Visit to a place of great importance in Ramayan

Rameshwaram, an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Rameshwaram Express was our mode of travel. Pamban to Rameshwaram is over a railway bridge and the sight was a very beautiful one with the remains of an older bridge nearby.


Reached our destination around 8.30am and headed straight to the Tamil Nadu Hotel, run by Tamil Nadu tourism, not a very good place but OK. After breakfast and refreshment, headed straight to the beach for a holy dip. Was a little hesitant abt it, but was forced to do it. And then directly to the Rameshwaram temple for a holy shower in the 22 theerthams. The minute you are out of the beach, ppl throng you to hire them for the theerthams service (hmmm, they actually fetch a bucket of water from the well and pour it on you and follow the person to the next well and then it goes on…) and the charge is on a per person basis. These theerthams are actually wells located at different parts of the temple, each one name after a God or a character of Ramayan. All these wells had only about one or two feet of very clear water. Though these wells are located very close to each other, the taste of water varies from sweet to very salty water. Nature at its best, I would say! Went back to the hotel fully drenched.

By afternoon, we were ready for the local sightseeing and was amazed at the fresh breeze, beauty of the ocean, the sun set and what not! A few pictures for you

The view from Ramar padham, a place where Lord Rama is believed to have set his foot. May be that where he drafted his project plan ;)



The Pamban Railway bridge, that opens up to let the ships pass by. Pic taken from the Pamban bridge (roadway)



Seeing the beach from a bridge is a very exiting sight!



The Sunset ............



The sethu shore - Calm amidst the controversies

The next day started off as early as 3.45am to get ready for the Spatika lingam dharshan that statrs at 5.00am. Finished the dharshan and were back to the hotel by 6.30-7.00. By 8.30am we started off to Dhanushkoti, the tip of India closest to Sri Lanka. The Ram made bridge of floating stones is said to have started here, though we weren’t able to spot it through our naked eyes. This place was a fully functional town till 1964 and then was fully washed away in the floods that year. The town that had a population of about 15,000 people now has only 250 people, only fishermen. My dad was saying that during the floods, actors Gemini Ganesan and Savithri were caught there and the whole state prayed for their wellbeing. More pics…

I've never seen a sun rise so beautiful...



My family's little star holding the star of the Solar system



A ride on sand to Dhanushkoti



A barren Dhanushkoti



The turbulent Bay of Bengal



The silent Indian Ocean



Clear unpolluted waters of the ocean

What was once supposed to be the railway track



Then to a few more temples and started off to Chennai by 8.15pm!