As I stood outside the huge gates of Adyar Poonga on a hot summer afternoon, I was curious and excited all at once. Having heard so much about how a wasteland was converted into a forested zone. I couldn’t wait to get inside. At the gates. I was directed by a security guard to go inside and wait near the ticketing counter. A family of 15 with a few eager children, middle-aged women and giggling teenagers were waiting there along with our guide, Gomathi.

Gomathi led us to a small shaded place in the park (with stone benches) and gave us a ten-minute talk about how the wastelands were cleared and how the poonga was created. She said that preserving the life forms here and allowing them to grow and flourish was their first priority. Now I understand why they refused access to neighbourhood walkers.

The concept of ‘Reuse, Reduce, Recycle’ was implemented everywhere – from prohitibing plastics and food inside the campus to converting vegetation garbage to vermicompost and using solar power for their energy uses.

I was looking for seasonal birds. I had seen some feeding in the backwaters. So we let another guide Rajan lead us on our two-hour walk. Our first stop was a water hole. Pelicans delicately wading in the water was a sight to see. In the distance, I saw a painted stork and a few egrets flying around. Rajan explained, “About 80 pelicans and 20 storks have made the park their home this summer. Little cormorants, night herons, common moorehens have also been spotted”.

This is a nesting ground for purple herons too, he added.

After a short stopover at a rest station, we crossed a small bridge from where I managed to spot a dabchick gently floating about in the water. Rajan then led us to a newly-installed weather station. While listening to him talk about the benefits of the station. I spotted a grey heron gracefully lifting off from the water and settling on top of a tree.

Had we had more time, we might have spotted more birds. Maybe I should have taken binoculars. Maybe my sketch book too. They do not allow you extra time at the poonga – so you need to find ways to extend your communion with summertime birds.

The flowers are in full bloom in the Adyar Poonga. You will be surprised by how many rare varieties of flowers you find here.

The small, white, stalkless flowers of the Orangeberry tree will grab your attention as soon as you start the tour. Take a closer look and you will find a few berries too. Walk a few more steps and you cannot miss a bloom of blue flowers – Clitoria ternatea (sangu pushpam in Tamil) on a shrub nearby or the sennalata or Candle Bush (seemai agandhi) with its yellow flowers standing tall and straight.

Touch the flower, feel its texture, smell it. Take a video of the flowers swaying in the wind. Sit down for a quick sketch.

Continue walking and in the distance you will spot pink lilies in a pond. A satellite pond carefully maintained and cleaned regularly, explains Rajan. Cross a bridge and you will find a red hibiscus plant with drooping flowers, a tree loaded with bright yellow flowers (cassia fistula – sara konnai in Tamil), a ball-shaped cluster of tiny blue flowers of the delek air tree (kaya) and the red flowers of the Indian Coral tree. A small Rose Periwinkle plant (nithya kalyani) on your right marks the end. The tour ends too quickly? Can the timings be extended, maybe for senior citizens and the disabled. While the need to preserve the eco-system is appreciated and the poonga has rules for a purpose, keeping it open for longer periods for hobby groups may help.

Poonga info

The Adyar Poonga is open from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday for public tours. Entry is allowed for 20 people only and the tickets can be booked online at www. chennairivers.gov.in or at the ticketing centre at the park. The tour costs Rs. 20 per person.

There is a fee of Rs. 50 for a camera and Rs. 100 for a video camera.