Saturday, September 1, 2012

An Evening in Tranquebar


Tanquebar Danish Fort


Author: Aarabhi
Photographer: Vasistha


“Shoot that one!” I cried.
“It just came out of the hole!”
“There are holes all over the place. OMG! I’m standing on one!” exclaimed Vashu and jumped away from the spot.
I could say we were shooting rabbits on a Danish estate, the location seemed foreign enough. But, I’d only be fooling you. We were in Tharangambadi on the Tamil Nadu coast where the late 17th century Danish fort still stands tall.
Crab on the beach

We were shooting pictures of the multitude of crabs that had dug their homes in the beach beside the fort.  The tiny sand-colored crabs were swarming all over the beach and the fallen brick walls on the waterfront. They kept popping out of tiny holes in the sand and scaring the bejesus out of my dear husband, who kept trying and failing to get good shots of the tricky suckers.




Fallen brick walls


We had wandered down to the beach after spending nearly an hour of our time ogling the lovely fort and the small museum inside it. Built of mellow olive colored bricks, the fort stands three stories tall and is a testament to the geometric functionality of the people of Denmark.
Dungeons and funny cor ner bastions






Small, dark, dungeon like spaces are barely visible through arches in the main courtyard at the ground level, while funny shaped corner bastions peak over the rooflines, looking for all the world like the wizard caps straight out of a Harry Potter flick.


The cool dimly lit reception rooms inside the fort overlook the sea and now serve as the museum.
The upper courtyard at the first level wraps around the fort and holds the ancient canons placed strategically at frequent intervals. 

A lovely place for an evening’s outing.
Canon