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| Tanquebar Danish Fort |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Canon |
