The town of Palaverkadu, also known as ‘Pulicat’, is a coastal idyll, whose claim to fame is the lagoon that stretches out in front of it like a giant watercolour. Located just 54 km north of Chennai, the shallow, brackish waters of the lake have made Pulicat a sanctuary for migratory birds.

Stand at the water’s edge and, as your eyes meet the horizon, images of galleons sailing into the lagoon from the open sea fill the mind’s eye. Slowly and ominously, the flotilla inches towards the shore, to pick up a grim cargo – boatloads of human slaves.

Today, Pulicat is nothing more than a sleepy town and it does a good job of hiding its ominous past. There is nothing, really, to remind you that it used to be the chief trading hub of slaves from India. A fort built by the Dutch and a couple of ruins are the only markers of the European powers who steered the destiny of this town 400 years ago.