We 25 birding enthusiast had a blast of time @ Pulicat Lake on 14-April-2017. Here are the write-up from participants.
From Raghav
ஒரு பயணம் என்பதே மனதுக்கு சந்தோசம் தரும் அதிலும் அதே பயணத்தில் புதிதாக ஒன்றை கற்றுக்கொள்ள வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்தால் இன்னும் சிறப்பு அப்படி பற்றிய ஒரு பயணத்தையும் பயணத்தில் நடந்த சுவாரஸ்யமான நிகழ்வுகளையும் விவரித்துள்ளேன்.
நமக்கு தெரிந்ததோ புரா கொக்கு குருவி மைலு என ஒரு சில பறவை இனம்
கற்றலை விட கற்றுக்கொடுத்தலே மே
அண்மையில் நான் சந்தித்த மனிதர்
நன்றி அண்ணா எதோ தங்களிடம் இருந்
மறக்க முடியாத நபர்கள்
சமீபத்தில் பறவைகளை பற்றி அறிய ஒரு வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்தது
பழவேற்காடு ஏரி (பழவேற்காடு பறவைகள் சரணாலயம், Pulicat lake bird sanctuary)
இந்தியாவின் இரண்டாவது பெரிய உப்பு நீர் ஏரி. இது சென்னையில் இருந்து 60 கி.மீ தொலைவில் தமிழக ஆ
வங்காள விரிகுடாவில் இருந்து இந்த ஏரியினை ஸ்ரீஹரிக்கோட்டா தீவு
இந்தத் தீவில் சதீஷ் தவான் விண்
ஏரியை பற்றி நன்கு தெரிந்திருந்தும் சென்னைக்கு அருகில் இருந்தும் இங்கு வருவது இது தான் முதல் முறை.சில பல காரணங்களால் அதற்கான நேரம் கூடி வரவில்லை.
ஆபீஸ் லீவும் இல்ல சரி எங்கயாவது போலாம்னு நினைக்குறப்ப தான் ஈவெ
திட்டமிட்ட படி சரியாக 4 மணிக்கு கோயம்பேடை அடைந்துவிட்டோம். மே
கார்லா ஏறியவுடன் முதல் அறிமுகம் Hi am செந்தில் ஆளு பார்க்க north Indian மாதிரி இருந்தது. போச்சி
ஆனால் அந்த நினைப்பு தவறென்று உ
அப்பறம் டீச்சர் அவங்கள நிறைய ஈ
சரவணன் நா கொஞ்சம் பாஸ்ட்ஆஹ் டி
எனக்கு செம்ம சிரிப்பா வந்துருச்
எனக்கு செம்ம சிரிப்பா வந்துருச்
அடுத்த meeting point (சந்திக்கும் இடத்தை) அடைவதற்கு
ஐயோ ஒன்னு சொல்ல மறந்துட்டேன் வ
மற்றவர்களுடன் பேச வேண்டும் என்
சரி கிளம்பலாம்னு பார்த்த மொத்த
நேரம் ரொம்ப கடந்துருச்சி அதுனா
அங்கிருந்து படகில் இருக்கம் தீ
தீவை அடைய மொத்தம் 9 கி.மீ 1 மணி நேரம் ஆகிவிட்டது. நேரம் போனதே
தீவை அடைந்த பிறகு வழக்கம் போல்
இரவு முழுவதும் நிலா மற்றும் நட்சத்திர ஒளியில் அடியில் கழட்ட பேச்சு , வந்த அனுபவம் என எல்லாம்
வெள்ளை மணல் நிறைந்த கடற்கரையில் முகாம் இட்டு நேரம் செலவிடுவது
இங்க தான் ஒரு முக்கியமான சம்பவ
அவர் நண்பர்கள் அவர் ஆள் மனசுல
ஆமா ஆமா நீச்சல் வீரர்களால கூட
அதிகாலையில் எழுந்து எல்லாம் மூ
கற்றலை விட கற்றுக்கொடுத்தலே மே
அண்மையில் நான் சந்தித்த மனிதர்
நன்றி அண்ணா எதோ தங்களிடம் இருந்
சுற்றி முடிஞ்சதும் வேற நம்மளுது தான் சோறு முக்கியம் அல்லவா கா
அப்பறம் கடைசியா அறிமுகம் ஒருவரை பற்றி ஒருவர் சொல்லிக்கொண்டு ந
வரும் பொழுது என் கையில் இருந்த வாளி தவறி ஏரியில் விழுந்துவிட்டது அது நெகிழி ( Plastic) என்பதால் விட்டுவர மனசு இல்லை அதனால் மீண்டும் படகை திருப்பிக்கொண்டு அந்த வாளியை எடுத்துவிட்டு தான் வந்தோம் .. நாங்கள் இயற்கை ஆர்வலர்கள் மட்டும் அல்ல இயற்கை பாதுகாவலரும் கூட.
மறக்க முடியாத சம்பவங்கள்:
இரவு கலந்துரையாடல், பார்கவ சூளூ
வந்த அனைவரும் அருமையான நபர்கள்
From Madhumita
A trip to Irrukam Island with CTC
It has been almost four years since I visited Pulicat Lake, which hosts tonnes of fishes and birds. As soon as I saw the forwarded mail from my sister for beach camping and birding at Pulicat from CTC, we both planned to register for it. Though the migratory season for flamingo is over, I wanted to make it only because of my golden days at MCC.
Being an MCC-an, my fondness for Pulicat is bit more than just as a birder. On seeing the word “Pulicat” I was soon taken back to UG days where we spent days at Pulicat for understanding wetland ecosystem, camping under stars, Professor Dr.Tilak and his wife singing songs for us in the night around camp fire, non-stop chatting and photobombing with my best buddies. One of my most unforgettable moments at Pulicat was when I spotted dolphins near the shore for the first time in lifetime.
As per the email instructions, I called Mohan, who lives nearby and has a car. My sister & I joined him along with Vignesh. We then waited opposite to Ashok Pillar for other members to join us. I was excited to meet Nagul (whom I am meeting after my first trek nearly 6 years ago), Elango, Chimbu and Vignesh (whom I have met them through other nature walks) and Bhargav (my bowling coach from previous farming event) and Saravanan (whom I know only through his mutual friends). After a brief introduction among another members who were also joining us for birding at Ashok Pillar, we all set to leave to Pulicat in 5 cars around 4’o clock in the evening. After an hour of driving, we took a wrong U-turn assuming the Baleno car, which was riding before us belonged to our group. Very soon, Vishnu (who was coordinating) called us to inform that we were travelling in the wrong direction. Then we took another U-turn towards Arambakkam and, soon to co-ordinate easily, Vishnu shared us location through Whatsapp group. Meanwhile when we were about to reaching Arambakkam, I received a call from Bhargav saying they were about to reach Sullurupeta (which is more than 20 km further away from our destination). After instructing them to return back to Arambakkam, rest of us waited at nearby Aavin parlour for a brief time. It was around 7’O clock when all of us regrouped and we took a boat at Arambakkam, where we had to ferry around an hour to reach Irrukam Island.
The boating at night was definitely blissful. With Waxing moon lighting the lake, cold water splashing on your face occasionally, the waters were neither rough nor gentle, setting the apt backdrop for a night ride. Suddenly something just flew into the boat. It was a mullet fish that had jumped out of water for its breath. Soon I and Prasad (who insisted on making it a BBQ) then caught and released it back into the lake.
The boatman dropped us on an uninhabited, pitch dark portion of Irrukum Island. After a brief inspection on the island, the boys went to pick solid stones for setting up BBQ grill. Wire mesh was laid over the smoking coal and Neetha and Senthil grilled thealready marinated chicken. There was a heavy fight among non-vegetarians to grab their portion of chicken. Initially I was around the fire, later when I released there was another team cutting the fresh veggies, and I went to help them in processing it. Latha teacher, Yuva, Saravanan and Chimbu were cutting the paneer, capsicum and mushrooms and pineapple. As soon as the chicken BBQs were over, we asked non-vegetarians to leave and make way for us to prepare the veggies. Meanwhile Raghav, Senthil and Bhargav with help of others set the campfire and others members settled around it. Chapatis and gravy was distributed for dinner. As there was still a huge fight for BBQs, Vishnu planned to prepare BBQs in individual skewers, so that all of us at least would at least get to taste one. Yuva, Chimbu, , Minu, Vishnu, Saravanan , “Kutti Papa” Sanghavi and I sat around the fire and prepared the BBQs. “Full bottle” Vignesh applied the sauce meticulously and sprinkled black pepper over the Veggies. Soon we all began to have our own conversation and had fun on our own. Though there were too many “kakaas” to snatch the prepared BBQs, sitting near the fire ensured that I got the BBQs of my choice. I loved the pineapple and mushroom BBQ. The sauce was perfect, neither too sweet nor too hot, which made it perfect for the veggies and complemented their flavour. By the time we finished preparing everything, the whole camp became silent and went to sleep.
My sister and I were planning to sleep on the sand and soon I heard Ed Sheeran‘s Thinking out loud song, which made me to settle beside Yuva’s blanket. When I was about to sleep, suddenly someone informed us that Nagul is going to get married. Neeta, Jegan, Vishnu, Chimbu, Nagul, Vignesh, Saravanan, Yuva, Nisha and I formed a gang and we were curious to know Nagul’s love story. Very soon most of them were sharing their love story and how they met their better halves. We tried our best to involve Elango in the conversation, but he successfully dodged us. It became an absolutely sleepless night discussion. Of all the stories I listened to, Jegan and Neeta’s was the best. It was around 3’o clock and mist had settled down, wetting our sleeping bags.
As we were feeling hungry, Saravanan and I planned to have chapatis . So we moved towards the food site, while others were asleep. All of a sudden, Sanghavi, who was woken up by the chill, joined us for next round of dinner. While we were eating, we started off with other discussion and by the time we realized that it was very late,it was already 5 in the morning.
Around 5:30 in the morning, there was a loud whistling sound in the campsite. It was Raghav with his whistle to to wake up everyone. Around 6:30 am, we boarded the boat after cleaning up the campsite.
My first cheerful sight was a pod of pelicans floating on the water just 200 m away. When we were about to start our ride, a colony of black-headed gulls flew over us. As we were boating towards the inhabited side of Irrukam island, we happened to see flocks of birds waddling on the water on either sides of the boat. We witnessed a tern grabbing a fish out of water. After 20 mins, Vignesh who was sitting beside me shouted “flamingos”. With hungry eyes, I searched across the direction he showed me and I finally was able to spot a stand of three flamingos wading in the water. The boatman halted the boat at a decent distance so that we weren’t disturbing them. For a while we stayed to watch the one of most gracious migrants – the greater flamingos. The flamingos walked in the water for a while and then they synchronously bend down and started feeding with their heads down. It seemed as if they were dancing for a song played at a relatively slow pace. Considering the fact that they are filter feeders, which mainly feed on the planktons and shrimps, their formidable size amazes me.
We then resumed our journey towards further north, where we witnessed a congregation of Pacific golden plovers along the muddy banks,which aremedium-sized migratory birds. Among the congregation, there were breeding adults with black patches on their face, forehead, breast and belly with a strikingly white border. To make others easily register the name of that bird, Elango called it as “thanga (golden) pushpam(to rhyme with plover)”.
We asked the boatman to take us for another round as we were having a really good time. So he took us to the other part of lake where the water wasn’t deep enough. The confident swimmers stepped down on to the water and visited a dried patch of land nearby. I was tempted and I got down from the boat. It was only a knee-deep and was safe to move around. Nisha, my sister who was also tempted, followed me. She somehow misjudged the height of the boat and fell into the lake. Thankfully there wasn’t any physical injury. She had her phone inside her pocket which got drenched and it was sangu for the phone. This incident did not deter us from a brief profile shoot there, after which we resumed our ride towards the village side of Irrukum.
For breakfast, we went on the shores of Irrukum, where we were able to get access to drinking water for preparing Avaal. While cooking was going on, Elango, Nisha, Mohan and I went towards the dried lake in search of the waders. Nagul and Raghav joined us later.
We were able to spot flocks of little egrets, swifts and pacific golden plovers foraging there. While moving towards the lake, we realised that we were at the forage site and we didn’t want to disturb or threaten them. We stayed at a safe distance and stood silent for a while and then returned towards inland to see if we could see any land birds.
It was already 9’o clock in the morning and it felt as if we were being baked alive. All along the way we walked, the banks were densely populated with Prosopis and it was difficult to sight any bird in bright light. Although we sighted a Red Rumped Swallow perching on an a power cable. Then we returned back to assembly point. We were on time and they had already prepared excellent lemon aval upma with roasted groundnut. I took my share and was sitting on the banks, staring at the open water hoping to see the mullet or cat fish again in the day time. Soon there was a Brahminy Kite and a Red Wattled Lapwing flying over our heads. As soon as we finished our breakfast, fruit mix was prepared and distributed. After that we had a formal introductory session, where each of us has to introduce themselves and share their overall experience about this trip.
After a group photo we returned to Arambakkam. The boat journey was a bit difficult because of the harsh sun. We reached the shores of Arambakkam around 11 AM. After formal goodbyes, new friends & nicknames and unforgettable memories and jokes that we made on each other, we all set back to Chennai.
The Birding team
I thank the entire crew for being cheerful and make the trip comfortable. Special mentions to the food committee for the tasty food and making it close to eco-friendly. Usually, in the treks that I go, we procure food materials in plastic (Noodles/soup). By packing food in tiffin carriers, plastics wrappers were saved. I should definitely thank both organisers – Saravanan and Vignesh for giving me this opportunity. Thank you people, I felt as I had known you for ages. I also thank Mohan for dropping us near our residence.
Here is a list of birds we spotted
1. Spotted Pelican
2. Black Headed Gull
3. Indian Cormorant
4. Caspian Tern
5. Whiskered Tern
6. River Tern
7. Painted Stork
8. Pacific Golden Plover
9. Black Headed Ibis
10.Greater Flamingo
11.Red Wattled Lapwing
12. Brahminy Kite
13. Swift
14. Intermediate Egret
15. Grey Heron
16. Black Tailed Godwit
17. Red Rumped Swallow
18. Crow
Write up by Vignesh Kumar
Disclaimer: I generally keep quiet and will be silent in most of the new places as I am a keen observer and would like to observe, analyze and get understand. Based on my observation, I am writing up my view of the trip. None of the side comments and pet names given is intend to hurt anyone. Kindly take it in a sportive way. I hope most of the participants will not figure out who wrote this write up till the end.
I subscribed for CTC mail list about 2 years ago but was always hesitant to participate in any event. Last year in October, I joined for a night camp and had a great time there. But after that owing to many reasons I wasn’t able to participate in any event. I was waiting for some special event to register for and that’s when a mail came from Saravanan (Gang Leader) sent a mail for bird watching event and night camp in Pulicat. As soon as I saw the words, Bird watching, I immediately registered without a moment of hesitation as I am into this hobby for the last 3 months. Saravanan called on Monday and confirmed that I got selected for the event and from his voice, I thought he is going to be one serious person. I was also of the belief that most participants will be 40+ as only elder people prefer bird watching event. But it was a group of al ages and energetic souls. The day came and with proper planning, we all decided to meet at Ashok Pillar and then proceed further to Pulicat. I introduced myself to Prasath, Bhargav and few others and ofcourse our gang leader Saravanan. Saravanan indeed looked very serious with a light professional smile. I gave a handshake (disclaimer warning: pls be careful when u handshake with Saravanan and he really crush your hand in seconds Kaiya kuduthathu thappa.. ) I got introduced myself to another silent guy(like me) Sashidhar and he is a Geek from IIT-M. We are asked to start our journey and wait near Puzhal jail and using our Google Maps we reached the place. Once reached, they asked us to keep going and they are following us. We didn’t want to lose our way and using Pulicat lake as the destination we kept going and we followed a wrong baleno and lost our path. Luckily the sweeping team warned us and we were taken back in the route immediately. A particular location point was shared in Whatsapp group and asked to reach there. However despite best efforts of Saravanan, one car passed the point. Saravanan was waiting in a place and he was pretty sure that he is noticing all the cars but somehow missed this one car and it went passed the meeting point. When the lost car team called Saravanan, he kept saying “Neera vanthute iru.. enna thandi nee inum pogala.. varla va varla va nu soli, kadaisila antha team Andhra ke poitanga). They went passed 25 kms and now everyone else assembled and was waiting for the car to return. From there we picked our boat man and reached the shore by 8pm.
We parked our cars and the interesting journey started. It’s going to be a one hour journey in Boat and so I started listening to others talking. It is here I met the travel man, Nakul. Mr. Travel man has been to 22 states and went to breathtaking locations across India. He, Malini mam and Mohan sir was sharing their travel experience and they really inspired me to start travelling rather than wasting time on weekends. The travel stories shared by Nakul was so interesting such that there were more audiences listening to him and in what looks like minutes, we reached the island in One hour. We started cooking Chicken BBQ first (Appada.. ippo than main matter ku varom.. ). Keerthi was insisting to start Veg BBQ first and Raghav and others were in no mood to listen to her. While preparing the heat for BBQ, Vignesh(coordinator Vignesh or Full bottle Vignesh, however u name him) was showing some magics(just a good illusion of the fire) with the fire. Once the first set of BBQ was ready (great thanks to Senthil sir for cooking them), the first person to take the Chicken piece was Keerthi only (Yaruma Veg nu sonathu?? Ketta 6 mani ku mela next day aam. ) Fights were on to grab chicken pieces and I had my share as well. But the one who ate a lot certainly is Keerthi. (Veg nu sol veluthu vanguriye ma). The most fun part was here while making the BBQ. Raghav and Sanghavi (kutty papa) were replicating the effect of Tom and Jerry. Their fights and comments made the day. Raghav was not partial to anyone and he teased every single person in the camp including the coordinators. Sanghavi (kutty papa I prefer) was in no mood to back off from Raghav’s teasing and it was really fun for the people around to watch this Tom& Jerry fight. Till this moment the coordinator team was looking very silent and was getting the essentials ready for Veg BBQ. Once they realized Chicken BBQ is going to get over, enga irunthu vanthanga nu teriyala, second round la ella chicken um gaali.. again Keerthi is the front runner. Non veg people were asked to clear the area for Veg team and Raghav, Bhargav, Senthil along with few others started to set the camp fire. Suddenly Keerthi was missing and found her fighting with Veg team and was having her share in that as well (Nee vazhkaila thirumba sapdave matiya ma ). In camp fire they talked about many things and Senthil sir beautifully explained above politics in medicine, food and other industries and the power of Wealthy lobby in India and world. I'm not sure how many were keenly listening but I was listening and was gaining from his insights. When non-veg people were given Chapathi and Chicken gravy as main dish, again Keerthi was back (onum solrathuku ilainga). When things were getting bored and was about to sleep, came Raghav and Bhargav to unleash their weapon. They made sure that every single person was teased and it was full laughter for hours till 1am. (since the jokes were explained in other write-ups, m not including them). The highlight comment was “Excuse me Coordinator, what is the procedure to change the place” when “Kutty papa” and others were turning into Einstein mind (ulagathula irukura ella arivaliyum inga than irunthangappa.. probably the effect of Sriharikota nearby). Potential warning was given by Raghav and Bhargav not to snore but trust me, the first to snore was Bhargav and followed by Raghav (advice aduthavanuku thana..nalla irukupa unga advice ) n both of them were sleeping next to me and their snore woke me in 1 hour itself.
Till I fall asleep, the coordinators were very professional and were silent and having their own fun and was not much participating in any of the jokes and fun happening around. But then when I woke at 2 (bhargav snoring near my ears ) I was hearing full laughter and its none other than the Coordinators team. Since I was awake already I was listening to them while am still acting like sleeping. From the Sound I figured it would be around 10 people having some fun and pulling each other legs. Lots of love stories and were going on and in 30 min I slept off. We woke around 5 only to realize that the coordinator team is still awake and few hadn’t slept at all. We woke to realize that Keerthi got up at 3am to have some more food (intha paaru.. kondu vantha sapadula mukka vaasi nee thanma saptruka :D ).
We started by around 6:30 for bird watching and I put myself in the last end of the boat so as to observe the birds silently. While others use binocular and DSLR cameras, I was looking with naked eye and was observing them. I started bird watching in Jan 2017 when I first saw a beautiful bird with black color in their feathers as outer border and while in inner border. Never had I saw such a colorful bird and was keen to know the name and figured out as “Asian Openbill”. From them on, with the guidance of my sister, Subha, I started to go to nearby hotspot places and check for birds. My sister gave me a challenge to observe and find the bird names and find 50 birds without using binocular or DSLR. Every bird watcher use either one of them for sure I was up for the challenge. I had watched and Identified 44 different bird species before that and one reason I joined this trip was to make it 50 as Pulicat is a hotspot for bird watching. Much to my disappointment, there were only less amount of birds though different species. In Sholinganallur lake anyone can watch 200+ birds if we reach there by morning 6-7. But Pulicat has many varieties and I had watched 10+ new birds and my intention is achieved (50 different species without binoc or DSLR). With that satisfaction we went back to a place, cooked our breakfast, had a good time and as a finishing touch had an extraordinary Juice (atha kuduchu ethane peruku vanthi vanthatho teriyala.. yaruma athu strawberry juice la orange juice ah mix panathu.. rumba thappuma.. :D ). Thus the trip came to an end with a formal introduction of everyone. Extraordinary works done by the coordinators, Saravanan, Vignesh (full bottle Vignesh) and Vishnu. Kudos to u guys. You were awesome really. With no sleep, we headed back to our busy city and routine lifestyle. But the memories of Pulicat wil remain as one of the best.
Tit Bits:
Tom & Jerry- Raghav and Sanghavi will make best as friends even though they never knew each other before.
Mr. Travel man- Nakul. U really an inspiration for us to travel. (U shud visit gangtok soon).
Gang Leader- Superb works anna.. I was wrong that u would be a serious guy.
Sapatu Rani- Keerthi. Just one blue box and no one from this trip will forget u. Veg nu solitu onnum micham vaikala..
Twin sisters- Madhumitha and madhumathi..
Teacher – great energy showed and pulling legs of Raghav when he was teasing others around.
Senthil sir- man with much knowledge and concern to nature.
Mohan sir- man with all energy to travel and keep himself fit
Santro 70..Mayur sir- Irunthalum intha Max 8 feet waters ku floating bag kondu vanthinga parunga, anga than sir neenga nininga..
Bird man..Elango- by ur physique, I tot u would b an IPS officer at first sight :D
Vignesh (full bottle Vignesh).. tat one wrong reply earned u this name Full bottle Vignesh..
And finally, I am Vignesh (innocent Vignesh and not the full bottle Vignesh).
From Mohan Kumar
Same writeup in tamil :
How do people normally go for any tour/trip? Either they go with their family or close friends.
How about going for a trip with 20 -30 persons whom you have never met in life?
That is what Chennai Trekking club does many times every year ! The most important thing is - it is done with a shoe string budget, which you cannot imagine if you go on your own; Actually the actual expenses is calculated and divided amongst members. Also there will be atleast few who would have already visited that place and will act like a guide to you (Mostly they will be the Co coordinators for the trip)
Recently a 28 member team went to Pulicat lake for bird watching through CTC. 7 of us were having cars & we picked up persons on the way and the journey 30 minutes later than the scheduled time.
Since most of us were driving in the route which not so familiar, few car owners had confusion in the route and either they went slightly in the wrong route or went past the destined place.
But organizers kept track of every car and were giving excellent directions. In fact we were one of the last car to come and another car was coming after us; Vishnu who was coming in that car said that they are the sweeping car (Last one to come after all cars) and he quickly caught hold of us when we were about to go in a wrong direction and made us to come very quickly to the right route.
Since one car went past the destined meeting point, we had coffea in Arambakkam, which is the closest place to the back waters. Coffea was good and we also started interaction with each other slowly.
Once all the cars assembled, we went to the boat jetty and our journey in the back waters began at around 8.30 pm. It was one hour drive in the boat.
The water was looking beautiful reflecting the moon light and the small waves added additional flavour.
We had Nakul who is an active travel enthusiast and he started sharing some of his interesting travel experiences in Jammu, Kashmir and North east. Also Minu, another participant was sharing her interesting experience in water sports in Malaysia.
By this time I understood that its not only Nakul, Minu or me, most other participants were also equally great travel enthusiasts.
I always believe that it is not money, status or success which defines a person. But how one enjoys the whole life is most important. Travelers normally belong to this category and they find happiness in their trips and in many part of their life.
We reached our stay point around 9.30 PM. Immediately people started preparing for food. Barbaque chicken and Panneer masala were prepared. The organizers had prepared Chicken curry and Chapathi from their home and had brought.
Once Barbaque was ready, we all started eating it and it was delicious. What was more surprising was the comradeship among the participants. There were not enough plates (every one should bring plate themselves; few did not bring) so in every available plate 3 or 4 people were eating.
I have met them... just an hour back and now I am having dinner with them in the same plate !
There was so much of fun and pulling each one's leg while having dinner and non stop laughter started from this moment. There were few people with terrific sense of humour and Cilambarasan, Raghav and Vignesh were in charge of humour department :) They did exceedingly well and every one laughed countless times from Dinner till we said Good bye the next day.
We had a Camp fire and was talking many things; thereafter few went to sleep; many had lengthy fun talk & went to sleep very late.
My only worry before starting the trip is how to sleep in open sky. I have always slept under a roof and whether I will have proper sleep was a disturbing question/thought. Also I am quite finicky in my sleeping place/ way of sleep.
Fortunately, that was not a big issue and I could sleep peacefully, as organizers had bought Thar paai and I had also taken Bedsheet. Though the hours slept was less, it was adequate.
We got up in the morning and started our drive to see the birds. Few friends knew every birds' names (Particularly Mr. Elango) and they were introducing each bird to us. It was a fantastic scene to see the birds flying low and also immersing in water.
We then stopped again to prepare our break fast, which was done very quickly ! It was Puvva (A kind of Uppuma ) which was very good.
Most of the participants contributed their bit in preparing the food - both in the night and in the morning. This is another trait of these trips: Every one must work/ contribute/ take some responsibility in the trip.
After finishing the break fast, each of us spoke for few minutes: Giving a back ground about themselves and how they felt about the trip.
We all took a group photo and started back to the place where our cars were parked.
While returning the organizers calculated the expenses and informed that the cost per person is Rs. 500. People coming in car did not pay, in fact organizers calculated the amount for petrol and paid the appropriate fuel amount to them.
Just think about it: Going in car for 200 plus kilo meters; having a dinner and break fast; coffea, cool drinks, snacks, Stay, Boat riding for an hour ....all put together comes only to Rs. 500 ! Even if we come alone with friends or our family, it can't be managed at such an economical rate. It was possible because of car pooling and sharing of boat expenses, which if we come with our family also, they will charge the full amount.
Another important thing is: Here we are meeting new people; new experiences are shared. Since many are travel enthusiasts, we get to know lot of beautiful places across India from many of them.
We drove back home very happily after a great relaxation.
This is my first trip with CTC ; Certainly I will join again for many trips and anybody who had travelled with CTC will also have a similar feeling !
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