Pongal at Point Calimere - Nocturnal wanderings

I did not go on late-night walks, but my teenage friend Uttara did, on two successive nights, and this is what she reports:

Night One

And then, after more chatting and list-making in the lobby, we called it a day. At least most did. Kedar, Vikas, Vijay uncle, Prasanna aunty, Hemal aunty, Venkat uncle and I decided to participate in a night walk.

So we set out at around 10:00 and we were joined by some others on the way by the bridge. We walked along the road flashing our torches everywhere looking for roosting birds and snakes. And then, suddenly……it was just a brahminy kite on a tree. We carried on. 

Unfortunately for us, it seemed like all the animals had been wiped off Point Calimere because there was absolutely nothing. We had no choice but to turn back — at any rate, we weren’t having any luck with the birds. But the best part on the way back was when the power suddenly went out and we had to travel back guided by the light from our torches…and the stars. Once more, we got a clear glimpse into the universe as the sky and the stars seemed to stretch endlessly above us. Even in small places like Kodiakkarai where the sky is always so clear, it’s only when the lights completely go out that you realize how magnificent the sky is and how insignificant and small we are.

And once more, it was time for a nice, long sleep.

Night Two

Tonight too, as the others called it quits, we decided to go for another night walk, this time in the guesthouse compound itself but in the overgrown backyard. The participants this time were more or less the same as last time.

We walked right to the back where we spotted an unidentified frog at once. It was the first time holding a frog for quite a few of us. It didn’t feel disgusting in any way, though it did feel chilly in a good way. Then we walked through the overgrown grass, hoping to find a snake, the adrenaline really pumping now. Vijay uncle and Vikas were in front at the moment so they were the only ones who spotted the owl which disappeared in a flash so Prasanna aunty, Venkat uncle, Kedar and I missed it. But they were unable to decide on the species because they only caught a brief glimpse of the creature. 

Then we heard a nightjar. And suddenly, we caught sight of movement. But it was only a bat. Though at that very moment, Vikas said he saw something else besides the bat, the nightjar we’d heard, he decided. But again, because he was the only one who saw it — no, caught a mere glimpse of it, he was unable to ascertain the subspecies.

So we decided to check out the museum which was open 24x7 (Behind the guesthouse were a group of buildings including a small interpretation centre and museum). It consisted of three rooms, one explaining the medicinal plants found in the tropical dry evergreen forests, another with shelves containing the various kinds of shells found,  and the last room (with an entire wall covered in pictures of some of the numerous birds that could be found in the whole sanctuary) containing preserved birds. The museum did have some interesting stuff but it was poorly maintained. The entire place was caked with dust and it was clear the place hadn’t been cleaned in months. Nobody wanted to stay inside there too long so we headed back out into the open.

We decide it was getting late and we were going to have to leave in the morning the next day so the next bird would be the last. We were now right behind the guesthouse. With our eyes trained on the trees, we waved our flashlights about looking for anything roosting. Then there was a sound of rustling near a neem tree. Then all was quiet. We froze for a second then everybody began the flashlight-waving with renewed energy. Come on now! Where was it? And what was it? The suspense was building up to the point that it was crushing now.

“It’s just going to be a crow. Big deal,” remarked the pessimistic Kedar, though that observation was rather shrewd. Nonetheless, we were excited and we could feel our adrenal cortex forcing out more epinephrine.

Seconds passed and then a call rang out through the air, clear as day. Even a two year old kid could have accurately pinpointed that call to its source. What an anti-climax! Kedar was right all along. It was that annoying old Corvus splendens. I guess somewhere deep inside we’d all had the feeling that this would amount to nothing. Nevertheless, it was a big blow. 

Disappointed, we returned to our rooms to catch up on some of that much needed sleep.