Early this week, I headed to Therukupattu hoping to catch a glimpse of lesser flamingos in what is curiously-named the Great Salt Lake (GSL). It was a morning visit, provoked by an earlier trip to the locality, only the previous weekend. Though a cursory exploration, carried out mid-day a considerable distance from Chennai’s GSL, it had convinced me that this section of the salt lake, which covers Therukupattu and Vadanemmeli, held out an attraction for flamingos.
Located around 30 km from Thiruvanmiyur on East Coast Road, Therukupattu, through which the lake flows, offers a quiet that flamingos would not want to miss. With a liking for brine shrimps, these waders have an inbuilt programme pulling them towards placid saline waters. As expected, on a Monday morning visit, I am treated to patches of pink-and-white. There are certain forms of beauty that never pall on you. In my view, they include a flock of flamingos quietly foraging for food.
An enchanting sight
There were two flocks, not spaced apart significantly. Nearly an hour since I had started watching them, my eyes were still fixed on them. For, while the birds were looking for food, probably quietly disturbing the bottom of the lake with their webbed feet to get their prey to the surface, every so often, they engaged in spirited displays. There was the famous flamingo beak-lock, in which two flamingos stand beak-to-beak, their necks craning in an attitude of intense communion. There was the expected cry of fury, accompanied by the flaring of wings. Two flamingos in an angry encounter are as charming as a pair that is at peace. When the feathers are ruffled and the wings are spread-out, one gets to see more of this beautiful bird — and that’s a sight that can charm poetry out of the most prosaic of us.
Access from OMR
This section of the salt lake can also be viewed from Old Mahabalipuram Road, at Komannagar and Kalavakkam. However, on that side, salt manufacturing units are located and therefore, access to the quiet waters that draw the flamingos may not be easy, if not impossible.
Looking beyond the tracts close to GSL, Therukupattu is capable of drawing anyone who loves to range over open spaces. There is only of sprinkling of houses in this village, the rest of which are open lands, once used for farming and now, patches of investment. The open spaces in Therukupattu look dazzling when doused in the morning sunlight. When I walked across this vast expanse towards GSL, I received the attention of lapwings. They would encircle me, crying their throats out. These birds are highly territorial by nature. A couple of lapwings did sorties around me, and seemed set on dive-bombing me.
A lake in Therukupattu left me feeling good, though the waterbody itself was bone-dry. It showcased human kindness — a temporary well has been dug up in the middle of it for cows to drink water from.
One may combine Therukupattu with a walk in the quiet shores of Thiruvidanthai and a visit to other less-known but engaging places found on both sides of East Coast Road as one approaches Mahabalipuram. The next column will discuss some of these places.
( Hidden Trails is a column that shows you how to be a tourist in your own city .)
