Having planned to visit the old and famous church in Oriyur off the coast in Ramanathapuram district for quite some time, I took the bus at 10 a.m. from Mattuthavani bus stand in Madurai. Actually, I had planned to take a bus bound for Thondi, get down at Thiruvadanai, and catch another bus from there to Oriyur, as suggested by my colleague in The Hindu and a native of Kalayarkoil, Ramesh. But, I never expected that I would catch the the only straight bus to Oriyur from Madurai.
The bus passed through Sivaganga (40 km), Kalayarkoil (20), Thiruvadanai (20) to reach Oriyur (18) bang opposite the St. Arul Anandar (John De Britto) Church complex which houses a higher secondary school and a primary school.
Throughout the journey of 3 1/2 hours, since I was hearing songs from my mobile, I did not chat with fellow passengers and watched the proceedings inside and outside the bus. It is surprising that just 20 km from Madurai towards the east, the topography could change vastly. From the outskirts of Madurai starts a desolate landscape filled with the thorny karuvelam trees and palm trees right upto the coast. Till Sivaganga, there are some industries coming up. Beyond it, the only buildings worthwhile to note are the big and small Roman Catholic churches.
In Kalayarkoil and Thiruvadanai there are two Hindu temples with tall gopuram (tower). And before Oriyur, there is Puliyur where there is a temple for Krishna. It looks like a neat and recent one, with a meditation centre.
Throughout composite Ramanathapuram district (Including the present day Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts), one could see ooranies (pond) dug by philanthropic Chettiars in many of the villages. These ooranies are linked to nearby kanmois (lake) and are the only source of water for the villagers in this "vaanam paartha bhoomi" (land that looks up to the sky for sustenance). But a farmer sitting who was sitting next to me in the bus on my return journey said that though they can look forward to only one crop of paddy in a year by utilisng the monsoon rains, the Thiruvadanai soil is rich and can yield 45 bags of paddy per acre while even in the delta districts, it is 35 bags!?
By the way, the church in Oriyur has a canteen with decent food, charging Rs. 15 for a vegetarian limited meal. For large groups, one should call the canteen (9486040058) beforehand and ask them to prepare vegetarian meals or even chicken biryani.
While the facade of the church is imposing with two towers et al, the many trees in the church complex give the much needed shade from a baking Ramnad sun. But the real attraction of Oriyur is not the church in itself but a tragic incident that happened in 1693 when the Jesusit from Portugal, John De Britto (Arul Anandar in Tamil) was beheaded by a Ramnad king. A small church that lies behind the big one has statues depicting the beheading scene - the evangelist kneeling submissively before a man with a raised sword. This scene and other paintings hung inside the small church are moving, the reason why Oriyur attracts Hindus and Muslims in large numbers more than Christians, says a church staff.
I spent 1 1/2 hours at the church complex which has, besides the canteen, a shop for church memorablia, books, candles etc, unclean toilets (the only sore point about this church), theertham (holy water), locked museum and a closed Information Centre. The shop is open between 6.45 a.m. to 6 p.m. all days of the week, when the church is also open. The entry is throug the side door when there is no Mass.
To Thondi
I was just in time to catch the 3 p.m. bus to Thiruvadanai and from there I took a bus to 18 km- away Thondi, the originating point for most of the Madurai-bound buses on this route. Thondi, which is about 100 km away from Madurai, is the nearest place on the sea for this city, the reason why most of the fish you find in Madurai shops come from this place. It is small and ugly and no different from any other small town of this size in these parts. Every 50 metres or so you'll find uncollected garbage. either in front of shops or houses. If at all it is collected, it is dumped under a 'karuvela' tree, on the branches of which you'll find old plastic bag and cloth fluttering in the wind.
Comparedd to beaches elsewhere in the State, Thondi was a complete letdown. If there were no boats, it could very well be mistaken for a big lake. Without waves, the sea here looks placid.
The only consolation was the furlong-long causeway opposite a naval detachment where a navy boat is tethered at the far end. Markings at the sea-end of the causeway sugggests that navy helicopters used to land here. This causeway is 1 to1 1/2 km away from Thondi bus stand.
The saving grace was the breeze from the sea and the view of the colourful boats from the causeway.
If you are planning a trip to Oriyur, do visit Thondi to know what a typical fishing town will look like and how people have all the time in the world to enjoy life in their own lazy way.
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