Sit out rail

The house we live has a sit out/portico and what makes it pretty was the railing in wood and iron.

The tenant who stayed here before us has added plank frame/fence to the already existed rail. It also has a wood gate which truly helps us preventing our pet getting out of home and she also enjoys being untied to roam freely inside the home.

 

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A boat fishing offshore

During my visit to Palavakkam beach on Sunday, I find two fishermen putting their manpower in oar against the offshore tides in their catamaran rather using a motor. But only later I realized it is because of 45 day annual ban on deep sea fishing, to facilitate breeding of fish. According to the Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act 1983, the ban was enforced for the conservation of species propagation during the breeding season, which comes into force from April 15^th, halts the fishing operations by mechanised and motorised boats.

The fishermen were on their chance looking for fish and the flag coloured boat was rowed by both the men but in two different ways. One was putting oar sitting well on the rear and the other stood centre and propel the boat with a pole, which seems to be called punting. I really wonder how long could they go by like this against the heavy ocean wind. I know this is how fishing has been before motors are found and fixed to catamaran, and there are fishermen who don’t know anything rather fishing seem to be hooked this way instead sit back and wait for the ban period.

While the scene here was like this, the other side, were the sunset, was quite drastic and splendid. Even though the beach was crowded enough for being Sunday and summer evening, it was quite wonderful being out and to Palavakkam beach after long time. During my reside in our flat in Thiruvanmiyur I used to visit this beach at least twice a month and it is the most quiet being among the beaches in Chennai. 

Palavakkam Beach

Horses and barbed fence

Last year during my vacation to Ooty, I come across this two horses walk past the cottage we stayed over there. The horses moved along a barbed fence very carefully one behind another, helped capturing them at individual. The driveway on the other side leads down to a bungalow and the horses where come from a residential area, far behind where we stayed. Later I noticed there’s also a fence on the other side of the driveway. 

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Sri Vidhya Ganapati Temple @ HIMT Campus

I have been on ECR (east coast road) many time, but haven’t led beyond Mamallapuram that much on the scenic road and during my occasional drives across Kalpakkam, I used to come across a Lil beautiful temple/shrine on the left side of the road and within a compound wall and gate, that led inside, the temple look pretty in white. During a course to Alambarai Fort few years back, I stopped and clicked pictures on the temple (from the road) but I haven’t noticed the name of the temple, the idol it hold, even more than 2-3 time I have passed the temple after that, I had no idea of looking beside.

But during my recent drive to Pondicherry, I come to know the name of the temple – Sri Vidhya  Ganapati Temple, from a board at the entrance. So it is a temple dedicated to Ganesha, also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka. At home when I Google with the name of the temple and locating it on the maps, I get to know the temple belong to the Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training (HIMT) and the temple is located at the entrance of their HIMT Pre Sea campus near Vengambakkam Junction, where one of the roads led to Kalpakkam Atomic Station. What interesting was the temple’s architecture, which enhances a style of Jain Temple? 

National Fossil Wood Park, Thiruvakkarai

A couple of weeks back I had been to Pondicherry to attend a friend’s wedding and this is the first time I am attended a function out of my relatives (close) circle and been to a wedding after long back, I also got to relish on the wedding dishes. The bridegroom is a friend of mine from childhood and our fathers being best friends, whom worked and retired from the same govt. service, it’s obvious how we become friends. Though we aren’t in communication much in older days, the internet has changed the pattern later to become close, I decided to not to miss his special occasion.  

(click each pic for enlarge)

I already had a plan back then to visit the Petrified Wood Park (National FossilWood Park) at Tiruvakkarai on the sideline of attending the wedding, but I wasn't sure until everyone agreed to give company to the geological park located about 25 km west of Pondicherry, in the Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. It can also either be reached from Villupuram or Tindivanam at about 28-30 kms respectably; the Fossil Wood Park settles on a sandstone mounds little bit outer from the Tiruvakkarai village on the bank of Sangarabarani River.

From the time I read about this place long back in Hindu Metro Plus, I wanted to be there.  Thanks to the GPS Navigation, there isn't any difficult for me finding route to the place and the road was also good enough except for few hundred meters close to the site being unpaved. When we visited, there were very few people in the park, but a van full of tourist unloaded as we suppose to leave the   park. It’s really wonderful being there, even though it was a hot midday it doesn't bother much in front of woods displayed in rock formation which was truly amazing to think about.  

The Fossil Wood Park is maintained by the Geological Survey of India and over an area of about 247 acres; there are 200 fossilized trees ranging from 3-15 meters in length and up to 5 meters in width. But only a small portion of the sandstone mounds is open to the public, where they displayed the fossil woods as partially buried and strewn all over the area. A small ramp built along the mound takes us little bit around the park that contains petrified wood fossils, which is a special type of fossilized remains, where the organic matters are replaced with minerals (mostly silicate) while retaining the original structures, pattern and shades of the tree trunks.

I think the information board (picture above) provide enough details about the park, but still for those who couldn't get to read: “Geologists call this (Mio-Pliocene Sedimentary Rocks) as “Cuddalore Sandstone Formations”. About 20 million years ago, these tree trunks are believed to carry by rivers and deposited in the water bodies along with sediments. In the absence of roots, barks and branches it make certain that these tree trunks are transported to the present location and fossilized.

European naturalist M. Sonnertet was the first to document the existence of fossilized wood from here in 1781. These fossil trees belong to both gymnosperms and angiosperms are seed producers at open and closed state. It is likely that modern plant families have also flourished here, but some of the trunks resemble the modern Tamarinds species. Fossilized trees are very rare and occur only in some parts of the world. Silently these fossil woods tell us the earth's history. By protecting them we are saving the pages of earth's history. Geological survey of India, the custodian of National Geological Monuments, is protecting these rare occurrences of Fossil Wood since 1957.”

FYI: A piece of fossil truck displayed at Ooty Botanical Garden and Children’s Park in Chennai where also brought from here.