A Stroll in the Salt

Photography : Purushothaman Appu

One should at least once in their lifetime visit the gorgeous little island – Palaverkadu or Pulicat lake as it takes us on a hike with its long time history. The Pulicat Lake situated sixty kilometres from Thiruvallur district next to Sriharikota’s Rocket Launching Centre in Andhra Pradesh speaks of a tale older than Chennai.

The list of empires related with Pulicat range from the Vijayanagar Empire to the Chola, Pandya and Portuguese all the way to the Dutch. Starting with such dynamicity it ends with the British era.

The Pulicat Lake had been mentioned in the sea travelogue written by Eritrean after the First Century BC. During the second century, Pulicat Lake finds its place in the list of ports around the world edited by Ptolemy, the Greek philosopher from Alexandria which was a surprising occurrence. The Pulicat Lake in the list was mentioned as Podouke Emporium.

This port served as a centre for importing products from the far East and exporting the finished products to the West. Spices, Sandals, Pearls, Camphor and Silk were some of the things traded here.

Later on, in the 13th century, the Arabians who did not comply to the then newly elected Caliph were deported to outer places. It was presumed that the evicted people arrived to the port in four ships and set sail here in Pulicat.

If you trace the map of India, you’ll find that there are only two natural ports containing salt water in India. One is located in Chilka in Odisha and the second one is the Pulicat Lake. Following Independent India, the Sriharikota Centre of ISRO was situated near the salt water lake. Today, there are 36 towns situated across for fishing.

Major business or occupation in this area depends on any sea-related trade. The prawns and the crabs fished here are extremely popular and taste divine in one’s mouth. The black-striped cut prawns, white prawns and small prawns are the most sought out of the prawn species. Similarly, the rarely spotted green stone crab is being exported to foreign countries on demand. However, people who have a licence cannot lay nets to catch prawns daily. Each area is divided into 10 groups and each group would get a day to fish for prawns. The internal control has been yielded on the Lake Area by four Panchayat wards - Kottai Kuppam, Light-house Kuppam, Thangal and Perumbulan so everyone gets an equal share of prawns although, sadly the area has shrunk from 20 thousand hectares to 13 thousand hectares.

Taking note of the 10 groups of people in each area, we can gather that there are people of various cultures living here and one of the most surprising parts is that, these people never quarrelled nor fought for anything at any given point. They continue to live in so much harmony that their integrity could be felt in the salty scent of the place

It would be betraying the area if there isn’t a mention of the birds residing in Pulicat. Since a lot of pelicans settle at Pulicat, a bird sanctuary has been especially constructed for them. But many birds migrate from other countries to visit the lake during the season.

Pulicat also serves as a tourist spot where the fishermen take travellers in boats to the Pine Tree Grove where the beauty of the land could be embraced by climbing the 11 storeyed light-house. Moreover, under protection from the UNESCO, the derelict castle of Dutch is situated in the area along with the gardens of the cemetery and historic remains of a church.

On the month of February, the unity and integrity of the 36 local areas of the island is celebrated every year on the second Saturday. A traditional catamaran race is held followed by a boat race. Varieties of sea food surround the festival and for people’s amusement, they have the Therukoothu (Street Play).

To conclude, I’d say, let go of all the stress of living in the city and take a stroll around the salt lake. Pulicat Lake fondly welcomes you!