Travel Tales with Apurva

When my family was first planning out our year-end trip to explore South India, I had a very particular request- for a location.

I am coming only if the travel itinerary includes a visit to Rameshwaram. 

I know it sounds very odd, but I had my reasons. At that time, I had read “Wings of Fire” by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. And I simply wanted to visit the town where he lived, dreamed, and where his wings found the courage to grow and later fly. Knowing we were going to explore south of India, I wasn’t going to skip this destination. 

What I wasn’t aware of in my DELULU reader mind was that it is revered for its religious and spiritual significance.

Image source- Tamilnadu Tourism

The Rameshwaram Temple, also known as Ramanathaswamy Temple, is a Jyotirlinga temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva in India. Taking the nagmani darshan during the early hours of dawn is supposed to be healing. 

Once we arrived in the city during the evening, we rested for the evening. Our tour guides helped us with planning the visit schedule for the next morning. 

While I was visiting the temple, we were accompanied by a priest who guided us on the history, spiritual practices, and manners to observe when inside the temple. If you are visiting, I would highly recommend asking your tour leader if this is a possibility. This saved us a lot of time and confusion as to which is the nearest entrance for darshan, what is allowed to be taken inside the temple, especially if you wish to do Abhishek.

One thing that did strike me most was that, of all the prominent cities I have visited, this one seemed the most tolerant and respectful to all religions, too. 

Apart from this religious and spiritual significance, my aim was still to explore the streets and places that I read about in the book!! But since the time difference was quite significant, that hope was shattered. The place has changed a lot since the 1930s till the 2020s. 🥲

Yeah, I know part of life and all. I accepted it. 😒

But I also knew the Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Memorial is open to the public. At the memorial, you can see the beloved People’s President’s life story and replicas of the contributions he made to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) during his time in those organizations. 

Image source- Tamilnadu Tourism

Another attraction of Rameshwaram is the train journey through the Pamban bridge. The train journey, though a short 2.2 km ride through the new bridge, does have some awesome views and a serene feel to it.

Image source- Tamilnadu Tourism

So, yes. I think I made the right call to put my foot down to have Rameshwaram in the travel itinerary. 😌

Looking back now a bit older and wiser, I think having taken darshan at the Rameshwaram Temple, even though I didn’t understand the significance it held, has probably saved me from some tough times. 

And as for the wide-eyed dreamer Apurva, she did get to see all that she read in the books, even if it was a bit changed.

I do wish I had taken more photos. But there’s always a second visit for that! ☺️