I can see why the Danes chose this place. The sea roars and the air is melancholic…or maybe that’s because of all the Danish influence? I couldn’t say, but Tranquebar feels exactly like you imagined it would. An old Danish colonial relic in the middle of vibrant rural Tamil Nadu. It sounds like an anomaly, but in Tranquebar all things come together in a beautiful melody. The drive to Tranquebar is a whir of vibrant green fields, small villages and happy people who will wave at you for no reason. Half the fun of making the trip to Tranquebar is choosing to go there and then wondering what it would be like.
Well, I can spoil that for you. It’s beautiful, and melancholic and contradictory all in one go. Which are a lot of adjectives for a small village of only 900 families. As you drive in through what was once surely a grand Danish gate, you reach a clean, village with a towering Danish church which would look more in place in, well, Denmark. As you drive towards the Bungalow on the Beach, you realise it’s the only bungalow in the village.
Directly overlooking the beach, the hotel is right next door to the towering Danish Fort and has an ancient Shiva temple flanking it on the other side. Perfectly Tranquebar or should I say Tharangambadi? Either ways, there is a little bit of both.
The hotel itself has been meticulously restored. Almost exactly to its former glory as the ‘Inspectors Bungalow’, the hotel is a typical colonial bungalow – two storeys with 6 rooms upstairs. Surrounding all the rooms is a veranda, part of it overlooking the sea. Of course, the Neemrana staple of gorgeous furniture and art or maps through the ages depicting Tranquebar are everywhere. The perfect white cane chairs and tables dot the veranda making them wonderful extensions to your rooms.
The rooms are colourful, with four poster beds with their own curtains and tall, tall windows letting in the sea breeze and light. The hotel has a young garden and a swimming pool as well, though the sea is a much better option, obviously. Here, the wind is king. Constantly roaring in your ears, making the thin muslin curtains fluttering and mingled with the sound of the sea, it is a melancholic partner that makes you contemplate dumbly.
The views from the rooms are either sea facing, towards the garden or overlooking the very modern, though very old Danish Fort – in its light cream coating and stark lines contrasting sharply with the deep blue sky of Tranquebar. Incidentally, Tranquebar has the thickest ozone layer in India and the air is supposed to be very good for you.
If this isn’t all, the entire village segregates its garbage, which is sent to a bio-gas unit that in turn supplies free gas to the entire village. The non-biodegradable waste gets sent to a recycling plant which converts the waste into electric holders and junction boxes. There are now plans for a de-centralized waste water treatment plant for the village. And you can see this for yourself. If you go for a walk around the village you’ll see how clean and happy the people in the village are.
Neemrana has also helped renovate two other houses in the village, with the help of INTACH, and has taken over the management of a government hotel in the village. Rooms are available in these houses if you want more ‘Tharangambadi’ than ‘Tranquebar’. There is even a beautiful swimming pool in the Gate House, and it makes for a lovely stay in the middle of the village.
Unfortunately, Tranquebar is under the threat of going under water and three streets of the village have already gone under. To prevent this, INTACH has now gone on a coastal plantation programme, planting mangroves and Casurina trees.