In 1980 and 1981, I worked
two years in Southern India where I had a role of supervising the construction
of 230 Red Cross funded cyclone shelters along the coastline of Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu. As I had to visit Ramanathapuram regularly, a site where we
were building a cyclone shelter, I sometimes visited Rameswaram and from the
tip of the island, would look across Palk Strait where the fabled Adam’s bridge
or Rama Setu made legendary by the Ramayana, joined India to Sri Lanka. On
Wednesday this week I was on the other side, at Mannar Island, and was able to
look back in the other direction. I started looking for further information and found this excellent article below by Nimal
Chandrasena called:
A journey to Mannar and the ‘Dancing
Islands’
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“Imagine being
on one of those legendary islands of ‘Adam’s Bridge’ or ‘Rama Setu’ of the
Ramayana fame! Many centuries ago, this 30 km stretch was a natural bridge
connecting Sri Lanka to the southern tip of India; now, the ocean has
reclaimed its own, leaving only a chain of sprinkled islands. On December 9,
2011, I was standing on the second island of the chain of limestone shoals
between the Rameshwaran Island, off the south-eastern coast of India’s Tamil
Nadu and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. If the
legends and folklore regarding Rama, Seetha, Ravana and Hanuman are to be
believed, this ‘bridge’ is a critical part of the Sri Lanka’s past.
The Indian
Ocean gently lapped my feet; and the warm sand ‘sucked’ at my feet; yet I
walked effortlessly across several small islets, on the second island. Sea
gulls swarmed, and marine life was plentiful. The marks of crabs and worms on
the sand were everywhere, and fish were jumping out of water. The sand dunes
are largely devoid of any vegetation and are mostly perpetually dry, because
the sea is shallow. The setting sun, orange in haze, lit the scene, and the
sea breeze was strong. The sailors, who accompanied us, waited patiently,
giving us time to be ‘sucked in’ by the ambience of the place; and I am glad
that India abandoned the Sethusamudran Project....”
The historical
poem Mahavamsa, compiled by a senior Buddhist monk Mahanama in 5th Century
A.D. begins with an account of Vijaya and his ministers landing on
Lanka-dvipa in 543 B.C. on the historical day of the Buddha’s passing away.
Prince Vijaya and 700 of his followers were expelled by the King (Vijaya’s
father – Sinhabahu, from their Vanga Kingdom, which is West Bengal; present
day ‘Singur’, a town in the Gangetic delta), as a punishment for evil conduct
towards villagers (Mahawamsa VI.34-47). It appears that the expellees, shamed
by half-shaven heads, may have sailed from a Gangetic port, crossed the Palk
Straits, and arrived in a part of the north-western coastline of Sri Lanka.
When the
Vijayan immigrants landed from their ships, they sat down wearied, resting
their hands upon the ground. Since their hands were reddened by touching the dust
of the red earth, they named the region, and the island, ‘Thambapanni’
(Mahawamsa Chapter VII.36). The Thambapanni area, also, called ‘Tammanava’ in
Sinhalese, is clearly located in the Mannar District, although the exact
landing location may never be known.
For many
years, I had longed to see Thambapanni, but it was part of the ‘no-go’
conflict-zone, since the 1980s. The Mannar peninsula, which consists of
Mannar Town, and several smaller townships, including Talaimannar and
Pesalai, were LTTE strongholds and caught in the middle of the civil war for
at least three decades. The area was liberated in 2009.
In December
2011, my wife and I, accompanied by some friends and a retired Brigadier
Hiran Halangode, embarked on a journey to Mannar, to see these historical
areas. Brig. Hiran, of the Gemunu Watch (1 GW), had once been the Area
Commander in charge of security at Mannar during January to July 2000. We set
out to visit ‘Thambapanni’, Mannar and the ‘Mannar Island’, the peninsula off
Sri Lanka’s north-western coastline, on the way to the ‘Dancing Islands’ a
series of sand islands that separate Sri Lanka from India across the Palk
Straits
On December 9,
we travelled to Mannar via the Mannar-Medawacchiya Road (A14), from
Anuradhapura. After a 2-3 hour drive, we arrived at Mannar, and then crossed
the causeway to enter ‘Mannar Island’.
The above Space images were
taken by NASA appears above. Reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk
Strait between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently
named as Adam’s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long. The
bridge’s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made.
Adam’s
Bridge
The sandy
islands, between India and Sri Lanka (see Plate 1), comprise the renowned
Rama’s Bridge (Rama Setu) of Valmiki’s Ramayana fame. It appears that
according to Islamic tradition, ‘Adam’ crossed these shoals in order to stand
on one leg for 1,000 years on the mountain of Samanala (Adam’s Peak) as a
penance for his indiscretion in Eden; hence, the name “Adam’s Bridge”.
The actual
‘bridge’, which is about 30 km long, is a chain of limestone shoals between
the Rameshwaran Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu and Mannar
Island. Geological evidence suggests that the bridge is a former land
connection between India and Sri Lanka. In the Ramayana epic, Rama built the
bridge, with the assistance of the monkey god Hanuman, to allow passage for
his army in the rescue of Sita from the demon King - Ravana of Lankadeepa.
There are 16
sand islands, eight of which belong to Sri Lanka, and the other eight, to
India. Our maritime boundary is at the middle point. The ferry service, from
Talaimannar to Dhanushkody, used to operate through the Palk Straits in this
area, until it was suspended in 1983, due to the conflict.
Brig. Hiran
reminisced about his visit to the eighth island in 2000, accompanied by the
Sri Lanka Navy. On that occasion, he had hoisted the Sri Lankan National Flag
on the island, which marks the end of Sri Lanka’s jurisdiction.
By
mid-afternoon, after some lunch at Pesalai, we reached Urumali beach, where
the Navy has established a small-scale, commercial venture, which allows
tourists to take a journey in a naval craft to see the ‘bridge’ for a fee of
Rs. 600 per person. As part of the deal, you get life jackets, a bottle of
water, and some food. All crafts are escorted by a second craft, with a Life
Saver crew of young sailors.
We commenced our journey at 3.30 p.m., and headed for the second island. The
naval officer’s remark that the sea journey would take 45 minutes in each
direction was a bit off the mark; it took only about 25 minutes in each
direction!
The journey in
the boat was delightful, despite the inevitable drenching one gets, as the
craft moves at high speed (30 knots). It is a must to have your camera well
covered, because everything gets dripping wet.
As far as we
could see, it was just the vast Indian Ocean surrounding us in all
directions, except for the fast diminishing view of the Mannar coastline,
behind us. Then, all of a sudden the distant series of sand dunes comes into
view. One is mesmerised by the approaching vista of the sand dunes in the
middle of the ocean.
We stopped the
boat engines about 200 metres short of the second island, in shallow water
only a metre deep. The sailors then jumped off and dragged the boats onto the
sandy shores, so that we could safely disembark.
Imagine being
on one of those islands! The sand dunes are mostly perpetually dry (Plate 2),
as the sea in the area is very shallow, only one m to 10 m deep in places.
They are largely devoid of any vegetation, except for the very rare seedling
or juvenile plant.
The sand dunes
apparently keep ‘shifting’; hence, the term ‘dancing’ islets. Natural ocean
processes were visibly at play, shifting and rolling the sand from one
location to another. The series of islets was reportedly passable on foot up
to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. Some historical,
temple records found in India apparently state that Rama’s Bridge was
completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 A.D!
Brig. Hiran
explained that during the height of the conflict, refugees used this route to
escape the trauma. People paid good money to be brought in by boats and to be
dropped off at certain points, after which they walked across the islands to
India, probably stopping and resting from time to time.
We spent a
memorable 45 minutes on the island, and enjoyed the little snack while
chatting away, and being mesmerised by the ambience of the surroundings. We
thought the paper bag, in which the snack was provided, was a good idea. But
the styrofoam container which held a small piece of cake was excessive; a small
paper wrapping would have been much better, perhaps with a printed message –
To please return all litter back to the main shore.
At some
shoreline edges, the sand, mixed with some sort of clay, stuck to our feet
and slippers; this could not be washed off, but had to be rubbed off. The
sand was also tinged strongly black with ilmenite, the iron-black,
titanium-containing mineral.By about 5 p.m., we returned to the Urumali
beach. Again, the Navy crafts were efficient; the sailors extremely
courteous. The return trip drenched us completely as the sea was choppy that
afternoon, and the craft, moving at speed, ‘rolled’ with the waves.
Before we
left, we chatted with the Naval Officers, who were doing a fantastic job. Our
feedback, on the ‘food packaging’, was likely appreciated. I felt elated that
our coastline was protected in this way, and the Navy must be congratulated
for the job they are doing. Thank ‘God’ for India abandoning the
Sethusamudram Canal Project!
Imagine what
would have happened if India’s “Sethusamudram Project” had gone ahead. The
somewhat atrocious suggestion was that a “shipping by-pass” should be
constructed through ‘Adam’s Bridge’ by dredging the Gulf of Mannar straits to
allow ships to get across to the Bay of Bengal by a shorter distance.
As pointed out
by ‘Taraki’ (Daily Mirror, October 6, 2004 (http://tamilnation.co/forum/sivaram/041006.htm),
the project would have given India a firm grip on one of the world's most
strategic and busiest sea-lanes. All the Middle East’s oil supplies are
shipped from ports in the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia through the sea
lanes that pass through the Gulf of Mannar and curve off the western,
southern and south-eastern coast of Sri Lanka.
The known
biodiversity values of the straits (i.e. extensive whale and fish populations
and other marine resources) are so important in the region. The environmental
impact of any dredging of the straits to make it navigable by large ships
would have been immense.
Historians,
geologists, and marine scientists have also said that Rama Setu cannot be
considered a man-made entity, in the absence of material evidence. Responding
to this India’s Bharatya Janatha Party (BJP) railed, claiming that 'Ram Setu'
is a sacred structure and any denial of God Rama’s existence constitutes
"blasphemy and an insult to Hindus". I firmly believe that:
“...Epics should be read as epics, not as authentic histories...” (See: http://sethusamudram.info/content/blogsection/6/33/);
therefore, I am glad that the Project has been stultified, largely due to the
politics being played out in India.
Photo caption: Talaimannar, situated at the tip of Mannar
Island, is where Nala Sethu (Adam's Bridge) - the string of coral reefs,
shoals and shifting sandbanks that connect India with Sri Lanka - begins.
This bridge was allegedly built by the monkey-general Hanuman, who then
crossed over from India with his simian army in a series of giant leaps to
rescue Sita.
The above Space images were taken
by NASA appears above. Reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait
between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently named
as Adam’s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long. The
bridge’s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. http://www.ramayanaresearch.com/adams.html
Before we left, we chatted with the Naval
Officers, who were doing a fantastic job. Our feedback, on the food
packaging’, was likely appreciated. I felt elated that our coastline was
protected in this way, and the Navy must be congratulated for the job they
are doing. Thank ‘God’ for India abandoning the Sethusamudram Canal Project!
|
Imagine what
would have happened if India’s “Sethusamudram Project” had gone ahead. The
somewhat atrocious suggestion was that a “shipping by-pass” should be
constructed through ‘Adam’s Bridge’ by dredging the Gulf of Mannar straits to
allow ships to get across to the Bay of Bengal by a shorter distance.
As pointed out
by ‘Taraki’ (Daily Mirror, October 6, 2004 (http://tamilnation.co/forum/sivaram/041006.htm),
the project would have given India a firm grip on one of the world's most
strategic and busiest sea-lanes. All the Middle East’s oil supplies are shipped
from ports in the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia through the sea lanes that
pass through the Gulf of Mannar and curve off the western, southern and
south-eastern coast of Sri Lanka.
The known
biodiversity values of the straits (i.e. extensive whale and fish populations
and other marine resources) are so important in the region. The environmental
impact of any dredging of the straits to make it navigable by large ships would
have been immense.
Historians,
geologists, and marine scientists have also said that Rama Setu cannot be
considered a man-made entity, in the absence of material evidence. Responding
to this India’s Bharatya Janatha Party (BJP) railed, claiming that 'Ram Setu'
is a sacred structure and any denial of God Rama’s existence constitutes
"blasphemy and an insult to Hindus". I firmly believe that: “...Epics
should be read as epics, not as authentic histories...” (See: http://sethusamudram.info/content/blogsection/6/33/);
therefore, I am glad that the Project has been stultified, largely due to the
politics being played out in India.
Thanks to the Sunday Times Sri Lanka for permission to use this article.
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