TNB - Rameswaram and Rama's Bridge

After the puja with the family, JM and I hunted down some lunch and then headed toward Dhanuskodi - the very tip of the island upon which Rameswaram is located. I wanted to see Adam's Bridge, the (now) underwater landbridge connecting India and Sri Lanka - the bridge built by the army of Lord Rama to allow his troops to cross to Lanka to rescue his wife, Sita, from the 10-headed demon Ravana. This is the story of the Ramayana and of such importance in Hindu lore that I really wanted to see it.

The controversy rages between believers and scientists about the origin of this bridge. Scientists argue that it is a natural phenomenon but struggle to explain how nature made it because it does not conform to conventional ideas of how landmasses separate. Believers are content to just believe, and so the debate rages on.

We didn't realize how long a walk it was going to be from the drop-off point at Dhanuskodi to the very end. Along the way we were joined by some real Tamil characters who found JM to be VERY interesting. One tried to kiss a crab - we thought they were weird then - and only had our suspicions confirmed by the next hour of walking with them. By the time we reached the end, they were exhausted, we were annoyed, and so both parties amiably went separate ways. We made it to the very end, saw what little of the landbridge we could, and walked all the way back.

Our driver found it very strange that despite paying for a car, we insisted on walking for hours at a time.