Sembarambakkam Yeari

19Dec08

I accompanied my Dad today to a Bank at the remote  Somangalam Village. On the way back, we returned through the beautiful Sembarambakam Lake ( also spelt as Chembarambakkam).This lake is the prime source of drinking water to the city of Madras.

“Chem” in tamil means Beautiful and Parambu means Hill , and “Pakkam” is suffixed to denote a village.In essence it means  “Beautiful Hill Village”.To reach the Lake from the main road,we deviated from the main road at the “Anna Street” into a lane that took us to a dead end. There was an ancient Siva temple at this dead end. It was locked , and the condition suggest this should also be…well over 1000 years old.It seems to have been built during the reign of the Cholas.

We retraced and took the 1st right on the Street( from the main road).It lead to narrow road, as usually poorly laid.But as It progressed,the roads got better.In a minute,we got to the “Kalangal”. Commonly,Kalangal refers to tears or turbidity,but in pure tamil,it means “Overflow”. The huge valves or shutters  are opened when the lake  is full … this area is refered to as Kalangal! Coz it overflows there. Hmm…. the valves were closed and water scantly dripped from the improperly shut valves.

Neatly laid roads adjoining the Lake. We rode along the lake, with the setting sun casting the orange spell and the gentle breeze almost singing a lullaby...It is one of the most serene get-aways from the City !!

Banks of the Lake

The sky and the water are different only by a Shade!! The distant Red structure looks like a floating Thaer!!

I sometimes love being a "solit-hari" Reaper !! The solitude gave a sense of liberation in my mind!! This is easily my best shot of the day.

Resembling something like a Buddhist monastery,this has no chinese connection.It is the station from where the water level of the lake is calculated.

Filed under: Madras   |  6 Comments