Dhanushkodi means ‘Bow’s end’. The
gently shaped shoreline here does indeed suggest a bow.
Very interesting to know that: this is native place of APJ Abdul Kalam former President of India.
His
father was a boat owner and imam of a local Masjid, Who owned a ferry that,
took Hindu pilgrims back and forth between Rameswaram and the now uninhabited
Dhanushkodi.
Arichal Munai, the starting point of the Ram Setu is virtually the land’s
end for India.
It
is a place where the waters of Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar meet. Just
35 km away across the turbulent waters of Palk Strait is the Sri Lankan port
town of Talaimannar.
Dhanushkodi Beach lies on the tip of
the Rameswaram Island. In this beach, the Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mannar Sea
of Indian Ocean merge which is known as Arichal Munai in Tamil. Before 1964,
Dhanushkodi was a busy, crowded city. The Dhanushkodi Beach attracted thousands
of tourists each day.
Lord Ram demolish a part of Rama Setu himself
Before the battle between Shriram and Ravana, Ravana’s brother
Vibhishan had surrendered to Shri Ram in Dhanushkodi town. After the war of
Lanka ended, Prabhu Ramchandra crowned Vibhishan as the King of Lanka.
Vibhishan, the King of Lanka said to Prabhu Ramchandra that
brave and valiant kings from India would always use Rama-setu to attack Sri
Lanka and Sri Lanka would lose her independence; requesting Shriram to destroy
the setu.
Prabhu Ramchandra bestowed His grace on His devotee, shot an
arrow and the bridge was submerged 2-3 feet below water level. Even today, if
anyone stands on this bridge, he finds water upto his waist level.
The name of the place became ‘Dhanushkodi’, meaning ‘end of bow’.
As per mythology, Dhanushkodi was the spot where Lord Rama and
his army built Ram Setu, otherwise known as Adam’s Bridge across the sea
connecting Rameshwaram Island (Tamil Nadu) and Mannar Island (Sri Lanka), to
rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of the demon king Ravana.
After rescuing his wife, Lord Ram destroyed
the bridge with arrows from his bow, on request of Vibhishan (new Lanka King),
thus the name of the town became ‘Dhanushkodi’, meaning ‘end of bow’.
It is also said that Rama
marked this spot for Setu with one end of his famous bow. Bath in holy Sethu at
the junction of the two seas normally precedes the pilgrimage to Rameswaram. A
series of rocks and islets found in a line are shown as remnants of the ancient
Setu also called as Rama’s Bridge.
Haunting Story of Dhanushkodi: When Train No.653, Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger was washed away by
Tsunami on Night of 1964 December 22.
It all started when a super cyclone with a wind velocity of 270
km/hr hit Dhanushkodi on the night of 22nd December 1964. The tidal waves are
said to have gone up to 20 feet.
While entering Dhanushkodi railway
station, train No.653, Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger, a daily regular service
which left Pamban with 110 passengers and 5 railway staff, was only few hundred
yards before Dhanushkodi Railway station when it was hit by a massive tidal
wave.
The entire train was washed away killing
all 115 on board. A few meters ahead of Dhanushkodi, the signal failed. With
pitch darkness around and no indication of the signal being restored, the
driver blew a long whistle and decided to take the risk.
Minutes later, a huge tidal wave submerged
all the six coaches in deep water. The tragedy that left no survivors also
destroyed the Pamban Bridge, which connected the mainland of India to
Rameshwaram Island. The bridge has now been rebuilt.
 |
| Wahed away Rail track during Tusami on 22 December 1964 |
Information has been received that a
portion of the engine is visible six inches above water. With communication
virtually cut off, the impact of the cyclone could reach Chennai only after
several hours.
There was no Internet connection and the Pamban Bridge was the only way to reach Dhanushkodi other than waterways.
As a result, the little town which was once a tourist spot with
several pilgrims and fishermen, was reduced to ruins.
Before the cyclone hit Dhanushkodi, it had a railway station and
jetty service to transport travelers to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. It was a busy
port town with a working post office, a temple visited regularly by devotees
and a church attended by locals and visitors alike. The cyclone devastated
Dhanushkodi causing irreparable loss to life and property.
Pamban Bridge
Pamban
Bridge was also washed away by the high tidal waves in this disaster.
Eyewitness accounts recollected of how the surging waters stopped just short of
the main temple at Rameshwaram where hundreds of people had taken refuge from
the fury of the storm.
Following this disaster, the Government of Madras declared the town
as Ghost town and unfit for living after the storm. Only few fisherfolks now
live there.
The
route, which once linked India and Sri Lanka on the ‘Boat Mail,’ was never
restored, though the remains of the cyclone still stand muted at Dhanushkodi,
reminding one of the scale of the destruction wrought by nature that day.
Today, with no place to stay in Dhanoskodi
bus loads of tourist make a day trip to the former flourishing international
port town every day during the tourist session.
How to reach: My Travelogue to Dhanushkodi Beach
There
are no direct transport services to Dhanushkodi. You can reach there by bus or
cab from Rameshwaram, the nearest town.
The
nearest railway station is Rameshwaram. Being a major town, Rameshwaram sees
trains coming in from nearly every corner of Tamil Nadu and even far off
places. The station is about 18 km away and getting a ride is very easy.
I
hired a Taxi for Dhanusukodi beach from Rameshram @ Rs 1500/.
Journey
started, the roads became quite spooky, and my heart started pounding faster
when Taxi moved to secluded area leaving the town behind.
running just parallel to road.As we drove nearer to Dhanusukodi,
this lining of Bay of Bengal was coming closer and closer to road.It was life
time ride,I was seeing Indian Ocean on other side of road.wow…..now the road
was in between two seas.
Our
jeep was running rouh and jerky on a land mix with the mud, sand and water.We
reached Dhanushkodi old town after one hour travelling.
It’s breathtakingly beautiful to see Bay of Bengal on left and Indian Ocean on right.
What
a fun adventurous ride that was, although the water is shallow but still you
feel the thrill of going inside the sea, the boats on the left and lot of seagulls flying.
During
the bumpy ride, Taxi driver pointed us at the remains of the rail tracks covered
with sand, and those of the school, the hospital and office buildings. He also
shows us the village that includes some 50 households staying in makeshift
thatched houses.
They say that Bay of Bengal is male in
Dhanushkodi and female in Rameswaram, where it embraces Indian Ocean, after
devastating seven-km sand strip separating them.
Roaming on Dhansukodi Beach
We roamed around in the village and found some of the fishermen with their boats collecting their catch for the day. We also saw a few women washing clothes near a well and wonder where they get their water from. There seem to be a few wells that have salty water that people use for washing clothes and utensils.
Before the 1964 cyclone, Dhanushkodi was a flourishing tourist and pilgrimage town
Since
Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka) is just 19 miles (31 km) away, there were many ferry
services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar of Ceylon, transporting travelers
and goods across the sea. There were hotels, textile shops and dharmshalas
catering to these pilgrims and travelers.
At the “land’s end” terminus of the
peninsula to the southeast of Dhanushkodi begins the chain of rocks and islets
known as Rama’s Bridge. These lead approximately 19 miles across the Paik
Strait to Mannar Island on the northwestern tip of Sri Lanka.
I
found there a last Mobile Tower of BSNL, which was getting good signals, by
which I was connected with my people.
At
Dhanushkodi one can see the deep and rough waters of Indian Ocean meeting the
shallow and calm waters of Bay of Bengal. Since the sea is shallow here, one
can walk into Bay of Bengal and witness the colorful corals, fishes, seaweeds,
star fishes and sea cucumber etc.
Entering the ghost town, I was caught in a time warp.
Exploring
the ruins along the desolate coastline, I found a roofless, battered edifice,
which looked like it must have once been a church. Inside, a pedestal, which
could have been the altar, stood intact. A sense of peace overwhelmed me as I
stood inside, gazing at the unscathed altar.
I
could imagine the pews packed with a choral-singing congregation and the church
resonating with prayers and the pastor preaching sermons during a Sunday
morning mass.
Moving
on I found that the sand had gobbled up everything in the course of time except
for the crumbling walls of a few scattered buildings with exposed bricks that
stand as mute witness to the terrible tragedy in which a storm washed away this
hamlet.
I
came across the four-pillared structure of a water tank and stumbled upon the
Dhanushkodi railway station, a solid stone structure that is a sad reminder of
the ferocity of the storm and the havoc created by the raging sea.
Further
to the tank are some ruins of the quarters for railwaymen. In some places the
meter gauge tracks were discernible half-hidden under the sand. These were the
rails that carried the Boat Mail to Dhanushkodi.
There
is a big building that was once a school, two-thirds of the insides strangely
covered with mounds of sand. It would have housed school kids once, most of who
were probably washed away that fateful day in the storm.
Strolling
among the ruins, I could not believe that the now abandoned village was once a
bustling center for travel and trade, connecting India and Sri Lanka with a
railway and ferry service.
I
just walked on the beach, went little inside the water, to the end of the
peninsula where the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet. I could gaze upon
Adam’s Bridge, the chain of reefs, sandbanks and the islets that almost connect
Sri Lanka with India. There was no turbulence, only peaceful blue Bay of
Bengal.
The
winds were so soothing, full of moisture, when it touches; I felt I was never
touched by something so pure. The water was clean, the sand was cleaner. 
It was absolutely wonderful! Seeing two oceans meet is a heart-warming sight and the feeling. Water from two oceans was brushing under our feet … amazing. I had been dying to see this place.This point of this tour just made my entire trip-- A golden memory.
If you have the ears to listen the silence too. You may hear the
sounds of cries, the recitements of the prayers in the remnants of the Catholic
Church, the noises from the broken pieces of busy railway station and the port
office. 
Aise veerane mein ek din
Ghut ke mar jayenge hum
Jitna ji chaahe pukaro
Phir nahin aayenge hum.
The End
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