Advertisement
Published: June 25th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Tranquebar, now known as Tharangambadi, meaning a place of the singing waves in Tamil, is a tiny dot on the coastal Tamil Nadu…much less known compared to its more famous neighbours…Trichy or Thanjavur or even Nagapattinam. Once in the news after devastating tsunami in 2005, Tranquebar today is only worth a brief stop-over for tea for people flocking to Karaikal, Nagapattinam on work or on pilgrimage to Thirunallar (known for its Shani temple) or Nagor (famous dargah for Muslims) or Velankanni, a major catholic attraction. There's nothing much touristy about Tranquebar, the place needs to be experienced, savoured in slow speed for soaking into its past.
We flew down to Chennai and headed to Tranquebar for reviewing a project with the local fisher folks. After crossing the city's suburb of Thiruvanmayur, the traffic started getting little thinner as we zipped down the East Coast Road to reach Mamallapuram (erstwhile Mahaballipuam), a must-see for anyone visiting Chennai. Travelling all along the coastal corridor, we crossed Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram (famous for its Nataraja temple), Sirkali and finally reached Tranquebar, a good 275 Kms. south of Chennai. As we entered Tranquebar, the place appeared like a sleepy fishing village with the surplus fish
from day's catch getting dried in every possible open space. One could spot the fishing nets in for mending, outboard engines for the boats to be serviced, large plastic crates & boxes for fish storage in most of the houses. We drove past the village and entered the erstwhile Danish settlement through an arched gate…the colonial past of Tranquebar came alive with the Missionary schools, Lutheran churches, old cemetery, Bishop's house as we neared the old fort.
Far from its today's sedate existence, Tranquebar was a prominent chapter in the colonial history of India dating back to early 17th. century AD. Along with Serampore in West Bengal and Nicobar in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tranquebar was a Danish settlement, which assumed importance for spice trade. On behalf of Danish King, Christian IV, an admiral from Danish navy, Ove Gjedde signed a treaty in November 1620 with King Vijaya Raghunatha Nayak from Tanjore. The Danes were looking for building a port at Tharangambadi for exporting pepper to Denmark – the Indian black gold, which had titillated the European taste buds otherwise used to bland food. A 10-mile by 3-mile strip of fishing village was rented by the Danes by paying
a sum of Rs.3111/- per annum and renamed as Tranquebar.
The treaty with Tanjore King paved the way for founding Danish East India Company in 1620 and the construction of the fort, known as Fort Dansborg started immediately. The fort, completed in 1622, housed the residence and operational headquarters of the Governor and other officials, who ruled Tranquebar for over 200 years. The fort had several rooms, which were used for barracks, warehouse, kitchen and also a jail. The fort has a fairly high rampart and facing the Bay of Bengal on the east, there stands a two storied building. While its vaulted lower storey was used as the armoury and a warehouse, the upper storey had a church and it also accommodated the Governor, senior merchants and the chaplain. On three sides, the fort was protected by a moat and by sea on the east...the moat has now sadly disappeared.
The British gained control of Tranquebar in 1845 after buying out the Danish settlements in India and occupied the fort along with 13 brass canons mounted on its ramparts. Tranquebar was a busy port till then but gradually lost all its importance as Nagapattinam was connected by
railway in due course of time. Fort Dansborg, now under care of the Archaeology department of Tamil Nadu Government, houses a small museum of artifacts all retrieved from its past.
Besides its role in spice trade, Tranquebar marked two other important milestones in India's history. Protestantism came to India for the first time in Tranquebar as two German missionaries had arrived there in 1706 deputed by the king of Denmark for pastoral services. One of them, Bartholomeus Zeigenbalg turned out to be a great Tamil scholar later. From Tranquebar Protestantism later spread to Cuddalore, Thanjavur and Chennai. Thanks to the Danish rulers, the Zion Church and New Jerusalem Church were built 1n 1701 and 1718 respectively. Zeigenbalg translated the Bible into Tamil and also into Hindustani. But as the Danish set up a printing press in India in 1712 at Tranquebar, it had a far greater ramification! Over 300 Tamil books were printed here and that certainly helped adding wings to modern education system in South India.
We stayed at the 'Bungalow on the beach', a property owned by the famed Neemrana Group of non-hotel hotels from New Delhi…as the name suggests the property is smack on the
beach with the sea merely a few steps away from its boundary wall. The bungalow, built around 150 years ago, was rented and used by the British Collector. Due to its proximity to the sea, the bungalow had undergone extensive damages. Two years of conservation efforts with a budget of Rs.15 million restored the bungalow in its present shape. Stone, mortar, wood & glass were used in rebuilding the bungalow…all this contributed to preserve its colonial character.
Interestingly, the rooms in the hotel are not numbered; they are named after the ships that docked at Tranquebar port during its Danish past. We stayed at the room christened as Countess Moltke on the first floor; our room overlooked the hotel's garden but a small turn around the veranda…voila, we were facing the roaring Bay of Bengal! The room had a 15-foot high ceiling with all wooden beams & battens…the door itself was 10-foot tall. Hard wood flooring, four-post solid wood cot and other furniture added a period touch to the room…the toilet was not too spacious, though it was very clean and functional. Unlike its excellent locale and looks, the restaurant in Bungalow on the Beach left us a little
disappointed. We asked for grilled fish with boiled vegetables served with some bread for dinner on the first day - it was passable. The breakfast next day was minimalist – canned juice, cornflakes, bread, butter/jam, eggs, banana, tea/coffee. We tried Indian food for our second dinner: chicken chettinadu & squid masala both served with plentiful of steam rice...the dishes were too hot with generous use of black pepper!
I had read somewhere about the sunrise in Tranquebar…we got up early not to miss the event next day. Our hearts sank…the sky was cloudy but as the sun rose over the clouds with the hues of orange & red and their reflections on the placid early morning sea, I got busy with the camera to capture the moment! We walked out into the beach…adjoining the boundary wall of our hotel, on one corner of the beach stands Masilamani Nathar temple built in 1305 AD, an ancient temple of Lord Shiva now lying abandoned after extensive damages by the advancing sea - the ruins are strewn all around. Huge boulders have been dumped near the temple to check the erosion by the sea but that has spoiled the beauty of the
beach. The short strip of beach below the fort's rampart had many fiberglass fishing boats perched on it. As we strolled back to our hotel, the fort was awash in the morning sun, the gentle laps of waves caressed the shore…the gulls hovered for a hunt and the boats started their sorties into the sea hoping for a good catch…another day had begun in Tranquebar oblivious of its glorious past!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 16; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0255s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb