An Evening Outing to Aruvikkara Dam
View of the Dam from the walk way
On a regular Sunday there was nothing much to do than to gaze at the television shifting channels which I hate the most nowadays. The climate was awesome. The occasional rain has given the evening the effect of a monsoon day. The climate was perfect for a day out. But unfortunately I could get out in the evening only. First I thought of going to beach but my mind voted against the thought as I have been frequenting to beach recently and wanted to go somewhere else. Neyyar dam and Aruvikkara Dam was near to my home and Aruvikkara being closer (by around 10 km ) and the time already past 5 pm I decided to pay a visit to Aruvikkara with Sree.
Aruvikkara dam is located in the outskirts of Trivandrum City around 16 Km from the heart of the city. The dam is built in the Karamana River which is originated in the Chemmunji motta peak in the Agastyarkudam biosphere. The water source is mainly used for irrigation purpose in various places in Trivandrum district. The Dam was built in 1930.
The main attraction is the Dam site, The Durga temple, and the pool of fish near the temple. Entry to the Dam is restricted now due to some past mishaps here. Now we cannot walk over the dam though it was accessible in the past. I merely remember an old visit when I walked over the Dam. Though the reservoir view is not that good the Dam is visible very Clearly from the front side. There has been some recent renovations happened in Aruvikkara which makes more people come to see this place including a refreshment cafeteria )owned by private party), a children’s park on the banks of the river, a walk way near the pool of fish, good parking space and all.
We reached there by 5.30 pm and I was surprised to see the new outlook of the place. Parked the car in the new parking area. We straight away went to the walk way of the dam. The main attraction over here is the pool of fish which fearlessly come over to the banks of the river for being fed by the visitors. But unfortunately the water level was little high as one of the shutters of the dam was open and hence we couldn’t have the full feel of the scene. Only some of the fishes came up to be fed by us and that was also very instantaneous that I could catch a good snap. We had bought some groundnut from the cafeteria for feeding the fish but that bit was not up to the mark. Spending some time at the walk way we took some photos and moved on to the rocky part where in more people where assembled. The rocks were very slippery and dangerous. Yet again visitors were jumping over them in fact some people slipped and landed on their back ion the slippery rock. Some of them even dared to move very close to the water which was very dangerous and seemed less bothered about being there.
I was busy with trying something new which I read in some online photography tips. I was experimenting how to bring that silky soft effect to flowing water and it turned out to be very interesting and some of the pics came really well. (Not very outstanding technically but to my senses. 
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By this time it was 6.15 and Sree intended to visit the Durga temple. I have been in this temple long back with a friend of mine when we visited here. I really liked the decorum and ambiance of the temple as it was kept very pristine and traditional. The atmosphere was pretty calm and heart soothening. We were there for some time and after the regular rituals we came out of the temple and moved towards the cafeteria for having a tea. We had a tea first and next thought was having an ice cream and ended up in a pair of cornetos and a cone each.
The outing made the most of the day for us and we left the place by 6.45 and reached home in another 20-30 mins after some quick shopping. The place is good for an evening outing. For those who visit, please be very care full on the rocks as it may tend to slip really dangerously and may turn fatal if not taken care. Please do not indulge in activities like getting into unknown water unless and until you are that confident over it. Be safe and enjoy every moment.
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