READING COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage and complete the activity given below:
Lily and Sam were in school when Mr. and Mrs. Right returned from a trip to Puducherry.
The Grandparents and Mr. and Mrs. Right were having lunch when Mr. Right said, "We went to a place called Picha Varam. It is a village located near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu and about 70 Kilometres drive from Puducherry through NH37. Pichavaram is a Mangrove forest. The main attraction here is the boat ride through the mangroves.
It is the world's second-largest mangrove forest. These mangroves are the second largest mangroves in the world after Sundarbans. They were originally called Thillai Vana'. According to the local people, rishis used to live here with their wives. It is said that Lord Shiva had honoured this region and performed 'Ananda Tandav (joyful dance) to gladen the rishis.
The forest is spread over 1,100 hectares and merges with the Bay of Bengal and it's separated by a long sand bank. There are more than 50 islands of various sizes and 4,400 big and small canals. A few meters into the backwaters, you reach the mangroves that look like a gateway into the forest.
One can sight migrants and local birds like snipes, egrets, storks, herons, spoonbills pelicans etc. It is home to about 200 species of birds. You can take a row boat or motor boat. We chose to take a row boat as we wanted to venture deep inside the mangrove forest. It was like visiting a different world. There is silence except for the sound of paddles, presence of chirpy birds, and gushing waters of the sea at a distance. The turns are narrow and as the boat cruises slowly in silence, the pathway looks eerie. The water level here is just 3 feet deep but the mud is sludgy. So it was not advisable to get off the boat for tourists. One can find seaweed, prawns, crabs, fish, oysters, turtles and otters here. As it is protected fishing was not allowed. The boat man was telling us that there are more than 400 water routes available for boating. Let us make a trip with you both and the children. I am sure you both will enjoy the ride."
Grandfather said, "The largest and second largest mangroves both are in India. The Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), adjoining to the Bay of Bengal, is the largest mangrove forest in the world. I would like to visit Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville also. We can plan accordingly."
Grandmother said, "Now you both rest for some time before the kids come back from school."
