Alamparai Fort, Kadapakkam

view from the top of the fort

entrance to the fort

through the brick...

can only keep looking.....

the backwaters....

the dilapidated fort

the 'harem'

the hypnotic blue

A two hour drive down the East Coast Road led us to a two centuries old weathered down fort in Kadapakkam. A drive further down and then to my left, was a kilometer walk to the fort. Known as the Alamparai Fort, this was one of the places in Tamil Nadu which felt the crush of our colonial rulers. Standing at the entrance of the fort I seemed more interested in filling my blog with all possible information written on the boards, when the ghost of my archeologist grandfather whacked my head and asked me to widen my myopic view of what seemed just a run-down red building to me. A once proud fort and trading centre, today is just a borderline of its existence, with its red brick and limestone slowly giving away. I first felt a surge of indignation towards those responsible for the ruins, but the grit of the fort which withstood the British onslaught and the recent tsunami made me marvel at the genius of the architect. With the walls done in the quintessential Mughal style, and a flight of stairs leading upwards to reveal another marvel; the picture perfect backwaters, boats and coconut trees… this place should have spoken of flourishing business, a wonderful place to live and above all, a sense of accomplishment for the ruler during his reign… till all good things came to an end.

In an attempt to give everything a stamp of their possession, the British did not understand that architecture was apolitical. All that remain today are the ruins of the original brick and limestone with the weeds and vegetation as their only soul mates. The advancing reds of the fort led to the soothing, hypnotic grey blue-green of the backwaters, with the white of the sands and green-brown of the coconut trees. The sun shone down upon its watery sibling and created an effect similar to it falling on a mirror. The backwaters dotted by boats which took their legacy of trading and the silhouetted stick-like men and women trying to earn their living, all added life and charm to this dying fort. Even the 270 degree turn of my head was not enough to drink in the beauty of the place. We walked down the fort to rest and found an open three room construction which we decided would have been a harem of those days… well the heat and the probability of hitting Pondicherry did wonders to our imagination levels. After an hour of hilarious concoction of which woman of which nationality and cup size stayed in which room, we decided that we’d better listen to the cannons firing in our stomach and got ready to leave.

As I sobered down a bit, I began to feel melancholy about the play of political power which made this fort a mere outline of its existence. Only on my way back did I see the tsunami reconstruction houses and their quaint little world complete with a matriculation school, a market place and a movie theatre which was nothing but a tiled house with black cloth all over. Then I began to see the paradox involved in this place… right next to a ruined fort which brought prosperity to its people, destroyed by human influence, was a place which spoke of restoration of prosperity by humans, destroyed by Nature’s will – all in kilometer’s distance. The indomitable spirit of the people was like opening the jack in the box… they were extremely content in their lives and strived only for existence… This made me muse at all those of us who travel for weekend getaways to places where life actually bustles although in a slower pace… a getaway to a busy place???


Historical Background

The 15-acre fort built in the 18th century, served as a port in ancient Tamil Nadu. An ancient Tamil text ‘Siruppanatruppadai’ refers to trade in this area. It was built by Musilm ruler, Nawab of Carnatic, Doste Ali Khan during 1746 AD. The fort had a 100-metre long dockyard, stretching into the sea from the fort, from which zari cloth, pepper, salt and ghee were exported. The fort was later transferred to the French commander Dupleix, for services rendered to Subedar Muzarfarjung. In 1760, the British destroyed Alamparai. Also that this famous East Coast Road was once a beaten road to Rameswaram for pilgrims. Even ancient poems refer this place as ‘Idaikazhainadu’. It was also referred to as the ‘Alampazhva Althazhamaravi’.


How to get there

About a 100 kilometer drive down the East Coast Road with an eye on the signboards.