Ethereal Dhanushkodi

Have you ever felt the presence of God? I had a very unusual and calming feeling when I visited Dhanushkodi beach. I felt the spirit of God here. I felt like I could touch God. The surrounds were ethereal – with two oceans meeting – it felt like my pilgrimage.

Dhanushkodi Aerial

I was first fascinated by the ghost town Dhanushkodi by reading about it. It is a mysterious part of the world. I made sure I visited this place as a part of my South India tour with my friend Nandini. This place situated in the Southernmost tip of Rameswaram Island where the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean met.

So, when Vignesh, our driver, suggested seeing the sunrise there, we jumped at the opportunity. Vignesh was trying to please us by whatever good suggestion he could come up. He couldn’t do enough for us.

The beach opened at 6 am. It was about 20 km drive from Rameswaram city. We woke up early and were excited to reach the shore while it was still dark. We thoroughly enjoyed driving by the long road with two oceans on either side. It was delightful when the surf was breaking out on our right-hand side. The sight of the confluence there with a stretch of sand took our breath away. It was a visual treat with incredibly mesmerising views of the clear blue sea on both sides. The island stretches to the Dead end of India. It extends 14-15 Km from Rameswaram to the Tip, and the place gets narrower as you move forward towards the tip.

You can see the ocean’s stretch on both sides. Its scenic beauty was captivating, surrounded by the vast expanse of water and shimmering sand.

Nandini and I stayed there for a long time and hoped that the sun would come out soon. No, we were not lucky enough to enjoy the sunrise. We were just speechless and soaked into the waves breaking at the shore and the gentle sound accompanying it.

We did not quite see the devastation while driving to the beach but on the way back the sight of a washed out village wrapped us with sadness. We saw its ruins and the old remnants of once a flourishing town. A cyclone devastated the place by washing away the entire city.

Cyclone devastation in Dhanushkodi Village — Cyclone devastation

Another interesting fact of Dhanushkodi is the existence of a bridge, known as Ram Setu. According to legends of Ramayana, one of the most sacred Hindu mythology’s, Dhanuskodi was the place where Lord Rama, Lord Lakshman along with Lord Hanuman and the monkey army had built a bridge to Lanka to rescue Goddess Sita who was in the captivity of demon Ravana. Later, after winning the war, Lord Rama had crowned Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, as the King of Lanka. Vibhishana then asked Rama to destroy the Ram Setu. Upon his request, Lord Rama broke the bridge with an end of his bow. There are other stories as well. Lord Rama pointed to the land with the tip of his bow, and Lord Hanumana along with his army built a bridge (Setu) to cross the sea to reach Sri Lanka. Because he pointed the end with a bow, the name Dhanushkodi means ‘end of the bow’.

One of the Ram Setu stones toward the shore Dhanushkodi — One of the Ram Setu stones toward the shore

It was interesting to know that according to some experts, there was a bridge between Dhanushkodi, Pamban Island, India and Mannar Island, Sri Lanka which lay submerged in the sea. The bridge called Adam’s Bridge now. It is still debated whether the bridge is human-made or natural formation. A study claims that such a spontaneous creation by nature would be impossible. It justified the same by proofing the presence of loose sands layer under corals for the entire stretch and the stones on top of the sand pre-date the sand.