It was an unplanned trip that began at an early hours with the intention to take beach walk or swim in the ocean waves. However it ended up with discovering some fascinating stories from the past. We reached Rameshwaram pretty early in morning hours. We are not completely aware of the place but heard of some scenic spots. Apart from the famous shiva temple the place is also known as the final land portion of India. There is a point where the Land ends and Ocean begins. 🌊. The place is also popular as the Ghost town of India.
Dhanushkodi on Pamban Island near Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, is famously called the last road and final strip of land on the southeastern edge of the mainland heading toward Sri Lanka and the Rama Setu. There is point from where Srilanka is only few kilometre away. According to the Ramayana, this is the exact spot where Lord Rama and his monkey army built the floating bridge (Rama Setu or Adam's Bridge) to cross over to Lanka and rescue Goddess Sita. The bridge is still visible beneath the ocean, if seen from.above or satellite. But our trip to the last end point of India already fueled excitement to our trip. After checking in I to hotel, we head towards the market, where one can easily get yelo auto for local commuting. These auto driver already have some travel guide to the place. They have a photo album about the local places and charges accordingly for the trip. In actual they are the best tour guide in town. We bargain with several autos and then booked one to rake us towards the souther 3nd point of India. Popularly known as Dhanush Kodi. The destination is 25km away from the main town and took approx 30 min to reach the spot.
Visitors are drawn to the unique scenic point where the Bay of Bengal on the left and the Indian Ocean on the right meet, offering vast, pristine golden sand beaches and clear views toward Sri Lanka. The two ocean have vast disparity. While the Bay Bengal halm waves , the Indian Ocean is just opposite and create hites tides and waves. People from far away places visit the spot towards the Bay of Bengal for Pind Daan (the final offering to the departed soul). I saw many people doing it peacefully on the calm waters. While the Indian Ocean kept its rogue look. But I was trying to find peace standing at the edge of India and asking fellow visitors to take my picture.
I was literally standing at the edge of india. Ahead of me lies nothing but open blue water and the faint, mystical outline of the Ram Setu leading toward Sri Lanka in the distance. I can visually see the two seas collide and crash into each other in a powerful display of nature. I closed my eyes for a while and felt the dramatic silence over the place. The roar of the crashing waves mixes with a heavy, haunting stillness. The wind whips past me, carrying a sharp, salty breeze that clears my mind completely. It felt so good. Past the barriers were some heavy stones kept to keep the tides in check. The sun was rising bright at a distance and many visitors just making their trip memorable by taking selfies and taking picture of the spot. There is only wind, waves and ocean all over the place.
Dhanushkodi once used to be a happening trading place. But now there is an eerie silence spread all over the place. Once sense the hauntedness while travelling towards this end point. Dhanushkodi is a ruined ghost town marked by a tragic cyclone in 1964. The rogue Indian ocean had completely swept the entire village. There were many spots, where visitors walk past skeletal remains of a roofless church, crumbling school walls, and rusted railway tracks that look frozen in time. The government declared the area unfit for human habitation after the disaster, leaving it officially abandoned and desolate for decades. One can sense the eeriness all over the stretch that leads to the edge of India.
Seeing the ocean on both sides made me feel like taking a dive. Taking a swim on the Bay of Bengal does seems to be a good option as there were no waves. But without tides it does not look like a ocean While the Indian ocean has rogue tides making it risky to take dive in the high tides. There were only few people on the Indian Ocean sides. The entire beach is empty, and only few people spotted during my stay. They just walking and playing with the sand and taking pictures of the white sand. It is strange to see people avoiding the tides and instead spending time away from water. I like the calm atmophere and silence of the beach.
The sudden trip to Dhanushkodi going down to be very memorable in my traveling history. Reaching the tip offers a literal sense of the edge of the world, surrounded completely by open horizons and crashing waves. The mix of ancient legend with the desolate, windswept coastline gives the destination a deeply reflective and mystical vibe.
In good faith - Peace!!