Manalkaadu beach, Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka - Devastated by a Tsunami, Sri Lanka.

An abandoned well.

Rebuilding on a ruiined site.

Abandoned village.

The cemetery on a sand dune and a new settlement two Kilometers inland.

How can one imagine a tragedy of such proportions. Losing one's house, losing one's village, losing ones family, losing friends and relations, losing all the well tended trees - what a tragedy. Life starts again and for a newer generation the associated stories will become legends.

Manalkaadu beach, Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka..

Sandy beach at Manalkaadu.

Catumaram with the day's catch.

'Ipomea biloba; growing on the beach.

A fisherman's hut close to the beach.

Manalkaadu beach, Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

The track to Manalkaadu beach.

Houses destroyed by the Tsunami.

A view from  the beach.

The Tsunami reached nearly two Kilometers inland from the shore and literally wiped out the dwellings in its path. The fury of the Indian Ocean was felt here in its full force on the Eastern shores of Sri Lanka.
The fury of the Tsunami wiped out the residents close to the beach. Similar occurrences are  recorded in tales and legends going back more than two millenia. The shorelines facing the eastern parts of the Island and of the Indian sub-continent have these tales. Prosperous trade emporia like Vallipuram in Sri Lanka and Kaverippooom Pattinam in South India were wiped out in a matter of minutes. Indra was the God of the Oceans and the destruction of Kaverippoom Pattinum in South India was attributed by the populace, to a failure to hold the annual festivities - called Indra Villaa - to this God. This is related in the Tamil Buddhist epic 'Manimekalai' written about the 2nd Century AD.

Birds seen on the way to Manalkaadu, Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

Black-headed Ibises

Painted-Storks

An Egret in flight

The road from Vallipuram temple to Manalkaadu beach is littered with small ponds where swarms of beautiful birds come to feed. I took these pictures there in December 2011.
Video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ben1xU2fU-A

Environs of Vallipuram Temple, Point-Pedro, Sri Lanka.

Area in front of the 'Gopuram'

Palmyra tree with branches in its trunk.

The road to Manalkaadu.

Egret near a pond roadside.

In the battles between Veera Saivaism and Vaishnavaism, Saivaism triumphed in the Jaffna Peninsula. This is one of the few Vaishnava temples left behind. There is a 'Konesar' temple at the Thondamanaru junction but in a very low profile. The Vallipuram temple has a lot of devotees and an annual festival is held on a grand scale.