The Fort less travelled

East Coast Road. Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry instantly ring in your mind. Alamparai Fort does not. Closeted between these two more celebrated places it remains off the tourist map. Very few people even seem to be aware of it. The internet, the one- stop answer to everything is also less than its all knowing self in this case. Not that this Mughal fort that was gifted to the French, conquered by the English and finally claimed by Oblivion deserves to be forgotten. For it is quite a weekend getaway, this fort.

Getting here is a breeze. Just cruise long the East Coast Road from Chennai for 100 km or so, have the delightfully azure ocean on the left, give you company as it plays peek-a-boo with the grandiloquent palm trees, dodge a mirage or two that the sun teasingly throws at you and DO NOT miss the fading signboard that glumly points out “Alamparai Fort, Kadapakkam.” Three kilometres off the road and you face the fort (whatever remains of it anyway) that history forgot.

The blue, rusted board of the Archaeological Survey of India gives you some snippets from times that were more glorious for the fort. It informs you that the ancient Tamil text Siruppanatruppadai mentions this region having a fort that was used as a resting place by the pilgrims going to Rameshwaram. Later Dost Ali Khan, the Nawab of Carnatic gave the fort as a token of friendship to Joseph Francois Dupleix in 1720, the Frenchmen who was the Governor General of the French territories in India. Finally it fell into English hands when the French were defeated by Robert Clive.

However, all that now remains for the stray traveller who meanders here is the outer walls of this 15 acre fort. The rest of the construction has withered away. But it is still majestic. The two watchtowers face the backwaters and have stubbornly refused to give way to changing times, neglect and even the tsunami. They are a must-climb for anyone who comes here. For the view from the top is simply breathtaking. Far from you is the Bay of Bengal, in your footsteps are some of the loveliest backwaters you will ever find. Oddly scattered palm trees that dot the landscape. Up from those proud watchtowers all this looks heavenly. Surely, one “Kodak Moment” that you are not going to forget.

This is not all that you can do here. The fishermen around are eager to take you on a boat ride in the backwaters. The price is negotiable and depends on how adept you are at bargaining. So for about Rs 50 per head you can royally lounge in a fishing boat and imagine amid the cool, serene, blue waters the splendour of the fort in its heyday. Or just how stunning it would look on a full moon night from these still waters under the canopy of an eerily beautiful sky.

You can also wade in from one bank to another of the backwaters (the water is not more than waist deep) although the water bed can be a little rocky. The beach is clean and the ocean swim-worthy (though it would be better to ask the locals before going out for a swim.) Another sight to behold is the seagulls. Small seagulls, big seagulls, flying seagulls, running seagulls- all for your eyes only. Then there are the crimson crabs that scurry to their burrows as they hear you tread on the sand. Add to this, there are hardly any people there and you feel it is your own private beach.

All in all if you are looking for a getaway that is just that, then Alamparai Fort is the place to visit. No jostling for elbow space either on the beach or the fort. No tourist guides to regale you with tales that never happened. No hotels, no restaurants. Just the fort, the backwaters, the beach, the seagulls, you and some friends and maybe the odd ghost or two of some Frenchmen who still man the watchtowers.