Dhanushkodi - To The Dead End

by Mohammed Nayeem

“Hey Don, this weekend I am busy with my cousin sister's marriage arrangements! Can we postpone our trip to next week? You know that there is a lot of work to do when there’s a wedding in a family,” Bhatta said in a usual call on Thursday.
“Ahhh! It’s been postponed for the last 2 weeks, Are we going anywhere or not?” Frustrated me.
“Don, It’s my dream trip, we’ll go on next weekend and please don’t forget to apply leaves, I’ll catch you later, Bye!”

Just like all other trips, this one started by postponing to next week. I thought Bhatta would come up with a new reason, but no. I was wrong. He finally showed up on his bike. To be quite honest, I was so abrasive anyway, even if he doesn't come, I already had a backup plan.

Itinerary:

  • Day-1:

    • Bengaluru to Rameshwaram
    • Ramanathaswamy Temple
    • Agni Theertham

  • Day-2:

    • Kalam National Memorial
    • Snorkeling in the Bay of Bengal
    • Vibhishana Temple
    • Dhanushkodi, Rama Setu and Beaches

  • Day-3:

    • Pamban Bridge
    • Rameshwaram to Bengaluru

Setting off at 5:00 a.m., we rode through the morning, from dawn till dusk. It’s 650 km from JP Nagar, Bengaluru to Dhanushkodi. 12 hours of the journey was what we roughly thought, which includes breakfast, lunch, and small tea, tender coconut breaks on the highway. Riding at an average speed of only 60 km/h, the NH44 Highway was more delightful than ever. Delightful because it was not as sunny as we thought. Usually, I had experienced this highway a lot in the night rides, but the morning vibes of seeing the mountains around were just amazeballs. Ultimately, after 14 hours of bone-tired ride, we reached the Pamban Island which is also known as Rameshwaram.

Rameshwaram is the Island between India and Sri Lanka connected via the Pamban railway bridge, known as Char Dhams of India. It has been a cardinal tourist spot due to its religious significance and of course for the beaches. It was almost sunset when we reached our hotel, which was just beside the Agni Theertham. From our hotel window, quite a sight of the ocean, welcoming us with the quiet and pure air.

View from the Hotel


After a warm shower, we thought of visiting the Ramanathaswamy temple, which normally remains open up to 9:00 p.m., and why not? It’s 100m from our hotel. Temple looks small from outside, but it’s not. Known for its majestic towers, intricate works, and corridors, this temple is a fine example of architectural excellence with highly sacred one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India. Rama had worshipped Shiva here while coming back after killing Ravana. Lots of fascinating stories took us back in time to Ramayana. Next to this has 22 theerthams, bathing in which is believed to atone sins of devotees. Of course, we did not take the bath again, we just enjoyed the view of the dark ocean near Agni theertham.

Day 2 was the most productive day I can say. It started by visiting the greatest tribute of all time, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial. The place where we got a handful of information about the life of our honorable former President. Everything was well portrayed using the Idols to depict various events of his life. The most highlighted things were rare photographs, video clips, belongings, medals, achievements, and other inspiring educational exhibits.

Dr. Abdul Kalam had visited Raichur(my native) on 30th March 2013, when I was pursuing my degree. I had the golden opportunity of shaking hands with Dr. Kalam and my friend had a chance to ask him a question. He was indeed wonderful to interact with and had a great belief in the future generation.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial


Our next spot was a bit adventurous and anticlimactic. Adventurous because we did Snorkeling in the Bay of Bengal, which I always wanted to do and anticlimactic because of the windy weather, the water wasn’t clear. Anyway, Snorkeling in the ocean was a satisfying experience. It was sunny in the afternoon, so we had lunch and took some rest and recharge one's batteries.

Now it’s time to ride for Dhanushkodi. Ride of 20 Km from our Hotel to Ram Setu’s viewpoint was THE BEST moment of the entire trip. Dude, the Road is in the middle of the Ocean. Scary right! Yes, it was. In the halfway, we visited the Vibhishana temple, the only historical structure to survive the cyclone that washed away Dhanushkodi. In Dec 1964 there was a terrible storm that devastated this place as a ghost town. We spent an hour taking pictures of the scenic view around the temple. At last, that evening was so appealing that we reached our DESTINATION. In one word, it was a spectacular view, distinctly two watercolors of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal were visible. We sat there till sunset, peacefully, literally no one was around(maybe ghosts!) to break nature's silence. The beauty of riding between the seas was out of the world.

As we drove back through the narrow road my heart was quiet, my mind was calm, really overwhelmed with happiness.

Dhanushkodi


In the last 2 days, we became familiar with the city, as there were no complex routes. Last night we took a long walk around the temple, explored a few shops, had food in stalls, spent hours at the beach, all together made me fall in love with the city. On the next day, we vacated our hotel and left for Bengaluru. It wasn’t over yet! Our last wish was to see the train crossing on the Pamban railway bridge and we were lucky enough to see it. The bridge being a century old, this engineering marvel still stands tall and operational. On the other side of the bridge, the view of fishing boats was marvelous too. The morning had been fine, but it was growing warm and sultry when at last we turned our faces homeward.

Pamban bridge