A tryst with a lost colony!

Looking forward to spending a weekend at a beach with a dash of history? Head to the only Danish colony in the South - Tranquebar or Tharangambadi as its known today. Lakshmi Sharath takes you on a drive to this town of singing waves.

As you drive beyond the erstwhile French colony, Pondicherry, you come to this small hamlet called Tharangambadi, which in Tamil, means the town of the singing waves. The melody haunts you as the village roads slowly open into the sea with a quaint old fort on its shores, unraveling beautiful sights entwined with engrossing tales.

When a ship landed on its shores
Tharangambadi or Tranquebar (Trankebar) is a 17th century Danish settlement ruled by the Danish East India Company who built the Fort Dansborg. Today, the fort wears the garb of a museum that tells a story of a busy port which has now become a windblown village. Legend has it that a small strip of an insignificant fishing hamlet was leased from the Vijaynagar king by the Danes for an annual rent of Rs. 3,111 and Trankebar was created with the Dansborg Fort built right in the centre of it.

At the portals of the village is the ‘Landporten’ or the town gate that sports the Danish Royal seal and leads us through a row of colonial bungalows and ancient churches. Sprawled on the beaches are the bungalows of the British Collector and the Danish Governor which are being renovated and converted into hotels for guests. The heritage hotel ‘The Bungalow on the Beach’ is considered the most popular one of the lot.

Reliving the Royal era
The quaint streetscapes lend an old world charm to this destination that speaks volumes of the people and its past. Walk down the small by lanes called King Street, Queen Street and Goldsmith Street where buildings have been restored.

The King Street is where all of colonial Tranquebar’s biggest and most famous buildings are concentrated. It is also the place where the most amazing eateries and hotels are situated. So if you’re hungry and want to grab a bite or even a glass of chilled beer, you know where to head to!

The church chronicles
The 18th century Zion Church, which is the oldest protestant church of India, is a great witness of the past. It is also the reason behind the moving and spreading out of the Danish population into the surrounding settlements. This church is a beautiful combination of colonial and Indian architectural features and has gone through several makeovers to reach its present form.

The New Jerusalem Church was built a bit later by German missionaries Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau to accommodate the increasing Christian population in this region. These missionaries were also responsible for translating the Bible into Tamil.

Surviving the tsunami
While you’re screening through this lost forgotten town’s Danish past, it is important to note that it was ravaged by the tsunami as well. If you stand at the edge of the sea and look out into the horizon, you will see the Masilamani Nathar temple, the oldest temple that has survived here since the 14th century.

As the waves lash at the store, listen to the haunting melody of the waves and watch fishermen return from a hard day’s work. All that is left of the town are now the little snippets of history. While time and nature has robbed it of its glory, it still remains in its little corner, waiting to be discovered, still ready to startle you with its heritage and mystical beauty!