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Showing posts from January 18, 2009

TRANQUEBAR OF THE DANES

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Too much expectation leads to disappointment. This i realised on my second trip to Tranquebar . The  very First trip   had been a voyage of discovery. And that was when the sense of wonder had still not traipsed away into the Realm of the Jaded,and the stock of stardust in the eyes was still not depleted.We were told nothing except that we were going to a nice beach for a picnic. Curiosity went only as far as the name : "Tran- ke - baar ". what kind of name was that for a tamilian fishing village ? The beach turned out to be quite a tame affair. Nothing like Marina of Madras or Kodikarai ( Point Calimere ) near Vedaranyam . Here it was narrow,gray and smelly. But soon, we " discovered " wonders. A massive,Norwegian fort called Dansborg ( Built 1622) An entrance archway to the hamlet, called " Landgate ", sporting a coat of arms like what we saw only on the castles in fairy tale books. Roads of compacted earth, named Kings Road, Queens Road, Gold S