ALL RIGHT, it was the lure of peacocks. It wasn't the famed Muruga Temple that took me to Viralimalai and my indifference to the Lord taught me a lesson. I spent the day on a `wild peacock chase', hearing stories about the divine status of the national bird but hardly seeing any in this small temple town near Tiruchi. The tourism brochure (never, never believe in it) misled me by describing Viralimalai as famous for its peacock sanctuary. As an RLT junkie, I jumped at the idea and jumped on a taxi.

The bus route from Madurai to Tiruchi on the NH 45B was smooth, barring the odd speed breaker. This was not going to be my first date with peacocks, but my interest was fired by the thought of seeing them in dozens at one place. In my mind, I equated it with the famous penguin parade in Melbourne. Close to Viralimalai, there were boys selling peacock feathers sealed in cellophane paper, waving frantically to potential customers. They asked for Rs. 100 but settled for Rs. 20 without so much as a protest leaving me with the suspicion that I had paid too much. From the main road to the narrow street leading to the village, I saw more feathers than I wanted to. But where were the peacocks? A question asked at the forest office elicited an answer, "There". I saw a finger pointing to a garbage dump. On the other side, indeed there were two peacocks chasing each other in the bushes. Obviously, I wanted to see more. "Wait, wait, they will come," he assured me. But hours rolled by and there was no sign of the birds. How would I get a photo? How would I write an RLT, I wondered? I wandered around aimlessly till the truth dawned on me when Forest Ranger Jagan Mohan asked: "What, peacock sanctuary are you looking for?" After some prodding, he admitted that until about 18 months ago, there "was a sanctuary." There were about 150 birds, most of them residents on the temple hillock. Thanks to the Forest Department's supply of grain, the number rose to 400, forcing the Department to stop feeding and letting the birds on their own. The birds then decided to move along and now the estimated population of 500-plus is scattered over Pudukkottai district. Result: Viralimalai's claim as a home for peacocks is a gross exaggeration.