WCR 1118

18^th Nov 2014: Rameswaram:

Until today, our itinerary had surprisingly gone as per plan. We had also managed to cover all the places we had targeted. Today, our luck would run out. It was only a matter of time. We left very early to catch sunrise at Dhanushkodi. Lots of flying insects welcomed us on the superb road. We were travelling on such a narrow strip of land that we were practically riding over the sea.  An aerial view would have been astounding.

We went as far as the road allowed. From that point on began the sandy stretch. Only 4X4 Jeeps and altered vans could move forward from there. We decided to try our luck with the motorcycles. Gyan made some distance forward. When Zaheer tried, it got stuck soon. It took great effort to turn the Bullet around and get it back to road. Had the stretch to the deserted town been 2 or 3 kms, we would have attempted to cover it. Slithering, sliding, pushing and heaving we would have made it somehow. But the distance was 8 kms. We are not built for that quantity of manual labour.

On enquiring one of the van drivers charged Rs 2000. This was too much for six of us, even if we shared it with the handful of other visitors. A guide at our hotel had suggested taking a Jeep from the hotel for Rs 1500. We didn’t like the fact that the waiting period allowed was only 20 mins. If we had to pay that much amount we would like to stay there longer, no matter there was some activity to do or not. One of the other visitors had come from Bangalore and he informed us that from the check post 2 kms back, one could hitch a ride on the vans for Rs 20. This raised our suspicion further and we didn’t take the bait.

Thinking that the rates would drop once more tourists arrive, we made way for an off road noticed a few kms back leading to another temple. This road has the sea right next to it without any shrubs or sand. Wanderlust was truly captured on this stretch. 

The sea from the end point of this stretch was very shallow. The water was less than knee-deep. It is said that this is a part of the Ram Setu bridge and one can walk over to Sri Lanka from here. An armada of hundreds of ships could be seen in the distance travelling at speed. These are all fishing boats. We were being offered one spectacular sight after another. By now, we guessed that more tourists would have arrived. So we made our way back.

A few mins later, buses filled with tourists began to arrive. This was a religious group on their way to Ram Setu. We were hopeful of catching seats for the six of us now. But the crowd was too much. The reason we later learnt was that this group was 1000-odd strong. All the vans were booked. In fact, the organizer told us that they were falling short of vans.

Our chances of hitching a ride looked bleak. Then it started to rain heavily. Our itinerary was to reach Munnar by end of the day. It was 9 am now and we were stuck. In retrospect, the amount charged by the first van looked reasonable. We could have avoided this large crowd too. We asked at the hotel for a Jeep and they said that Jeeps were not allowed to pick passengers from this point due to presence of Union. We could take the Jeep from the hotel only.

Without an option, we decided to head back to our hotel and take the Jeep from there. Our plan was greatly disrupted. But our troubles were still not over. On the way back it started to rain. We bore it all the way and were almost there when it turned furious. All of us got soaked to the core. Now the change of clothes would take even more time. What worsened the condition was that these were the last days of the Ride and we didn’t have clean clothes left.

Meanwhile our guide was frantically trying to reach the driver of the Jeep but there was no network in the Dhanushkodi area. Nilu, Gyan and Ashok went ahead to arrange a Jeep from another party while we waited here. An hour of waiting later, they had the transport arranged. We now had to hire two Jeeps for Rs 2500. One of them arrived soon and three guys made their way forward. We had already confirmed from the organizer that the Jeeps would take us to the tip of Dhanushkodi.

The second Jeep took longer to arrive. It was still raining. Switching into 4X4 the Jeeps took the sandy path with ease. I was badly missing my Thar here even though private 4X4s are not allowed to commute here. We reached the destructed town of Dhanushkodi. It’s amazing to see this narrow stretch of land still standing after so many years and even harder to believe that once there was a railway station here. The devastated buildings of the church, medical college, railway station and post office still stood. The soaring crows added to the ghost-town feeling. This must be some sight after dark.

Our drivers doubled up as guides and also showed us the Navy tower, the last standing structure 3 kms ahead. The Ram Setu point was 5 kms further away from there. Now the drivers refused to take us there citing permit issues. By this time the large group of the morning had left so we were not too sure about the permit. Even after much persuasion, the drivers did not relent. It seemed unfair to have come so far and not touch the “toe of Mother India”, as I would describe it. So we proceeded on foot. Ashok persuaded me for a jog and we reached the Navy Tower along with Zaheer. 

There was a van undergoing repair here and on asking they told us that the “toe” is 3 kms further. How much narrower could the stretch get? It had already taken us a long time to reach this point. We could have jogged even further but then it started to drizzle.

Reluctantly we turned back. By the time we reached back to the point where the drivers were furiously waiting we were soaked again. First, shortage of clothes and now two wet sets. Things were getting better and better. Although the drivers were angry they controlled it. They still guided us to the temple. Here we observed the phenomenon of the floating stone. It actually floated.

We were exhausted by the time we reached back. There was no way we could travel even halfway to Munnar. It was better to extend our stay here and leave early in the morning. We had a simple lunch at the hotel and began the long process of drying our clothes.

In the evening, Zaheer, Rohit, Gyan and Ashok visited the temple. Rameswaram is one of the “char dhaam”. Pilgrims come from far off to visit the temple here. On returning they recited how they were led to baths to 22 wells. Ashok made the record of bathing 27 times in a single day. 17^th Nov would be so special for him.

The rains had brought the temperature down and that meant we could have rum tonight. We picked up supply from the second theka which was way cleaner than the one next door. Rohit brewed his usual coffee. He was finding it very tough to ask the chef for some hot water. For dinner we went to a place recommended by the man who had arranged the Jeeps for us. It was quite decent. We retired early as next day would be a long haul. Also, we would be re-rentering Kerala so there was no guessing how long the journey would take. We were all dreading the return to Kerala.