We left Madurai for Rameshwaram at 10.00am. It was a long ride (167 km). The journey took us along small towns and the sites were not at all pleasant. India’s poverty is apparent as you move further south. The heat and dust made the situation worse.
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| The red sand, a common sight on road shoulders |
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| This was our breakfast stop |
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| Our breakfast stop was right next to a busy railway station |
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| The streets |
Rameshwaram was not in our initial plan for visit. So we went along without knowing what to expect. It is a small conch-shaped island town in the Palk strait at the South east tip of India.
It is believed that if one visits Rameswaram and prays to Lord Shiva one will be relieved of one’s sins.
I titled my post Ramayana's Rameshwaram because the whole place is considered holy because of the Ramayana legend. The legend says this is the place Rama with the help of Hanuman prepared his army to rescue his wife Sita who was abducted by villain Ravana to Sri Lanka.
It is believed that if one visits Rameswaram and prays to Lord Shiva one will be relieved of one’s sins.
I titled my post Ramayana's Rameshwaram because the whole place is considered holy because of the Ramayana legend. The legend says this is the place Rama with the help of Hanuman prepared his army to rescue his wife Sita who was abducted by villain Ravana to Sri Lanka.
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| View of Rameshwaram from Pamban Bridge |
When we first saw the list of places to visit in Rameshwaram, it didn’t quite register what ‘teertham’ was. Let me tell you, Rameshwaram is purely a pilgrimage site and teertham are baths given in the temple to cleanse one’s sin. 22 teerthams/baths to complete. And we had no change of clothes, so you can imagine what followed, right.
The 6 places we visited in Rameshwaram were :-
1. Shri Ramanatha Swamy Temple
2. Agni Theertham (Sea Bath)
3. Sita Theertham
4. Sri Ramachandra Temple (Floating Stone)
5. Pamban Bridge
1. Shri Ramanatha Swamy Temple & 2. Agni Theertham (Sea Bath)
This temple is renowned for its magnificent corridors (longest temple corridors in India) with massive sculptured pillars lining it. It was built from 12th century onwards by different rulers. Amazing temple, the sea is just 100 metres away from the main entrance.
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| Inside the temple - wet, ancient and moldy |
The sea water at this place is considered sacred and is known as 'Agni Theertham'. Pilgrims bathe in this place before entering the Temple. There are 22 sacred wells whose water is said to taste differently from one another (we can't vouch for this as we didn't try). This temple is sacred to both Vaishnavites and Shaivites. It houses one of the 12 Jyotirlingams of Shiva.
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| Pilgrims on their sea bath |
When we reached the temple, we saw a huge crowd everywhere. What followed was, a temple guide, quickly entered our bus and introduced himself. He said in order to complete the yatra, each person has to pay RS125 each. We paid, then followed him into the temple and completed the 22 baths. More on this later.
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| At the entrance - very chaotic |
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| The dipper guide (priest?) at work - one of the 22 wells |
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| Pavements leading up pilgrims to the many wells |
His partner guide was assigned to dip water from the well and pour it all on our group. Most were drenched, and up till the 12th well I escaped a full pouring, instead caught the pour in my open palms and sprinkled it all over my head. N in the meantime, ever on the lookout for a good photo shoot, had to make sure the camera didn’t get wet. The guide informed us where we can and cannot take photos.
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| One of the 22 sacred wells |
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| Sign indicating bath no (this one is the 12th) |
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| The pond inside the temple |
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| The many shiva lingas in the temple |
And he told many stories of the temple, sure sounded like an expert. The climax of the pilgrim was paying of respect to the presiding deity, Lord Ramanathar in the form of Linga.
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| Holy Bath Ticket counter |
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| Long long Corridors |
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| Pilgrims going thru the railing |
As we were on express ticket, the guide found ways to squeeze us through to see the Lord.
The whole experience was unforgettable, though initially reluctant, I kind of liked the bathing ritual later on, I admit it was fun going around getting yourself drenched, like kids playing with water. The temple ground was completely wet and one got to be extra careful when doing the rounds.
The whole experience was unforgettable, though initially reluctant, I kind of liked the bathing ritual later on, I admit it was fun going around getting yourself drenched, like kids playing with water. The temple ground was completely wet and one got to be extra careful when doing the rounds.
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| The long winding corridors |
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| Entry to one of the altars |
As we came out of the temple, we were asked to do the Sea Bath (Agni Theertham), we didn’t do it. For many reasons actually.
One, we didn’t have change of clothes.
Two, we weren’t really on pilgrimage.
Three, the place was so crowded.
Four,we saw rubbish piles everywhere.
Five, we saw pigs roaming nearby.
Six, enough said.
One, we didn’t have change of clothes.
Two, we weren’t really on pilgrimage.
Three, the place was so crowded.
Four,we saw rubbish piles everywhere.
Five, we saw pigs roaming nearby.
Six, enough said.
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| Busy friends out on a meal |
We stopped for lunch at Abirami’s Hotel. This was the only decent-looking restaurant we saw in the whole area, but alas, hygiene was severely overlooked. One peep at the kitchen which was visible from the hand-wash area, and you will know what I mean.
The washer lady just threw plate leftovers into the drain below, and plates were kept under the sink. One guy mixed ‘moru’ (rice soup) in a plastic Tupperware container. Given that the place was over-crowded and staff few, I could imagine how easily one can compromise cleanliness. And do the drains wash to the sea? I dare not guess.
Since we were starved, we opted for a Thali set meal (yes, again), ordered just one and shared. The waiting just to get seated can be frustrating. Surprisingly though, their small toilet was fairly clean, but you need to bear with people banging on the door to let you know they are waiting to use the toilet!
3. Sita Theertham
According to Ramayana legend, this is the pond where Sita Dewi took her bath so it is considered sacred. The pond is outside the Ramanatha Swamy Temple.
You are supposed to stand below a hose connected to a pump that is manually operated by a lungi clad elderly man. Actually we didn’t do this bath due to the colour of the water in the pond (green), the dilapidated shack in which the bath was placed made it look like a money collection area (we did pay just to see what was inside), the poor old man who stood there half-naked pumping water from the pond, and yes, we didn’t want to get wet again.
You are supposed to stand below a hose connected to a pump that is manually operated by a lungi clad elderly man. Actually we didn’t do this bath due to the colour of the water in the pond (green), the dilapidated shack in which the bath was placed made it look like a money collection area (we did pay just to see what was inside), the poor old man who stood there half-naked pumping water from the pond, and yes, we didn’t want to get wet again.
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| The green pond |
4. Sri Ramachandra Temple (Floating Stone)
Also known as the Five-Faced Hanuman Temple. It is located 2 km from the main temple and houses the idols of Lord Rama, Sita and Hanuman. The floating stone, said to be used by Hanuman and his army to build the bridge between India and Lanka is displayed in this temple.
It seems they had collected a sample from the sea and the one that we saw floating was actually floating. It seems the bridge that Hanuman built can be seen via satellite today; the ruins are said to be submerged under the sea. I wonder if India has sent a group of undersea divers to check out this mythical bridge.
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| The Floating Stone Temple |
It seems they had collected a sample from the sea and the one that we saw floating was actually floating. It seems the bridge that Hanuman built can be seen via satellite today; the ruins are said to be submerged under the sea. I wonder if India has sent a group of undersea divers to check out this mythical bridge.
5. Pamban Bridge
This bridge (2.34 km. long), located on Palk Strait, took 14 years to complete, and is designed like a bow over the sea to allow ships to pass beneath it. It is supported by 79 pillars, 64 of which are built in the sea. The bridge connects Rameswaram with mainland India and is also known as Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. It is India's first sea bridge. It also runs parallel to a railway bridge.
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| Pamban Bridge - the railway track runs parallel |
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| The bridge with sea on both sides |
To my relief, the Bridge was our last stop, the wind was so strong, what with sea on both sides. Children must be held otherwise they may be airlifted by the wind, seriously.
My take on Rameshwaram...
Rameswaram tour was the only tour where we really felt cheated. From the moment we got off the bus, we were hoarded off like a herd of cattle into the temple. This is after the guide (dressed like a priest) collected money from each one of us, supposedly for entrance fee cum express ticket.
We were so overwhelmed by the crowd, noise and chaos to even think of questioning him or doing the temple round on our own. Once we entered, he took us quickly through the 22 sacred wells, his partner guide stood on top of each well, dipped water and poured/sprinkled on each one of us. The wells were not located all at one place. We went past many curving corridors to complete the cycle. The climax was the prayer to Lord Ramanathar in the form of Linga.
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| Wet pilgrims |
There was a long queue of people sardined into a railing waiting for their turn to pray to the presiding deity. Since we were on express ticket, our guide sent our group in pairs (for couples) or small groups (families) to dash thru the exit railing, pray to the Lord (more like catch a glimpse) and turn back as though we were walking out the exit.
The whole thing was ridiculous, there we were, like two cockroaches, waiting for our turn to dash, only to be told by another set of priests (real priests I think) to turn back, looking for que from our guide, yet to dash again, until we got a glimpse of the Lord. This went on till all of us were done.
We were then asked to hurdle together, and the guide treated us kind of special by seating us away from the main tour group (locals). He gave all of us tiny rock sugars which he said was Lord Shiva’s favourite food, and finally the point of it all, he asked for his darshan ($$$). We saw everyone hand out cash, and when it came to us, once again we didn’t have change, he cleverly handed us one whole packet of rock sugar and took RS250 from us. Outrageous! All in the name of the Lord.
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| Outside the temple |
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| The 'renouncer' who adjusted his hair before our shot |
To describe Rameshwaram in one or two words, this will be my list :-
1. Land of Ramayana
2. Cleansing sin pilgrimage
3. Bath from wells
4. Temple near the sea
5. Crowd, crowd and more crowd
6. Money-minded guides/priests
7. Waste dumps
8. Orange-clad men
9. Beggars
10. Scavenging cows, dogs and pigs
11. The railway bridge
12. Hot, humid and sandy
13. Wet temple
14. Floating stone
15. Wet pilgrims
16. 40km away Sri Lanka
17. Penetrating heat and dust
18. Dirty beach
19. Busy restaurants
20. Jesus banners
Rameshwaran is a holy place for Hindus, as holy as Kashi in the North. This being the case, I strongly urge the Tamil Nadu State Government to seriously look into cleaning up the pilgrimage site.
I saw money spent on printing huge banners and posters with Amma’s (Chief Minister Dr Jayalalitha) face, if only these monies were channeled towards a massive clean-up campaign, I am sure Amma herself will be pleased. And I call upon the honourable Dr Abdul J. Kalam, who hails from here, to do something about the sad state of Rameshwaram.
The other thing of course are the 'priests'. I am not sure if they really are priests but they are dressed like one and speak so knowingly of the deities and the rituals. They wait around the entrance for tourists and ‘pounce’ on them. And they shamelessly ask for darshan (money). Pilgrims are their source of side income. Can the Tamil Nadu state government please look into this unscrupulous 'priests'?
For dinner that night, back in Madurai, I just couldn’t bring myself to go out of the room again (I was actually having diaarhea). N walked to Murugan Idli Shop and bought their famous Onion Tosai.
Some tips :-
-If you are on pilgrimage in Rameshwaram, this trip may be worth it
-Be warned about touts who prey on tourists; they are already ready by the time your bus reaches the place
-Don't feel obligated to donate to priests; you have a choice. I must however say that if you are a Hindu, being in that situation, in a temple setting, and faced with polite-talking holy men with white ash and red dot on their forehead, you will feel severely obligated.
-Bring extra clothes as most likely you will get wet and be prepared to donate the wet clothes as you will be advised to do so. The poor ladies outside the temple actually beg you to donate your clothes. The idea is since you have just cleansed your sin (after the bath) you shouldn't take the wet clothes back with you. It's like carrying back the sins. So, by giving away your clothes you leave behind your sins. Hey, wait a minute, if i follow this logic, it's not fair, won't the poor be burdened by your sins then? Confusing logic - you figure out please.
-All the sites mentioned with the exception of Pamban Bridge are at walking distance of one another although by the time you understand what you saw you will find yourself whisked away
-There is a rush of adrenalin here; a sense of urgency - the crowd, the need to complete the pilgrimage, etc etc
Some tips :-
-If you are on pilgrimage in Rameshwaram, this trip may be worth it
-Be warned about touts who prey on tourists; they are already ready by the time your bus reaches the place
-Don't feel obligated to donate to priests; you have a choice. I must however say that if you are a Hindu, being in that situation, in a temple setting, and faced with polite-talking holy men with white ash and red dot on their forehead, you will feel severely obligated.
-Bring extra clothes as most likely you will get wet and be prepared to donate the wet clothes as you will be advised to do so. The poor ladies outside the temple actually beg you to donate your clothes. The idea is since you have just cleansed your sin (after the bath) you shouldn't take the wet clothes back with you. It's like carrying back the sins. So, by giving away your clothes you leave behind your sins. Hey, wait a minute, if i follow this logic, it's not fair, won't the poor be burdened by your sins then? Confusing logic - you figure out please.
-All the sites mentioned with the exception of Pamban Bridge are at walking distance of one another although by the time you understand what you saw you will find yourself whisked away
-There is a rush of adrenalin here; a sense of urgency - the crowd, the need to complete the pilgrimage, etc etc
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| The holy cows on their break |
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Photos : NIKON COOLPIX P300
ReplyDeleteMy cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
Rameshwaram Tour Packages
Hi Ganesh, Thanks for dropping by my blog and the encouragement. Of all my travels, I was amazed by India the most and I plan to return and visit many more places, god willing.
DeleteCheers
Sivakami @ Siva Kay