So I have to create a new tag for what I am doing now. I used to trek quite a bit between 2008 and 2014, when I was in Mumbai. I used to go somewhere every weekend. I am older now, more than 15 years older, and I just do not have the stamina anymore for treks. Also, I live in Bangalore now, and there are not too many trekking options, although I had heard of the Bangalore Mountaineering Club. So... my plan is to travel on as many weekends as I can manage, all over South India. Most of the places in South India are a weekend getaway from Bangalore.
So on Friday night, I took a bus from Kalasipalyam, which in itself was a pain. The pickup point was right outside the Krishnarajendra Market Metro station, gate 2, but the guy who could not speak English or Hindi, and only spoke Tamil. He told me in Broken English that the pickup point was opposite Laxmi Apartments. The location on the map was in the middle of the road. So, from the right pickup point I made a 2 km trek to whatever Laxmi Apartments I found on the map. It was an under construction building in the middle of a crowded marketplace. So I walked back to where all the long-distance buses were parked, and made a pit stop at a tea shop in the middle of a big open field, populated by people shopping for curry leaves and cows. The cows in the area were nosy and and being driven off by the vegetable vendors. After that, I walked along the main road which was jam packed, I had to walk in the middle of the stalled traffic because there was no footpath, and the two-wheelers had filled up all available spaces. There was a rickshaw here that had broken down, causing a Jam and a lot of impatient honking. Just as I reached the location pinned for the pickup point, I got a couple of frenetic calls from the operator, who calmed down when I told him I would be there in three minutes. I was there in 2 1/2, back where I started the whole trek from, and right outside KR Market Metro station. It was Gate 2 of the Metro Station, not Gate 2 of the Market, that I wasted half an hour looking for!
Anyway, the bus was super comfortable, I journaled on the way, had the upper berth, which had a charging point, and a nice comfortable seat at the back, a warm blanked and a pillow. This was fun.
Then... slept soundly, the bus stopped in the middle of nowhere during the night, I took the opportunity to step out for some fresh air. There was absolutely no stars visible in the sky unfortunately, because of the clouds. The next day, early in the morning, the bus dropped me off at Tharangambadi, also known as Tranquebar. I was dropped at a tea stall with AI slop on it, and around the corner was a memorial for the victims of the 2004 Tsumani. A check on Google Maps told me this was the wrong way, and I circled back to the main road to the fishing town of Tranquebar. This was a Danish colony sold to the British East India Company on October 16, 1845, and has an interesting history.
Admiral Ove Gjedde (on behalf of King Christian IV of Denmark) departed from Copenhagen on the Flagship Elephanten in November 1618, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Ceylon in May 1620. The advance Danish vessel Øresund, commanded by Director Roland Crappé was attacked by seven Portuguese frigates off the Coromandel Coast, and was sunk. The survivers reached Tharangambadi on the Elephanten, and a treaty was signed between Gjedde and the ruler of the Tanjore Nayak Kingdom, Raghunatha Nayak, who was keen to make an alliance with a European power to counter the Portuguese influence in the region. I saw a copy of the treaty at the Ziegenbalg Museum Complex, which had riders such as no one was allowed to deal in fake currency with Danish subjects or provide spurious goods (with the penalty of death), and of lasting peace between Tanjore and Denmark. Gjedde then left for Copenhagen with a ship full of Indian spice.
The Dansborg is being renovated, and the Museum of old things is closed as of now. It will be reopened in about 5-6 months according to the locals. I walked down the King's Road, through the town gates, where a gang war was ongoing between goats and dogs. This lane has a bunch of Churches and Schools, all featuring Danish architecture, nice white buildings. At the end of the road is the Bay of Bengal.
This was my first visit to the East Coast of India, and the first time seeing the endless sea after I reckon about 10 years. I went to the Masilamaninathar Temple built in 1306 AD by the Pandyan Ruler Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. The roofs are in the style of pagodas. This temple was built with a mixture of Chinese and Dravidian architecture, with the purpose of making Chinese traders feel welcome. To the south of Fort Dansborg, I discovered another such temple, which is not marked on Google Maps. The main temple complex is well-maintained but closed to visitors. The Ganesha temple had a bunch of new devotees, in the form of a litter of puppies. The tired mother was sleeping in the Sanctum Sanctorum, and the Puppies that could not have been over a day old, were scurrying about within the shrine.
I sat for a while enjoying the singing waves, which is what the name of the town means. I also found a map carved in stone, and an abandoned and derelict temple complex. I then headed back to the Dansborg, and discovered that the Museum of 'Old Things' was closed, but I could take a walk around for five bucks, no UPI accepted. I gave them a note, took back a coin, and explored the old fort. The restoration work is proceeding beautifully, and I intend to revisit once it is finished. I then went to the Maritime Museum, which is well-maintained, feels more like a house than a museum. It had an entire boat on display, which was provided by the Danes. All the boats of its kind were lost in 2004 in the Tsunami, and this one was brought in from Pondicherry.
Along with the ceramics, sea shells, coins, various treasures thrown up by the sea and old lead movable type Tamil print, there are also modern artefacts such as alcohol bottles, and for some reason, cameras and telephones as well. Well, not so modern, they were everything from 1.5 centuries. There was also a tricycle and a Jeep for kids. This is a nice place to sit down and read, and a good place to rest if you do not want to splurge on the lavish hotels in the area, catering to Indian tourists and the Danes, who still come to look at the graves of their ancestors.
At the museum, I picked up a couple of coins by Rajaraja Chola, as well as a all the English Language reading material I could. The pick of this lot was a book on the Governor's Bungalow, that told the history of the town through the history of that one house. The attendant there was very helpful, and told me to visit the Dansborg, The Printing Museum and the Harbour.
I then walked over to the Ziegenbalg Museum Complex. The Protestant Christian missionaries, German Lutherans Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau were sent by King Frederick IV of Denmark under the Tranquebar Mission in July 1706. This Ziegenbalg learned Tamil in a couple of years, immersed himself in local culture, started a school for girls and boys, and even started the mid-day meal programme! He drew up a genealogy of Indian gods, established cross-religious dialogues, and was overall a top notch fellow. There is a statue of his right outside the Maritime Museum, as well as a plaque with a cross marking the spot where he made landfall. He also got a printing press, the to print in the Tamil Language, and translated the Old Testament into Tamil in 1715. It would take till 1795 for the New Testemant to be translated and printed. On the first floor are a bunch of printing presses, including a Chandler and Price Platen made in 1887, that looks very similar to the Heidelberg 'Windmill' press, and a Clymer and Dixon Columbian Iron Eagle press from 1834, that was still working! In it were fresh forms, along with an inked sheet. I got some printed psalm as memorabilia. There was also a copy editing machine here, a paper cutting machine, and a couple of donated book binding machine.
I was dead tired and slept soundly. I occupied the same seat on the same bus back, but the driver was different. The attendant was much more calmer now, and was happy to see me on time at the pickup point this time around.
