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Writing about beautiful places, eye catching landscapes, pristine hillsides and exotic places is cliche. Lets also explore the untold stories of natural history that were once occupying the pride of place among the former category. May be this could help to restore the lost glory and in case it doesn't, at least help revel in nostalgia for people who matter in/for such places.
Ever since I bought my new Royal Enfield (my first bike experience in half a century), I have been on a plenty of road trips to explore roads less taken, across the state and beyond. This has given me a an unbridled sense of joy and new found freedom.
In a recent bike trip to a pilgrim center, Tirukoshtiyur near Tirupattur (a Divya Desham temple forming one of a chain of 108 temples spread across the South), I decided to explore the surrounding geographies for anything interesting to see and to write home about.
Vettangudi is a place I identified in the maps that is not far from this pilgrim center. This place, I learned then, is a bird sanctuary and preserve that sees a variety of pelicans, herons and similar species of birds flocking together during winters from November to February.
At a rough distance of about 8 km on the state highway from Tirupattur that goes down to Sivaganga, one finds the Vishnu temple mentioned above that is dedicated to the Lord with a special sanctum for Ramanujam (of Sriperumbudur) who popularized the secret mantra of Vaishnavaism. Another road that branches to the right of the state highways takes one to Madurai via Melur. At an approximate distance of about 11 kms on this road from Tirupattur, one comes across an arch to the left that welcomes visitors to the bird preserve, Vettangudi. Alternatively, if one has to travel from Tirukoshtiyur, a village road from this temple leads directly to the TPT-Madurai highway in about 9 kms. From here a left turn and a further ride of about 3 kms, leads one to the same place. I took the latter route to the site for the obvious reason.
A further ride for about 500 metres takes one to the heart of the preserve. To my dismay and utter shock, I notice that the lake is bone dry with hardly any bird in sight. Parking my "chariot of a bike" in the cool shade of a giant jackfruit tree, I proceeded to explore the environs for any sightings. Walking up on a well laid out path along the banks of what was once supposed to be a meandering water body, all I could see was a couple of cows grazing on the bed of the slender shaped lake with a forlorn little egret peering into a damp patch for insects.
Climbing up a watch tower near the lake, I reached the top without much ado. As far as the eye could see, I could only notice large patches of shrubs drying up under the hot sun, amidst parched lands that depicted a tell tale story of woes that the bird heaven must have underwent in the recent past. Climbing down the tower in utter disappointment, I was greeted by an old man idling away on a stone bench on the banks of the dry rivulet.
I went down and sat next to him. I decided to look at the past glory of the reserve through his seemingly omniscient eyes which also seemed to bear testimony to a lifetime of pain and struggle. Striking up a conversation, we went on thus....
Me: Why this state of affairs here, Periyavare?
He: Sir, don't you know that our region has been reeling under severe drought for the last three years or so? How can birds survive here now.... just as my children and grandsons have left this village for good?
Me: Pray, Whats your name, what do you do for a living?
He: I am Madhava Perumal. I used to till my land until a decade ago. At my age, I can hardly engage in any vocation. I am 87.
Me: Tell me about the history of this bird reserve.
He: This place was taken over by the forest department about 40 years ago when a variety of birds started taking refuge in the water bodies that were formed on spilling over from nearby irrigation lakes. Ever since, this place was breezing with visitors and local people who used to flock every weekend for leisure. You would have noticed the sanctuary admin office of the Govt at the entrance of the road, that has now been locked and deserted for years. I haven't seen anyone from the Govt department here for ages! For the past 3 to 4 years, scanty or no rain has put paid to our place.
Me: What kind of species flocked here in the past?
He: The sanctuary has since gone dry and is bereft of any bird species now. We used to see a wide variety of birds...Neelachiruvi (Blue winged teal), Karandi Vayan (Spoonbills), Vellai Mookan (White Ibis), Saambal Kokku (Grey Heron) and a plethora of other birds that converged here during the cold season.
Me: Did you study? You seem to be familiar with Tamil Literature (He often quoted lines from Tiruvachakam and Thevaram, medieval Tamil texts of the Sangam period that dwelt on religion and ethics)
He: I studied up to the 6th Form. During those days, we studied, not to pass exams, but to gain awareness of our history, geography and literature, the last being our guiding principles in life.
Me: Where are your children and the grand ones?
He: Some of them are in Madras. They earn enough to feed themselves. I had been there recently for a month, but came back here. This is a place I love, whatever be the state of affairs here. I have seen life here through vicissitudes of time and certainly hope for better days to come.
Me: Whats the nature of the village economy now?
He: This village abutting the water bodies is known as Kollugudipatti. Farming was our only vocation until sometime back. With no rains, we have abandoned the lands. Earnings from tourists was a mainstay for sometime. Now this is also gone. Some have sold their lands to eke out a living. Some of us depend on doles from our children and grand children....Life goes on irrespective of our struggles for existence!
He: There are about 70 houses here, half of them occupied, the rest peopled but they, hardly occupied!
Me: Why can't you dig bore wells to source water for farming?
He: The Costs are too prohibitive and we cannot bear the electricity charges as free energy is available only upto an inadequate limit...and then resources are hardly available to till, sow, upkeep or harvest. We cannot afford the machines. Hence we are attuned to be content with a sqaure meal or two if we are sometimes lucky.
As I bid farewell to him after parting with a "Red Fort" note (he was pleasantly surprised), Madhava Perumal thanked me, not before looking up into the sky, sighting a heron bypassing the reserve.I was reminded of the Salil-Majrooh composition......Life seems to be..."Maya"!
Ever since I bought my new Royal Enfield (my first bike experience in half a century), I have been on a plenty of road trips to explore roads less taken, across the state and beyond. This has given me a an unbridled sense of joy and new found freedom.
In a recent bike trip to a pilgrim center, Tirukoshtiyur near Tirupattur (a Divya Desham temple forming one of a chain of 108 temples spread across the South), I decided to explore the surrounding geographies for anything interesting to see and to write home about.
Vettangudi is a place I identified in the maps that is not far from this pilgrim center. This place, I learned then, is a bird sanctuary and preserve that sees a variety of pelicans, herons and similar species of birds flocking together during winters from November to February.
At a rough distance of about 8 km on the state highway from Tirupattur that goes down to Sivaganga, one finds the Vishnu temple mentioned above that is dedicated to the Lord with a special sanctum for Ramanujam (of Sriperumbudur) who popularized the secret mantra of Vaishnavaism. Another road that branches to the right of the state highways takes one to Madurai via Melur. At an approximate distance of about 11 kms on this road from Tirupattur, one comes across an arch to the left that welcomes visitors to the bird preserve, Vettangudi. Alternatively, if one has to travel from Tirukoshtiyur, a village road from this temple leads directly to the TPT-Madurai highway in about 9 kms. From here a left turn and a further ride of about 3 kms, leads one to the same place. I took the latter route to the site for the obvious reason.
A further ride for about 500 metres takes one to the heart of the preserve. To my dismay and utter shock, I notice that the lake is bone dry with hardly any bird in sight. Parking my "chariot of a bike" in the cool shade of a giant jackfruit tree, I proceeded to explore the environs for any sightings. Walking up on a well laid out path along the banks of what was once supposed to be a meandering water body, all I could see was a couple of cows grazing on the bed of the slender shaped lake with a forlorn little egret peering into a damp patch for insects.
Climbing up a watch tower near the lake, I reached the top without much ado. As far as the eye could see, I could only notice large patches of shrubs drying up under the hot sun, amidst parched lands that depicted a tell tale story of woes that the bird heaven must have underwent in the recent past. Climbing down the tower in utter disappointment, I was greeted by an old man idling away on a stone bench on the banks of the dry rivulet.
I went down and sat next to him. I decided to look at the past glory of the reserve through his seemingly omniscient eyes which also seemed to bear testimony to a lifetime of pain and struggle. Striking up a conversation, we went on thus....
Me: Why this state of affairs here, Periyavare?
He: Sir, don't you know that our region has been reeling under severe drought for the last three years or so? How can birds survive here now.... just as my children and grandsons have left this village for good?
Me: Pray, Whats your name, what do you do for a living?
He: I am Madhava Perumal. I used to till my land until a decade ago. At my age, I can hardly engage in any vocation. I am 87.
Me: Tell me about the history of this bird reserve.
He: This place was taken over by the forest department about 40 years ago when a variety of birds started taking refuge in the water bodies that were formed on spilling over from nearby irrigation lakes. Ever since, this place was breezing with visitors and local people who used to flock every weekend for leisure. You would have noticed the sanctuary admin office of the Govt at the entrance of the road, that has now been locked and deserted for years. I haven't seen anyone from the Govt department here for ages! For the past 3 to 4 years, scanty or no rain has put paid to our place.
Me: What kind of species flocked here in the past?
He: The sanctuary has since gone dry and is bereft of any bird species now. We used to see a wide variety of birds...Neelachiruvi (Blue winged teal), Karandi Vayan (Spoonbills), Vellai Mookan (White Ibis), Saambal Kokku (Grey Heron) and a plethora of other birds that converged here during the cold season.
Me: Did you study? You seem to be familiar with Tamil Literature (He often quoted lines from Tiruvachakam and Thevaram, medieval Tamil texts of the Sangam period that dwelt on religion and ethics)
He: I studied up to the 6th Form. During those days, we studied, not to pass exams, but to gain awareness of our history, geography and literature, the last being our guiding principles in life.
Me: Where are your children and the grand ones?
He: Some of them are in Madras. They earn enough to feed themselves. I had been there recently for a month, but came back here. This is a place I love, whatever be the state of affairs here. I have seen life here through vicissitudes of time and certainly hope for better days to come.
He: This village abutting the water bodies is known as Kollugudipatti. Farming was our only vocation until sometime back. With no rains, we have abandoned the lands. Earnings from tourists was a mainstay for sometime. Now this is also gone. Some have sold their lands to eke out a living. Some of us depend on doles from our children and grand children....Life goes on irrespective of our struggles for existence!
Me: Why can't you dig bore wells to source water for farming?
He: The Costs are too prohibitive and we cannot bear the electricity charges as free energy is available only upto an inadequate limit...and then resources are hardly available to till, sow, upkeep or harvest. We cannot afford the machines. Hence we are attuned to be content with a sqaure meal or two if we are sometimes lucky.
As I bid farewell to him after parting with a "Red Fort" note (he was pleasantly surprised), Madhava Perumal thanked me, not before looking up into the sky, sighting a heron bypassing the reserve.I was reminded of the Salil-Majrooh composition......Life seems to be..."Maya"!
jaa re, jaa re ud jaa re panchhi
bahaaron ke des jaa re
yahaan kyaa hai mere pyaare
kyun ujad gayi bagiyaa mere man ki
naa daali rahi naa kali
ajab gham ki "Sookha" chali
udi dukh ki dhool raahon mein
jaa re ye gali hai birhan ki
bahaaron ke des jaa re
yahaan kyaa hai mere pyaare
kyun ujad gayi bagiyaa mere man ki
jaa re....
...And mulling over Mahakavi Bharathiar's eternal lines..
காண்பதெல்லாம் மறையுமென்றால்
மறைந்ததெல்லாம் காண்பமன்றோ
நானும் ஓர் கனவோ
இந்த ஞாலமும் பொய்தானோ....
ஞாலமும், ஞானமும் பாெய் தானே!
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ReplyDeleteஉண்மைதான்! 😀 Thanks for reading..Prashanth!
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