Nagapattinam / Velanganni (Tamil Nadu) - Jan. 27th, 2007

From Tanjore I decided to travel all the way east to the Bay of Bengal near the Couvery delta, being a very fertile farming area. The Nagapattinan district here was the worst affected part of Tamil Nadu when the 2004 Tsunami struck, where 7,000 people lost their lives and thousands more were left homeless.
I visited the beach at Nagapattinam, and being Sunday, some families enjoyed strolling along the seashore. Big chunks of concrete buried in sideways...remnants of what perhaps was a promenade or walkpaths to the beach. It was very windy so children were enjoying flying their kites. I was thinking how vivid still the memory of the tragedy must be for all those people, so I didn't mention it to anyone -- just felt for such extensive devastation and the sorrow in some of those faces.
I stayed at the St. Joseph's Pilgrim Guesthouse in Velanganni, right next to the Roman Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health. There were thousands of pilgrims visiting the impressive white neo-gothic complex of buildings. The Pope visited it on 1962.
Tragically, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were here when the Psunami struck in the morning after Christmas 2004. At least, 2,000 people were believed killed and 120 shops around here and the beach were washed away.
The church itself was untouched. But after visiting it, I can see why. The construction of it is totally solid, built to last. The construction of the living quarters of the mayority of people near the beach areas is very poor and light, and many of those huts can easily be washed away with a few buckets of water. Poveryty reigns in those areas. Very sad reality!!