P H O T G R A P H Y

Life on the Threshold:

The post-disaster reality of India’s Last Land - Danushkodi

Within a span of 12 hours, Danushkodi went from a bustling trade center and pilgrimage to a melancholic ghost town in ruins. What was once a well-planned town is now home to only a handful of scattered fishermen.

Night 11:55 pm. December 22nd, 1964.

Train no.653, the Pamban-Danushkodi passenger train started its usual journey from Pamban with 110 people including a batch of students, pilgrims, and 5 railway staff. At Danushkodi outer, Arunachalam Kumaraswamy, the bridge inspector who was piloting the train, saw that the signal went out and stopped the train for a while. Owing to the lack of proper radio connectivity during that time, he assumed that the signal must have failed due to the heavy rains and decided to take the risk to continue forward. Moments later, a massive tidal wave of over 20 feet hauled the entire train into the ocean, making it the last day for everyone on board.

On that day, a cyclone which had originated in the South Andaman Sea 6 days prior, tore down the entire town of Danushkodi to rubble, with wind speeds reaching 280 km per hour and a death toll of over 1800.

The town, Danushkodi, lies to the South-East of Pamban, 15 km from Rameshwaram in India and around 29 km from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. It shares the only land border between India and Sri Lanka, 45 meters in length on a shoal1 in the Palk Strait, often known as India’s last land.

Before disaster struck, this was one of the major hubs for transporting people and goods between India and Ceylon2. The Boat Mail, introduced by the British in 1914 for communication between the two countries under their control, connected Egmore in Chennai to Danushkodi pier via rail link and then to Talaimannar pier via ferry service, initially by ships named after English viceroys like Irwin and Koshan and later with the rise of Indian competitors, the Madras Maru. Passengers could further take the Talaimannar Fort Night Mail to Colombo from the pier.

The passengers traveling via Boat Mail had to undergo formalities like basic health tests and passport issues at Danushkodi. To cater to this, the town had well-planned public buildings like a hospital, railway office, church, Dharamshala3, school, mosque, church, and temples, all built in the British style. The houses were organized in clusters, easily accessible through a marketplace. Since these were built of stone or brick masonry, parts of these structures survive today as ghosts of the lively city.

But its significance as a trade link was not the only reason this city was frequented by visitors. The land of Danushkodi as mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana had immense mythological relevance to the people all over the country. It was believed that when Maa Sita was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana, Lord Rama, his devotee Hanuman, and the army of monkeys built the bridge, Ram Setu, to Lanka starting from here. The same in Islamic records could be found by the name Adam’s Bridge since it was believed that Adam crossed over to India from Sri Lanka through this bridge. The name Danushkodi also originates from the belief that Lord Rama destroyed the bridge with his bow after returning from their mission, Danush meaning bow, and Kodi meaning end. Surprisingly, the only structure that remained intact after the cyclone, The Kothandaramar4 temple, was the place where Lord Rama is believed to have coronated Vibeeshana, Ravana’s brother, as the king of Lanka. A visit to this temple and a dip in the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean was considered sacred and usually preceded the pilgrimage to one of the Char Dham5, the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameshwaram, adding value to Danushkodi that sat on the threshold of these oceans.

Former Indian President Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam, whose father managed a ferry business that transported pilgrims between Rameshwaram and Danushkodi, talks about how the locals here had learned to sleep through cyclones and storms since it was a frequent occurrence in the Bay of Bengal. Naturally, everyone in Danushkodi had assumed that things would return to normal within a few days, despite the heavy rains on the day of the 1964 cyclone. But 2 days later when the tragedy caused by the cyclone came to light by a bulletin from the railway headquarters, the Government declared the place unsafe for habitation.

Amidst the dilapidated structures of the past, a few fishermen’s families presently live in huts with thatched walls and roofs, and small wells that tap the sea aquifers for sweet water. Sometimes their children attempt to sell seashells to tourists who decide to visit the ghost town in awe of the marine wealth and natural beauty as well as the flock of migratory birds.

Danushkodi is fascinating for people of various backgrounds because of its vast expanses of beach scattered with city ruins, surrounded by astounding natural beauty, and shrouded in an air of somber memories and mythological tales. Visitors had to board a matador and travel over knee-deep, muddy seawater on bumpy roads to reach Old Danushkodi. But in 2016, the 9.5 km road link from Muhuntharayar Chathiram to Danushkodi was finished by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, making it simpler to get there.

Standing on the narrow strip of land after sunset, one feels small in comparison to the wide sea and the sky’s starry expanse. Danushkodi is perched on the cusp of exciting and eerie, wedged between two oceans, bridging two nations, and a site of veneration with the fear of impending doom.