Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu

Call it the “Ghost Town” or the “Lost Land,” when 50 years ago a cyclone wiped it out, but either way, Dhanushkodi has an unorthodox charm about it. Dhanushkodi, which translates to “end of the bow,” is situated in the south-eastern tip of Pamban Island of Tamil Nadu, nearest town being Rameshwaram.

Just as the waters of Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal merge here in many hues, Dhanushkodi is where legend, faith, and macabre recent history mingle to form a skein of emotions as you gaze across the severe, sere, landscape.

Till the disaster, Dhanushkodi was like any other Indian town. It had a port for traffic to and from Sri Lanka; it had a railway station, a post office, hotels, the usual urban accoutrements you will find in any town of that vintage.
Today, all that is left of the town are skeletons of what was, and a splattering of hutments occupied by the fishermen families who continue to live there.