a while. The leaves quiver subtly in the duet of the falling drops of water and a slow wind.
Stare a while
With negligible human intrusion, Chunkankadai makes for a perfect interlude from any kind of monotony. Picnic by a lotus pond perhaps is not a bad idea.
A combination of hills, fields, trees, flowers and water definitely makes great company.
And, I am glad I had the time to spare and stare at nature’s benevolence.
Or else this RLT would never have been!
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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