Tharangampadi/ Tranquebar
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Tharangampadi/ Tranquebar
TN coastal hamlet cashes in on colonial past for a bright future
Bosco Dominique | TNN
Asleepy coastal hamlet in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district, ‘Tranquebar’ or Tharangampadi (land of singing waves) in local parlance, has unique architectural features that cannot be seen in any part of the country. The Danish dream of an Indian empire began and ended in Tranquebar, when the Danes sold the then prosperous coastal village to the British for Rs 12.5 lakh in 1845 after trading activities that spanned almost two centuries, thus leaving behind a distinct colonial imprint in its architecture.
Now, the Indian government has proposed to cash in on its unique colonial past and architectural features to promote the coastal hamlet into an important tourist destination with active participation of NGOs in India and Denmark.
Projects worth Rs 25 crore have been launched through an umbrella of the government and NGOs to restore the heritage buildings to its past glory. Prominent among the buildings already restored are the Dansborg Fort and Collector’s Bungalow. The Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department, in collaboration with Tranquebar Association, restored the Dansborg Fort in 2002 while Neemarana Hotels restored and redesigned the Collector’s Bungalow to house a heritage hotel.
“The restoration was carried out using traditional material and a construction technique known as the ‘Madras terrace method’. The method of ‘least intervention with the original structure’ has been followed to accommodate modern facilities,” INTACH senior architect Asaithambi Gurusamy told TOI.
The ongoing projects include the renovation of an 18th century doublestoreyed building, the governor’s bungalow constructed between 1776 and 1784. The heritage building measuring 20 m x 21 m is currently under the control of the Tamil Nadu tourism department and will be converted into a museum with the financial support of the National Museum of Denmark. “The National Museum has sanctioned Rs 87 lakh as the first instalment for the project and the ancient building will be converted into a museum,” Asaithambi said.
The proposed museum will include a gallery of artefacts and photographs tracing its history since colonial era, library, cafeteria and arts and crafts centre. “The museum will have a special reference to Danish architecture and culture,” he said.
The destination development scheme launched by the Union tourism ministry at Rs 3.73 crore added a fillip to the proposal to restore the village to its past glory. The scheme, in its first phase, aims to renovate Parade Ground and Goldsmith Street by replacing existing pavements with granite cobbles, erecting cast iron lamps, signage on streets and planting more trees.
The second phase of the fourphase project will cover Queen Street and King Street. A handicraft resource centre has been opened by the Denmark-based NGO ‘The Bestseller Foundation’ and INTACH and others to promote handicraft items that are unique to this part of the country. “To start with, we are promoting six handicraft items—palm leaf, sea shell, coconut shell, bamboo, wood and terracotta—through the centre with the help of local artisans,” Asaithambi said. TNEB and Tourism Department have begun underground cabling to strengthen and ensure undisrupted power supply to the entire hamlet. Similarly The Bestseller Foundation and INTACH have launched the ‘Matching Grant’ Scheme to renovate 4 Tamil houses.
The major tourist attractions in Tranquebar include the Town Gate built in 1660s, Dansborg fort (1620s), the Zion Church consecrated in 1701, the New Jerusalem Church (1718), the Bungalow on the beach, the Governor's bungalow (1784), the Commanders House, the Old Danish Cemetery, the Masilamani Nathar temple (1306) and the Ziegenbalg Museum complex.
