After watching Dasavatharam, I actually realized the magnanimity of the tsunami that had hit us, (the graphics, which was quite amateur, had nothing to do with this), if it was really that devastating (with boats flying every which way and waves that high) then I feel really bad that I did not fully grasp its impact on the people who lost their lives or a loved one in the tsunami.
Recently on a drive to pondy one of my friends was telling us about this tsunami village, that is right now uninhabited as a result of the tsunami and we decided to drop in there and see the place (since we had very few things to do besides booze). This was actually a small area, of about 2-3 streets and a mud road that ran parallel to the beach. This place looked normal in every aspect except that there were no people living in any of the houses which were all in perfect condition. It was quite a spooky experience to walk into these houses and see clothes, books etc strewn about the floor, you would even find calendars that display the date date as 25/12/04 (the day before the tsunami)!. On one side of the mud road you’d find houses that have taken the full force of the tsunami and have all caved, whereas the other side looks pretty unaffected and the damage to people was probably caused only by the water seeping into their homes. It was quite hard to believe that no lived there, we walked around for some time and explored the place, we found a lot of beer/whiskey bottles lying inside the houses- a sign that the place is now being put to a different use. It was quite distressing to know that all these people have been so cruelly made to vacate their homes, and that they have still not fully recovered from the calamity is evident from the fact that no one has returned even after 4 years.
If you wish to visit this place its on a turning on ecr past mayajaal (there is a board with the name of the village), its called karikattu kuppam (i think), you will find a barricade around 2-3 kms from mayajaal, you need to take a left just before that, if you’ve reached Palmyra resort or MGM you have gone too far. Take this turn and keep driving till you hit the beach. This place may not be too safe after dark, best time would be to go early morning or noon.
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