This is the age of compressed living. All around us, there are efforts to fit the big into the small. With its multiple functions, the modern mobile phone represents our growing inclination towards compressed living. Another example is our preference for housing with a raft of amenities that is just a walking distance away.
I spent last Sunday with three people — P.V. Bharadwaj, V. Mallik Pagali and Senthil Arasu V.G. — who seem to have mastered this form of living. They live next door to the IT Corridor, at a gated community in Perumbakkam, and are associated with the IT industry. They are into running, cycling, swimming and trekking and are card-carrying members of OMR Dreamers, a chapter of the running group Dream Runners. Close to their neck of the woods, opportunities to engage in all these activities abound. Work and hobbies neatly tucked into a one space.
They took me to Karanai reserve forest that allows many of their interests to intersect. OMR Dreamers have found themselves a cycling and running trail through the reserve forest that culminates in a spin around a beautiful lake. There is also the option of taking a dip in the placid waters. As the reserve forest is located in well-inhabited suburbia, a few trails run through it. The forest is dense with greenery and I wish we had brought a botanist along. When we come upon the lake, I am struck by the amount of open space around it. A trumpet of elephants can waddle around it, let alone people. One round of the lake would account for 1.5 km of physical exertion. With a squiggly line of raised earth cutting through the waterbody, one gets a sense of two lakes having been brought together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. During heavy monsoon, the division would not be noticeable. As we begin to walk around the lake, Senthil plunges in for a swim. From the reserve forest, the signature tower of an IT company located in the Siruseri IT/ITES Special Economic Zone is visible. I could not help envying the IT professionals who can step into a reserve forest for a break.
How to get there
Karanai Reserve Forest, which is located in the Ponmar region, can be accessed from Old Mahabalipuram Road via Thalambur Road. From Tambaram, one can head there by taking the Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road, Otiyambakkam Main Road and then the Karanai Main Road. There is also a three-kilometre, meandering sandy stretch from Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road, via Mambakkam, that leads to this reserve forest.
(Hidden Trails is a column that shows you how to be a tourist in your own city.)
