The last stop on our road trip is the famous Ramanathaswamy temple. We left Kayakumari at 730 am. After 7 hrs on the road in dusts and heat we arrived Ramswaram . The myth is that Hindu God lord Rama built a bridge across the sea to Lanka in order to rescue his wife Shiva from the evil king Ravana. The place is the closest point to reach Sri Lanka.
I have to say the outside environment of this temple is quite poor. On the way we saw the Pandam bridge which is quite impressive and would be a very scenery train ride.
The visit to Ramswaram was very humble and unforgettable. For some strange reason I didn’t see the sign saying non Hindus are not allowed in the centre of the temple. I went along with Neeraja and Sita. Inside the temple this girl about age 14 approached me with a big smile said hello to me. Later on when we bumped into each other again, she was leaving with her family. She came up to me once again with a big smile said goodbye. Throughout the trip strangers showed so much kindness to me, most of them would smile and get out of their way to help me.
The most memorable part of my temple visit was sitting down at the the entrance of the center shrine with Neeraja and Sita. The priests received our names and prayers, he walked right inside the room brought our offerings to the god Shiva. Neeraja said she prayed for my marriage and my brother find a good job. The priest brought a garland from the inside of the temple to me and put around my neck. I felt really humble and had tears in my eye. It was definitely a special moment for me to be accepted and treated as the same. When we walked out, the goat and cows outside the temple came to me start eating my garland. I decided to leave the flower to the goat, it needs the flower more than I do.
To end my road trip I would like to dedicate a few lines to our driver Murugesan. He is a very kind soul had the best smile. He has two children and been driving for Neeraja for 15 years. He owns a rickshaw and that is how he makes a living. This trip he borrowed the car from his friend and gave up family time during Diwali came with us on this trip. I felt quite sorry that he had to sleep in the vehicle throughout the trip. When I asked him where he would sleep at the night, he pointed a sofa in the hotel reception . I felt quite sorry for him, coz in NZ the driver will get lots of rests and good accommodation when the are on tour. In India, life is hard , people are seem to at ease with not having much or if any comfort. He never complained about anything on this trip and looked after the three female passengers very well. He loved action movies, when we passed this road where his favorite action movie had a scene there, he asked if I could pls take a photo of him and the vehicle to bluetooth him the image. He looked really happy on the picture, I sincerely hope he has a good life, his children get good education and luck is always on his side when he is on the road. God bless him.
- I would never get to experience all this without the puppeteer group and the lovely Neeraja and Sita. They took such good care of me and made sure I experience different aspects of this amazing country to the fullest.
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 