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ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Of waves and worship

Abounds in miracles and legends, says SOMA BASU

PHOTOS: SOMA BASU

UVARI The ruins on the shore and (below) the Kappal Matha temple

At first sight, Uvari (also spelt Ovari) comes across as a sleepy coastal hamlet with a few coconut trees and huts of fishermen along the Bay of Bengal. It can easily be dropped from your travel map. But there's a lot of history associated with the place whose architecture is dominated by white steeples of churches.

Uvari is actually famous and celebrated as a place of miracles. Barely 40 km from Kanyakumari on way to Tiruchendur on the coastal road in Tirunelveli district, this is a place which St. Anthony called home, and old folks speak of its legend even now.

Well connected by buses, it is best to do Uvari in three parts. One way to spend time is, of course, at the beach. But when you disembark at Uvari, the first major building that meets your eye is the St. Andrews Church. It is a lovely monument carved out of rock. I walk through the village passing an STD booth, a post office, a police station, a ration shop and a few small eateries before I reach the church. An occasional vehicle passes by and, despite the kiosks doing moderate business, the area is enveloped in silence.

This part of downtown Uvari is known as Bharathar Uvari. It is considered a Roman Catholic pilgrim centre and is visited by people of all faiths from the southern States, Pondicherry, Mumbai and Sri Lanka, especially during the two festivals in January and June.

Sea of hope

Opposite the church, you can find a row of boats, where fishermen dry their nets and women dry fish. This part of the beach can be quite dirty. Most villagers depend on the sea for their livelihood and have built their tenements here, as they feel secure by the thought that they are living under the watchful gaze of St. Anthony.

It is said that four centuries ago, Uvari had a small harbour and the locals would trade with incoming ships. The story goes that once the crew of a Portuguese ship traversing the high seas near Uvari contracted cholera. As desperate sailors feared death, a sculptor on board began chipping a block of wood and slowly carved an image of St. Anthony. Soon a miracle occurred and the entire crew regained its health. When the ship docked at Uvari, the statue was installed on a huge rock inside a hut in the hamlet. About six decades ago, a proper church was constructed with the same statue of St. Anthony holding infant Jesus in his hand on the altar.

A visit to the church can be interesting even if you are a non-believer. If you sit with a local, you can listen to numerous stories of miracles. Or else you can walk along the coastline watching the deep green sea washing the shore gently. The sound of lashing waves and the changing colour of the sun falling on the waters is riveting. As you walk further away, the beach gets cleaner, the sand whiter and the crowd thinner.

A little short of a kilometre, you encounter yet another delightful piece of architecture — a modern church that is built in the shape of an aeroplane placed on a ship. Called the Kappal Matha Church, the original church for St. Mary was damaged due to sea erosion. The new one was built in 1974 facing the sea. The waves rolling near it give an impression that the ship-shaped church is sailing on the blue-green waters.

The legend

There is an interesting story attached to this place too. There is a custom among the village maidens to sleep in the nunnery on September 1, because long ago a bright light surrounding the Selva Matha statue was seen for over an hour in pitch dark.

The third stop in Uvari is the Nadar Uvari, equally famous for an ancient Shiva temple, Swayambulingasamy. Remnants of gate arches carved out of rock and an abandoned temple, a little away from the main temple, make for a picturesque frame. You can even walk down here following the shoreline from the Kappal Matha Church. There is not much that you can actually do here except for sitting on the shore and gazing at the horizon. Of course, those who are religious can offer puja at the temple.

How to get there

Uvari is 40 km from Kanyakumari, 50 km from Tiruchendur and 72 km from Tirunelveli railway station.

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