The suspension bridge at Punalur town across
the river Kallada in Kerala, South India was built in 1877. It still remains as an architectural marvel. It was built by
the British engineer, Mr. Albert Henry.
The construction took six years for its completion. It has a deck with three
suspended spans. When it was opened for vehicular traffic, people were afraid
to use it. They hesitated even to walk over it as its appearance was unusual.
But the engineer was quite confident about the strength and stability of
the structure. Hence he made a remarkable demonstration to alleviate the
apprehensions of the public. He boarded a country boat with the members of his
family and stayed just below the bridge and arranged to parade six large
elephants over the bridge. The people watched this show of confidence with
enormous enthusiasm and intense interest. They applauded the engineer's faith
in the design and construction of the bridge. They were now ready to travel
along the bridge without any fear. It was successfully used for vehicular
traffic for several decades. Recently a concrete bridge was constructed
parallel to the suspension bridge and the original bridge is now preserved and
protected as an archaeological monument, as a marvellous masterpiece of the
great engineer, Mr. Albert Henry.
He had full faith in the perfection of the design and construction of
the structure. This deep faith enabled him to stay below it with complete
confidence while six elephants marched over it.
God expects us to possess strong faith in His power and providence. His
concern for man is infinite. He is our loving and living Lord. He will not
abandon us. He will protect us and lead us to victory.
.................................................................................................................................
© By Dr. Babu
Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts
Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former
Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally and Leo. S. John and Neil John,
Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507,
Kerala, India.
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