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Wonderful Architecture of Velankanni

Are you wondering about the leaning towers and curved pillars of Velankanni??! Gotta be some architectural marvel. eh?

Well I am really sorry for the misunderstanding that I caused you. They are not leaning towers or curved pillars. They are just an optical illusion or rather a faulty image. No, they are not edited.

I did this trip to Velankanni a few years ago when I had only my camera phone which happen to be my favourite camera till date. I already stated that fact in my old posts in which I showed you, my 3.2 mega pixel travels. From Tanjavur, I travelled to Velankanni with the same camera phone. That phone camera created this funny illusions when I clicked in a hurry.  The actual structure looks like this.

Not so lean towers

So lets go and see some decent pictures from the trip.

Welcome to Velankanni Church

Welcome to Velankanni Church

The first thing that anyone would notice is the beautiful architecture and the predominant white colour of the buildings which gives the place a more divine feel.

Grand Architecture of Velankanni

The town is home to a significant Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to God in the name of Our Lady of Good Health, Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health.

Grand Architecture of Velankanni

The architecture gives it a kind of European look.  But behind this white divine look, this church has a story of survival to tell. And many sad stories of the people who lost their life during the Christmas Tsunami.

It was the year 2004.  Tsunami struck along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean. In India, the most affected place was Tamilnadu.

Location of Velankanni

You can see the location of Velankanni, in the map. Velankanni was badly hit during that tsunami. It was a Sunday and it was Christmas time. There were a lot of people in that church, that morning. Though water did not enter the shrine as it was built on high ground,  the receding waters swept away hundreds of pilgrims who were on the beach.

But now things are different.  They rebuilt everything. Everything looks beautiful now. A new life has started.

Beautiful Church at Velankanni

Beautiful Church at Velankanni

Pilgrims are coming in large numbers. Various prayers are offered. And the place is well landscaped and looks beautiful.

Beautiful Church at Velankanni

The Catholic Basilica devoted to Our Lady of Good Health is popularly known as the “Lourdes of the East”. And Velankanni is home to one of the India’s biggest Catholic pilgrimage centres. Pilgrims offer various kinds of prayers.

Very dedicated offering

I saw some very dedicated prayers being offered. People walk on their knees over the walkway spread with sand all the way around 500-600 meteres, maybe more than that.

The path

The starting point

And the destination

It was a very interesting trip to Velankanni.

There are some more pictorial memories from the trip.

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A compilation of failed and funny shots. Hope you have enjoyed the journey to Velankanni.

This is in response to Show your World, a monthly event hosted by a fellow travel blogger/expat Yulika of TinyExpats.com

Show Your World

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