Thiruvakkarai : Forest of Brown

Thiruvakkarai: Yes, if you think fossils are fun, says PRASSANA SRINIVASAN

TURNED ON by wood fossils? Nor am I. But Thiruvakkarai is the chosen destination for the Road Less Travelled this week and while gathering information about it, I cannot help regretfully noting that it is none of the following. A forgotten hill resort, a spit of virgin beach, the romantic ruins of a fort - the kind of places that RLT columns cover or ought to anyway.

Armed with my assignment, and some recently acquired knowledge about petrified trees, I hop on a bus to Tindivanam, consoling myself that this place I didn't know even existed since yesterday is at least not a long way away. Situated on the road between Tindivanam and Pondicherry, Thiruvakkarai seems to be better known for two places of worship - the Vakkara Kali Amman and the Mailam Murugan temples. But my assignment lies some five kilometres away - at the country's first wood fossil park.

The autorickshaw driver who ferries me from Tindivanam to the destination simply cannot understand why I am here to see the park and not the temples. He uses the time afforded by the bumpy 30-km ride to make me see light and then eventually gives up, probably convinced I am either ungodly or a little soft in the head.

The National Fossil Wood Park, which is maintained by the Geological Survey of India, announces itself without much fanfare. Two blue-coloured boards with factual information in English and Tamil are the only welcoming signs. A line of lush green trees, interspersed by small bushes, lead into the park. Or a part of it, to be precise. The wood fossils are spread over 247 acres in nine separate enclaves around Thiruvakkarai. The portion fenced off and formally open to the public is relatively small.

So what do you actually see? Walk along the meandering and narrow path through this petrified forest - which is an estimated 40 to 50 million years old — and trunks of various shapes lie strewn and half-buried in the soil. They are brown, look very much like wood but are as hard as rock. Some of the fossils, which are really trees that have petrified into stone due to a long-drawn out chemical process, have annular rings that reveal their age at the time of their death. No one is allowed to touch the fossils, which are guarded zealously by the lone security guard. To prevent even the very thought of doing so, the sides of the path are blocked by a hedge of cut branches with sharp dissuasive thorns.

Angiosperms and tamarindus are the main flora in this forest of brown, which is ringed by green fields and empty verdant spaces. The bottomline? Head out to Thiruvakkarai if you have a have a scientific frame of mind and are looking to educate yourself. There is a wealth of information you can pick up from visiting this park, which is now trying to promote itself as a tourist destination. However, if you are the type that prefers chilling out, then you had better settle for some place else - perhaps the one covered in next week's RLT?

How to get there

Accessible by road either from Pondicherry or Tindivanam. Thiruvakkarai lies on the road that connects the two.

Where to stay:

Don't even bother looking in Thiruvakkarai. Nearest accommodation in Pondy and Tindivanam.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/01/17/stories/2004011700020100.htm

Mailam : Temple Town

Mailam: One way of cooking up an RLT, admits PRINCE FREDERICK

CONFESSION. WHEN I suggested Mailam as an RLT, the idea was greeted with a reaction that lay somewhere between deep scepticism and sheer derision. "Why Mailam?" asked my disbelieving colleagues. "RLTs are supposed to cover tourist places, not temples." Having spotted the place on the tourist map (marked by a man with a backpack), I was convinced that there was more to Mailam than the temple. "What about the fabulous scenery?" I shot back, silencing my colleagues. In my head, I pictured rolling hills, a freshwater lake and some other natural features, which add up to a good RLT.

REALITY. As I near Mailam, I discover the distressing truth. Mailam is a one temple town. The temple is situated on a hillock but the surrounding area is as flat as a pancake and the only water I can see is packaged in bottles in the numerous shops that lead to the temple.

STRATAGEM. This poses a problem. Will the powers-that-be allow me to publish Mailam as an RLT? Perhaps, they will if I write this as a confessional. So, having crossed my fingers, here goes.

The Mailam Murugan temple is located 15 km from Tindivanam, on a small hill on the slopes of which are a number of houses and an institute dedicated to the development of Tamil language and literature.

According to legend, it was here that Murugan rid a celestial being of a long-standing curse he `earned' from Shiva for dereliction of duty. Once cleansed of the curse, the being requested Murugan to grace this place with his presence. Murugan acceded. And so he has resided in Mailam (which derives its name from Murugan's vehicle, the Mayil or peacock) assuming his bridegroom form (Kalyana Kolam), along with Valli and Devasena. Many more interesting stories and beliefs unfold as I get a temple worker to interpret the iconography for me.

As I climb the steps leading to the temple, which is cool and ringed by trees, I learn from an elderly woman who strikes up a conversation that "the deity is also known to bless the childless with children". She seems to wonder why I am here when I tell her I am unmarried.

So, to return to the original question. Is there really more to Mailam than

Mailam? In a way, yes there is. It is just 10 km away from Tiruvakkarai, the fossil forest that was featured in an earlier RLT.

Together, they could comprise a neat tourist package, the twin experiences can be taken in during the course of a day. At least that's what I am telling the powers-that-be who will decide on the fate of this RLT.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/07/stories/2004080700050100.htm