When I sought suggestions for a less-climbed hill I could explore, nobody mentioned Pachai Malai. In my mind, I had almost ticked in favour of this hill in Tambaram Sanatorium. It’s just that I was looking for others to confirm it as a less-trodden vertical space. By not bringing it up, they did.
So, I inked in Pachai Malai for a Sunday. From Grand Southern Trunk Road, the hill is ridiculously easy to access. A short winding stretch — TNHB Road — that hugs the compound wall of the famous Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine (popularly known as Tambaram TB Sanatorium) leads to the hill.
From there, things get easier still. The climb to the top of this hill, which must be just 200 metres tall, is assisted at every step. There are clear steps to plant one’s feet on. These steps seem to have been crudely put together with randomly picked stones of varying sizes. They are marked with white probably to enhance visibility.
Around the base of the hill, there is a web of streets, lined with small-sized apartment blocks.
They are part of a three-phased housing project executed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board. Apartment blocks constitute the first two phases. The third one consists of duplex houses. The first phase alone accounts for 364 dwelling units.
So, Pachai Malai (Green Hill) seems to be standing in the midst of a busy residential settlement and watching over it. On the way up, I exchanged smiles with a grey-haired gentleman, clearly on the wrong side of fifty, who was trudging his way up, using a thin tree branch as a prop. “I have a knee problem and the doctor has advised me not to climb stairs, let alone hills,” he said, while standing for a few moments to catch his breath.
He explained he was drawn to Pachai Malai for its two temples, one on the summit and another found at a different level.
On the way down, I saw a few men in track pants and sneakers climbing up the hill. From a resident of a TNHB flat, I learnt that some residents use the matrix of roads at the base of the hill to give their limbs some exercise. A few go up the hill to stay fit.
While on the summit, I met a bunch of five youngsters, three girls and two boys. Probably friends from college, they were on a Sunday outing and enjoying the views from the top.
Pachai Malai provides stunning hilltop views that can go into picture postcards. One of them is of the sprawling, water-rich Periya Eri (Big Lake) with Thiruneermalai in the backdrop. Another is that of a line of striking buildings in MEPZ Tambaram, with a short row of hills in a distant background. By virtue of being in the front, the concrete structures seemed to dwarf the hills, which resembled a toddler rising to take his first baby step only to fall down abruptly.
(This column shows you how to be a tourist in your own city)
