Dhanushkodi-- Whispers of a ghost town !

   Ghost towns, with its mysteries and stories, are always fascinating to visit. One such town which had been beckoning me for a while was Dhanushkodi, now an abandoned small town at the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. 

   Dhanushkodi literally means “end of a bow”. Following a natural disaster in the 1960’s it has been declared as a ghost town as it was found to be unfit for in habitation. With Mannar port of Sri Lanka just 30 Km away, this definitely was the best spot to build a bridge that would take the “Vanara” army across the ocean. In fact, on a clear night, you can see the twinkling lights of Sri Lanka from this side of the coast and many a times we can notice the Sri Lankan telecom carrier signals in our mobile.

    It is located on the picturesque island of Pamban where one can see the gorgeous blue waters of the Bay of Bengal mixing with the Indian Ocean. Once a small bustling town with its own railway station, post office, customs office, medical center, now it's a ghost town lying uninhabited except for the fishermen.

   The most fascinating part of the trip is when you have to board a tempo traveler that takes you to the "Arichal Munal" or the Erosion point. This ride is on a narrow strip of land with water on both sides. Quite an exhilarating ride, especially when one experiences the sea water enter the tempo !

   The first thing one sees as soon as they touch the land is the remains of the old railway station. Behind the railway station lies the old Church, a mere shadow of its past glory. Further down lies the remains of the old school.

   Visiting Dhanushkodi was both a beautiful and a sad experience for me. At the Arichal Munal, one wonders how such a beautiful piece of nature was capable of such blinding fury. While venturing along those crumbled lines of the erstwhile town, I could not help think of the lives of people back then. But the visit added a new dimension to my life and gave me the sense of gratitude and thankfulness to the Creator. 

   All in All, a visit to Dhanushkodi would bound to open up your mind, especially if you pause amidst the old walls and the crumbling structures to hear the whispers of its tale.