When Sundarar, the 8th Century devotional poet and one of the Saivite minstrels, visited Kodiyakkarai, or Point Calimere, in Nagapattinam, he could not bear the sight of Kuzhagar, the presiding deity, residing in the midst of an impenetrable forest.
“Evil are my eyes that see the sight,” he exclaimed. “When there are so many temples that devotees are visiting in droves, why do you choose to be here in the thick forest?” he lamented. The deity is also known as Amuthakadeswarar.
Point Calimere is also a wildlife and bird sanctuary, its shallow waters and marshes providing an ideal feeding site for migratory birds, especially the flamingos that arrive by the thousands every year.
