DHANUSHKODI-The
Silent Beauty!
Thanks to the long midterm break,
we got south bound and availed the opportunity to explore the beauty of Southern
India. The aim was to explore places of some significance in this part of the
country. One such place at the confluence of archeological, geographical, historical
and mythological marvel is Dhanushkodi. Some of the websites even mention it as
one of the seven wonders of India.
Location
Dhanushkodi is a mesmerizing
place. It was (now totally abandoned) a small township at the southern tip of
Rameshwaram island, on eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. In fact it is India’s Eastern
most projection into the Bay of Bengal.
It is about 29 km West of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The interesting fact
is that it is the shortest land border in the world between any two countries
measuring only about 45 meters.
Location
of Dhanushkodi on India’s Tip
Travel
To reach Dhanushkodi one has to
cross another engineering marvel at the Pambam bridge. It is a road bridge measuring 2340m and a cantilever
broad gauge rail bridge along side it on the sea. Till the Worli sea link
opened in Mumbai which exceeds it in length by only about 60 m, the Pambam
bridge was India’s only sea bridge. The cantilever ‘opens’ to give way to the naval traffic. The bridge connects Rameshwaram with mainland India. The rail journey over the sea bridge is also a treat for train enthusiasts.
Author on board a train over sea at Pambam Bridge
The Majestic Pambam bridge
The cantilever ‘opens’ for naval traffic
Prior to 1964, a rail link
connected Dhanushkodi directly with Mandapam on main land when it was washed
away by a cyclone causing massive destruction and loss of about 1800 lives. An
entire train with 115 passengers on board perished in the high tides. Today,
4x4 busses and jeeps connect the destroyed town with Rameshwaram over a 20 m
wide stretch of land which during various times of the day is completely
submerged under water and the vehicles literally ply over submerged land. It is
an enthralling experience as these vehicles run on water and beautiful blend of
sea, land and sky can be seen in the true purple spirit.
Geography
Dhanushkodi lies on a limestone
or shoal ‘ridge’ under water. This ridge connects the main lands of India and
Sri Lanka. The ridge appears on the Google Earth as a bridge or a continuous belt of land under water. Higher
parts of the ridge appear as islands on the Palk Strait. It is here that the
Sethu Samudram Project is being conceived after destroying part of this ridge.
Geographically speaking, this shoal ridge separates the two water systems of
the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. So technically, each sea lies on either
side of Dhanushkodi.
Mythology
Mythologically, Lord Rama had built a bridge called Ram Setu
between mainland India and Sri Lanka in order to get his army across the sea
and after he won the war, Vibhishana requested Rama to destroy the bridge with
his bow to prevent Lanka from further attacks and hence the name ‘Dhanushkodi’(‘Dhanush’
– Bow, ‘kodi’- End Of). There were two Generals in Rama’s army by the name of
Nala and Nila who had the powers of making stones float on water. Today there
is a temple at Dhanushkodi which has a small tub of water in which a coral
‘stone’ floats quite easily. These corals are likely to be the stones which
have been referred to in Ramayana.
Captivating Beauty
The ghost town still survives and
comes to life on your visit. One can see the remnants of a church, post office,
railway station, community hall, besides many smaller dwelling places. One is able
to imagine the life at one of the remotest corners of India. Today a number of
vendors selling refreshing drinks stay in the town during day to serve the
tourists. One of them proudly showed us a paper clip mentioning that his father
had won a swimming competition in crossing the sea to Sri Lanka. The
competition across India’s ‘English Channel’ was reportedly organized by the
Dhanushkodi town administration.
Remnants
of a church at the ‘ghost town’.
Dhanushkodi is a must visit place
for any person interested in geography, mythology or archeology. It is a place stuck in timeless history and
has a fascinating aura around itself.
