Travel destination and duration doesn’t matter, all it matters is the experience gained during the travel, is what I believe. No matter if the click is in DSLR or basic camera, as far as the click conveys story.  

 Exactly telling my last trip just before the pandemic in Dec 2019, due to some reason I missed sharing it with you, but now here I am with my daring experience of one of the most dangerous bridges and the experience in the birth place of our great Missile Man Sir ” Abdul kalam”.

It was on the month December we were on a trip; the trip was from Bangalore to Madurai and from Madurai to Rameswaram.

“The Pamban bridge”. A 100-year-old railway bridge located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It is not just a railway bridge but a major tourist attraction in Tamil Nadu that leaves travelers impressed with its scenic beauty. Surrounded by untouched blue waters till as far as your eyes can see, this bridge is approximately 2.06km long. 

It was exciting until I reached the bridge, but once we started travelling over the bridge excitement turned to daring moment when I recollected the terrific cyclone in 1964. The bridge is highly cyclone prone and wind zone with high velocity.

When we mention about the Pamban bridge and the cyclone that shook the entire nation, there is one person who runs into our mind, none other than the “Metro man”  E Sreedharan, the man who was in-charge of restoration and he did it in 46 days for which he was awarded by Railway minister as a appreciation for his achievement. German engineer Scherzer designed the central part of the bridge that opens up to allow ferry movement.

As told above, since it was December the weather was also rainy, somehow, we managed to get out off train and reach the auto stand. The hotel that we booked was Shanmuga Paradise which was a basic hotel as we just wanted to fresh and sleep rather than staying in hotel, and moreover it was near to the temple.

After reaching the hotel we freshened up and went to temple for darshanam and after darshanam we were all set to explore the place, and the first place in the list was “Dhanushkodi”, the ghost town.

Dhanushkodi means end of the bow. The bow we are referring here is Lord Rama’s.  According to the legends, when Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her to Lanka, the measures forced Lord Rama to build the Rama Sethu Bridge. The bridge is indistinctly noticeable from a distance and has been confirmed even by geologists.

Here we can spot the ruins from 1964 Rameswaram cyclone, due to which the town was completely washed away and named as “Ghost town”. Followed up the destruction, the government declared the place unfit for living.

When we visited there, we could spot a few fishermen and their families striving for their daily living by fishing and also by selling the products made of seashell that makes for perfect souvenirs.

As it was too much of walking, I and my family preferred to go through the stalls, mean time my husband was excited to view the exit where the land ends at Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is also one of the smallest land borders in the world. Since my mother-in-law is more of friend than an in-law, therefore walking along the beach with her was much enjoyed 😊.

After “Ghost town” we headed towards Kothandaramaswamy Temple. The temple is on the way to Dhanushkodi. This is the same place where the Vibhishan was told to be crowned as king of Lanka by Lord Rama, therefore also known as Vibhishan temple. This temple is the only historical structure to survive the 1964 cyclone that swiped away Dhanushkodi.

The next stop point was one of the most awaited spots “HOUSE OF KALAM”, residence of India’s most loved president APJ Abdul Kalam. The house in which he lived in growing up is in the Mosque Street. The original house of Kalam has been maintained as it is, whereas two more floors added and transformed as museum to display Kalam’s achievements & loving remembrances. Since photo click is prohibited, we were just enjoying the tour of “HOUSE OF KALAM”.

A trip to Rameswaram is incomplete without visiting “HOUSE OF KALAM”. With this we winded up for the day and headed towards our room with amazing collection of memories.

Hope you enjoyed reading 🙂 stay tuned and stay safe 🙂