This post is a little different from the usual. This is about a particular geological feature unique to this region. About 12 km to the west of Thiruchendur you come across the Kuthiraimozhi Theri (குதிரைமொழி தேரி). At 12,000 acres and about 12 km across at its widest, it is the largest of the pockets of Theri (தேரி), Teri or Therikadu (தேரிக்காடு) remaining. Once stretching over large parts of this land, much of it has been encroached upon and reclaimed for cultivation and habitation. It is an area of red sand dunes with little vegetation. The sand is red because of the high content of hematite, a derivative of garnet. The red color comes from the iron content. Some geologists think it is of aeolian origin, and that it is formed by sands blown by the winds, millions of years ago. To me it looks like this could have been the seashore and the sea has receded here - a feature we see all along this coast. During colonial times, British administrators tried their best to reclaim this land by introducing various alien plants that they thought would grow here. One of the few that adapted to this terrain was the cashew plant and it grows wildly here these days.
The edges of the Theri are dotted with a large number of traditional, pre-Vedic temples dedicated to village deities like Ayyanar, Mayandi, Amman etc. We visited the Katkuvel Ayyanar temple near Kaayyaamozhi (காயாமொழி ) as it is one of the deepest into the Theri with a motorable road. The temple itself has been rebuilt recently and is a fairly modern affair.
The Theri is a restricted area and you cannot venture into it without permission and a knowledgeable guide. The quicksand can be treacherous. Compasses may not work due to the high iron content and you may not have a cellular signal. People have been known to become disoriented and lost according to the local villagers.
The Sangam era poets talk about 5 kinds of land or Thinai - Kurinchi or mountainous region, Mullai or forested land, Marudham or cultivated land, Neithal or the seashore and Paalai the desert. People often say the Tamil country does not have a desert. Perhaps this is what the Sangam poets were referring to as their desert.
Our photos are from the edges of the Theri and show a lot of vegetation.
Base Thoothukudi. Visited Aug 2019
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