Heritage Inspired, an organisation that specialises in experiential heritage tourism conducted ‘Neithal Trail’, a specially curated eco-tour along the ECR up to Alamparai Fort, to commemorate the Madras Day.
‘Neithal’ is the Tamil Sangam word for coastal landscapes. This experiential tour embarked on a journey to the natural heritage ecosystems in the southern part of the city along the East Coast, the importance of their existence, and how carefully the entire pattern is intricately knit and what we, humans, are causing to these fragile environs.
The trail focussed on learning about the natural heritage ecosystems line marsh, estuary, backwaters, salterns, dunes, and to discover their importance in the Chennai City’s landscape. The trail kick-started at Adyar and covered locations like Pallikaranai, Okkiyam Maduvu, Muttukadu, Nemmeli, Mahabalipuram, Vayalur, Odiyur, Edaikazhinadu and concluded at Alamparai.
Here, we present to you some of the experiences as shared by the participants.
Sangeetha Prabhakaran
Did you know that Tamil Nadu is India’s second longest coastal state, being 1,076 km long and that we have already lost 43% of it to erosion and in the name of development? Or that Chennai almost creates 5000 tonnes of waste a day and we have our own man-made Kurinji landscape in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur made of sheer undepleted waste! Do you know that being a ‘zero-waste’ household is not only possible but also feasible, and through composting you can even make money out of your waste?
Many such questions for introspection and eye opening insights is what we were treated to, during the one-day Neithal Trail organised by Heritage- Inspired, on Aug 19, as part of Madras Day celebrations.
Neithal means kadalum kadal saarndha idamum according to Sangam literature. The trail exposed us to the coastal and waterway diversity of the city that we call home – the geographical classification of a wetland, maduvu, estuary, canal and the diverse flora and fauna. We learnt from the expert Dr.T.D.Babu on the different aspects of how the coastal ecosystem and hydrology of the city has evolved and adapted in order to survive. It was a moment of agony to see how our actions, knowingly and unknowingly, have disrupted the thin balance that nature holds for herself.
Mrs.Bhuvana Raj kept us honest with her data points and shared better ways of dealing with the waste-segregation and management. Keeping the learnings apart, the trail was a welcome change from the routine – it was well thought out with the smallest of travel logistics well taken care of. From a comfortable Volvo ride to a sumptuous, balanced lunch at a sustainable, eco-friendly resort, everything was meticulously planned and executed. It was heartening to see like-minded individuals and some with their kids, come out of their comfortable homes and spend a day differently- in sync with nature!
Karuna Gnanasambandam
When I first heard about the word Neithal, I was drawn to it and signed up for it! It is a 1-day eco trail organised by Heritage Inspired and we, around 25 plus members of different age groups, went on this tour on Aug.19.
It started with a visit to the marshland where Dr.T.D.Babu explained about the importance and why Chennai needs the marshland. It absorbs water and percolates inside which makes the water table steady; it can be compared to the lungs of our body. Large portions of this Marshland have been lost due to reduction of wetland area, fragmentation and adhoc construction, destroying approx 90% of the marsh.
Around 5000 tons of waste is dumped daily. Our government has started bio-mining the legacy waste, but daily waste is being dumped and the dumpyard is increasing in height. We, as citizens, should try to avoid sending the waste to dump yards, by segregating them and managing the different categories. Mrs Bhuvana shared useful tips about how to reduce waste and compost our kitchen waste.
We visited several landforms along the way and Dr.Babu and the expert team explained the diversity and importance of these estuaries, salterns and sand dunes. A tree walk about the importance of Vadhumai, Nila Vembu, Vaagai, Punnai and so on was very interesting and inspiring. Enlightening session about marine life and the fun play at the beach was very enjoyable.
On the whole, a good eco-friendly tour which was energetic and educational. No plastic containers or plastic water bottles were used during this trip. Neithal trail is a must-do tour for everyone in the family to know the importance of nature and to protect our environment.
Sowmya Krishnaswamy
I was yearning for introspection and a closer relationship with nature as we live affluent, comfortable lives, run our air conditioners, and throw away all the plastics, thanks to our understanding of segregation. Without thinking twice, I immediately registered for the Heritage-inspired ‘Neithal trail’ on Aug 19.
As our bus sped through the city streets that day, it made a stop at Pallikaranai Marshlands, Babu Sir opened our eyes and minds to the careless and unintentional act of discharging sewage into these marshes. Environmentalist Bhuvana provided some excellent zero waste management strategies that we can simply put into practice. Local coastal plants and their contribution to the environment casually entered and registered in our minds. The pristine beach experience was the most enjoyable spot and we soaked into the sand without much inhibition as our air, minds, water and sand were all clear!
‘Yellelo Ailasa’ – this was the song that we sang in chorus as we travelled and traversed through the bumpy roads (aka), time travelled sand-dunes ( assuming like Christopher Nolan’s Sangam time dimension), carrying all the enjoyable experience and my mind telling me that we need not be Greta Thunberg to talk about global warming. We can still be a common Indian and do little changes from our end to make this world a better place.
