The Lively village in 19th Century : Dhanushkodi
There once was a city named Dhanushkodi, within the mainland of India on the eastern coast where thousands of families actually were leading a very happy life, who also had very good facilities like very good rail network, post office, good social life and everything was extremely good. But that one night entirely destroyed the whole town, where everything was washed out within seconds, thousands of people died, a passenger train fell down from the bridge due to the huge cyclone which hit the coast in 1964.
So I got a chance to visit this interesting place a few days back and now there’s actually nothing left except the few remaining proofs which just tell the stories of the prosperous city which existed a few years ago. All I could see was a huge empty land with sand all over as it was covered on 2 different oceans on both sides. Thousands of families used to stay there but there isn’t a single family staying there except a few fishermen because of some haunted vibes which even I thought was just a joke, but actually even felt a weird kind of experience during our visit there.
The Current Condition : Dhanushkodi
Welcome to Dhanushkodi, popularly called as the abandoned ghost town of India. You might have read about the prosperous city of Dhanushkodi and the 1964 cyclone mentioned in the autobiography of Abdul Kalam. Dhanushkodi is actually located 12 kms south east of Rameshwaram and probably his home was in Rameshwaram as his house is turned into a museum now in the main city of Rameshwaram. These 2 cities are actually islands as they can be reached by either crossing the famous Pamban bridge either by rail or road. Also this place is aerially just 12 kms away from mainland of Sri Lanka but there doesn’t exist any communication as this area is entirely surrounded by LTTEs.
The Iconic Ram Setu
The famous Ram Setu is believed that it started from here. So this place also is geographically very interesting which I will describe in a separate blog.
So before the cyclone everything was going so well in Dhanushkodi, they had great infrastructures, good churches, rail connection, good markets, post office and almost everything. This is geographically a very sensitive region because it is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. So this area is highly prone to Tsunamis and cyclones and as expected the worst happened in 1964. Everything was going well but one fine night a super powerful cyclone hit the coast and entirely changed the future of the city which nobody ever imagined. It was at a great speed of 280 km/h, also the tides rising up to 7m high.
The 1964 Cyclone
The loss was so huge that no visible piece of land remained on the land as the entire thing was submerged in the ocean. After 40 years in 2004, the sea drifted by 500m after which the remains of the city were visible. So until then it had entirely disappeared for us. The aftermath scenes of the city were so disgusting, that some people who survived also died because of hunger and starvation. It’s estimated that at least 1800 people died and more were injured. This is actually a rough estimation. This is actually referred to as one of the deadliest disasters in India and even Lanka was hit so badly by it.
The Pamban Bridge
The Pamban rail bridge was a major point of contact for Dhanushkodi. In this series of incidents there was a passenger train carrying people to Dhanushkodi and during this cyclone, a storm which raised up to 7.6m hit the bridge destroying it entirely and all the passengers of the train died in this incident. Even this was mentioned in Kalam’s autobiography. After this incident the city was declared unfit to stay and after that it has been left abandoned.
As mentioned after 40 years the remains of the city were visible, which is now turned into a tourist destination. So on the way back from the last point of India to Rameshwaram, we stopped at this ghost city. Without a second thought I can utterly say that it is a ghost city because the atmosphere out there is kind of insane. You hardly see people there but you actually feel you’re in a well populated city.
The Abandoned Ghost Town
On the main road I could see some local fishermen selling fish food and some snacks where most of them would return to Rameshwaram in the last bus and a few fishermen actually stayed there . There is a proper old church which is partially destroyed which looks so strange. There is even a railway station with tracks all over and a big tower too. Even I had to walk carefully on the sand because I would slip on so many rocks which are remains of one or the other thing. I could observe a well, the remains of a temple and some weird buildings too. The post office was also partially visible which was so huge but almost destroyed.
I don’t know how to explain but I felt so uncomfortable at this place. There was a strange presence of people as if it appeared like it’s a very crowded place but actually there’s literally no one. After walking for some time I found an old lady who had a small hut and a temple which she worshiped everyday. So her family was living here and everyone died in the incident and she is the only alive member. She doesn’t like to go out of this place so prefers staying at her own ancestral home.
Experience from a Localite about the Cyclone
She explained her experiences about the incident and how people were screaming, crying for help, running around. So it was an entirely terrible experience. She even lives there till today and if you visit Dhanushkodi you can meet her near the railway station somewhere there. Just search around the bushes and you’ll probably find a small hut with a small temple. So actually it was a wonderful day in this strange city during my visit to Tamilnadu. Don’t ever forget to stop at this place and just have a look around if you ever go to Rameshwaram.
