Secret Spot to Shared Treasure

The Island Beach, once a quaint spot at Mudaliarkuppam, tucked far away in between the backwaters and sea, has now been discovered by many tourists

- NIDHARSHANA RAJU

I've come a long way from the summer holidays of my childhood. It's been eight years since I left school, and summers haven't felt the same since. The universities I attended turned them into seasons of internships and deadlines, and once I entered the workspace, summer became just another quarter on the calendar. The magic had faded. The thrill of planning weekend outings with my working parents and the joy of piling into cousins' homes for sleepovers that entailed late-night giggles, had all come to an end; until now.

This year, my five-year-old niece brought the feeling of summer back with her to Chennai, all the way from central India. She arrived with a checklist: "Visit the zoo, crocodile park, and beaches, lots of beaches," she had scribbled, because this beach baby has been spending all her early years landlocked, surrounded by mountains, in a small tier-2 city. I had left the plans for the zoo and the crocodile park up to her grandparents. But for the beach, I had a plan. After all, she was sure to buy a sand castle-making-kit upon reaching Chennai with an excitement, ever so contagious.

Now, I know what you are thinking. I probably took her to Marina, or to Besant Nagar, or to one of the beaches on the Thiruvanmiyur stretch. But those were not it. I was determined to make this one special for her and so I decided to take her to an island beach—one of our coastal stretch's best-kept secrets. One that my father came to know of 15 years ago. One that was synonymous with summer for me as a child.

So, on a cloudy Sunday, in May, we packed breakfast and lunch, and set out on a two-hour-long drive. With one car trailing another, we headed to Odhiyur, located 90 kilometres away from Chennai, en route to Puducherry.