Do You Believe????

As a kid I heard this "bridge" from India to Sri Lanka called all sorts of names - it was called "Adam's Bridge" and   "Rama's Bridge" - in Hindu lore we read that the brave Hanuman constructed this "shoal bridge" in order to rescue Sita who was taken to Lanka by an evil Ravana.  It's called also "Ram Sethu" and many more names.  It spans a 12-mile gap between Lanka and India - the deserted colony of Danushkotha (once occupied by the Portuguese, I believe) - only facades are left from their days. 

Today, many are talking about building a bridge between India and Sri Lanka.  Others are talking about TOTALLY dredging the shoals or shoal islands so that large ships can pass through without going around Sri Lanka.

I am not a Hindu fanatic, nor am I an reactionary....but I do know that whenever we humans try to CHANGE what is already provided by nature - we pay a great price.  I am afraid what "dredging" or bridge building could do.  We humans know how to mess up a place really greatly, and I am afraid.

For now, I post the photos of "Adam's Bridge" or "Ram Sethu".  In another post I want to write about the THEN mystical island of Delft Island off the northwestern tip of Sri Lanka - I was so, so fortunate to have a teacher named Mr. Cyril Ekanayake who (in his late 60's when he taught me) as a boy had been taken all over the "island" (Lanka, Ceylon) by his father.  I will never forget his stories about Delft Island and the wild ponies.....more on this later.  For now - "Adam's Bridge" or "Ram Sethu"

Abandoned facades of Danushkota