Poonam Parihar

Dhanushkodi: Life in a Ghost Town Poonam Parihar

"Diversity in the world is a basic characteristic of human society, and also the key condition for a lively and dynamic world as we see today. ~ Jinato Hu" In Dec 2010, I, along with 3 friends, went for a 10 days long coastal road ride to 2 south indian states of Tamilnadu and Kerala. Starting from Bangalore, karnataka, we drove through popular destinations in Tamilnadu, such as Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Trichi and Madurai to the famous hindu pilgrimage located between indian peninsula and Sri Lanka, known as Rameswaram or Pamban Island, and spent ample amount of time at this holy place, walking, beach trekking, mountain biking. The southern most tip of Rameswaram which is only 29 odd kms from SriLanka is known as Dhanushkodi, Once a flourishing and prominent town, well connected by rail and road with Pamban and the mainland, later destroyed in the cyclones of year 1964, claiming over 2,000 lives and crippling power supply and communications. From temples to churches, houses, dharmashalas, roads and railway station, all were destroyed leaving no signs of life. This photo documentary book depicts the life in that town, yes it still exists.