Oh my God, this is so difficult. How can you breathe inside water? Did you say only through the mouth and shut the nose? No no I can’t. Don’t force me. WOW! It’s so beautiful inside. Lovely corals, amazing fishes. What a beautiful world below water. Hey I have done it ! My first attempt at Scuba diving at 53 years of age was successful, that made me see a world that I had never seen before. I had 2 adventurous wishes in life: Scuba diving and Para gliding. So when I got the first opportunity to attempt scuba diving, I went for it.
A close friend in the Indian Navy posted in the Andaman Islands was retiring this year. He and his wife called us up in July, and emotionally blackmailed us: If you guys can come to Andaman in the next 2 months, we will be able to ensure you a safe and memorable vacation. Otherwise be ready to experiment with travel agents. I asked my family to choose a free week in the next 2 months, and looked at train reservations available. We zeroed in the third week of September and informed our friend in the Andaman. On his confirmation, the fury of ticket bookings started, and we got the best deals. Meanwhile our friend prepared a wonderful itinerary for us and sent us the estimate. All bookings done, we started getting excited by every passing day, trying to keep healthy, so that there are no last minute forced cancellations.
On 16th Sept night, we boarded the train to Chennai by Garib Rath express. A surprise was waiting for us at Chennai. We got a first hand experience of lack of drinking water there, when the hotel we had booked for the night, cancelled our booking because it did not have water. Stranded at the station we immediately booked another one and checked in for the night. Early next morning we left for the Airport. The 2 hour flight gave us a mesmerising bird view of the Andaman Islands, with garlands of white sand beaches. We landed at Port Blair and were led to our friend's house, which was the best place of stay in the city.
17th Sept: Our itinerary began with a visit to the Cellular Jail that afternoon, which made us realise the hardships our ancestors faced to free India from the Britishers. I had a weird feeling of being inside one of the cells, and going through the torturous regime. But what annoyed me the most were the Indian tourists who were clicking pictures with the statues of chained freedom fighters there, some even posing like whipping a freedom fighter chained to a log of wood. How can this generation be so apathetic about the freedom struggle, I wondered. Well, they were honeymooners, probably living some other moments, and did not know even an iota of what they were doing. The Light and Sound show in the evening made us feel as if we were walking with history. Even the sudden lashing rain shower could not stop our spirit, and we stood drenched watching the entire show with awe. The evening ended with lots of artefacts shopping for family and friends back home. That night it just poured, with heavy rains continuing till dawn. We just prayed for the rains to stop, so that our trip doesn’t get washed out.
17th Sept: Our itinerary began with a visit to the Cellular Jail that afternoon, which made us realise the hardships our ancestors faced to free India from the Britishers. I had a weird feeling of being inside one of the cells, and going through the torturous regime. But what annoyed me the most were the Indian tourists who were clicking pictures with the statues of chained freedom fighters there, some even posing like whipping a freedom fighter chained to a log of wood. How can this generation be so apathetic about the freedom struggle, I wondered. Well, they were honeymooners, probably living some other moments, and did not know even an iota of what they were doing. The Light and Sound show in the evening made us feel as if we were walking with history. Even the sudden lashing rain shower could not stop our spirit, and we stood drenched watching the entire show with awe. The evening ended with lots of artefacts shopping for family and friends back home. That night it just poured, with heavy rains continuing till dawn. We just prayed for the rains to stop, so that our trip doesn’t get washed out.
18th Sept: The morning was a bit sunny, as we got up early to take our first ferry ride to Havelock. While the shores of Port Blair faded behind us, rocking us up and down on sea for more than an hour, the white sand shores of Havelock appeared out of the horizon. Soon the mangroves also became visible from the jetty, and we were driven to the best place of stay at Dolphin Resort, just 15 metres away from the sea. Not able to hold myself back, I stepped into the waves not to miss the high tide. My family joined me too, enjoying the view, till the water started receding back.
Stepping out of the hotel, there were 2 scooters waiting for us to take us to Kalapatthar beach. A lot of broken beautiful shells were waiting to be picked and enter our bags, to be ornamented as necklace and anklet by my daughter.
After having lunch at a roadside eatery, we drove our scooters to our next destination Radhanagar beach. No wonder this is ranked as the seventh best beach in the world. White surf bathing the white sand with every wave, seemed like a mermaid coming out of the sea. Not able to hold myself any longer, I simply splashed into the water. Some honeymoon couples struggling to overcome their fear, got inspired on seeing a white haired guy act like a kid in the water. I helped them with some simple techniques of enjoying the water, and then there was no looking back. They went on a roller coaster with every wave, trying to hold on to each other. After spending more than an hour in the water with a setting sun behind us, we came out only to see the sky full of vibrant sunset colours. But hovering black clouds behind cautioned us to leave, as we were reminded of the last Port Blair night. After an evening stroll on the hotel beach, followed by a warm water bath, we went for some experimental food to a local joint. Both squids and fishes were mouth watering. That night again, Rain God let his hands loose, drenching every part of the island.
After having lunch at a roadside eatery, we drove our scooters to our next destination Radhanagar beach. No wonder this is ranked as the seventh best beach in the world. White surf bathing the white sand with every wave, seemed like a mermaid coming out of the sea. Not able to hold myself any longer, I simply splashed into the water. Some honeymoon couples struggling to overcome their fear, got inspired on seeing a white haired guy act like a kid in the water. I helped them with some simple techniques of enjoying the water, and then there was no looking back. They went on a roller coaster with every wave, trying to hold on to each other. After spending more than an hour in the water with a setting sun behind us, we came out only to see the sky full of vibrant sunset colours. But hovering black clouds behind cautioned us to leave, as we were reminded of the last Port Blair night. After an evening stroll on the hotel beach, followed by a warm water bath, we went for some experimental food to a local joint. Both squids and fishes were mouth watering. That night again, Rain God let his hands loose, drenching every part of the island.
19th Sept: Waking up early morning, we took a ferry to Neil Island, and to our surprise found our couple friends from Radhanagar beach joining us too. A lot of chit chat made the journey time of 1 hour look smaller. Neil was a beautiful place with lots of coconut and beetle nut trees, and narrow winding roads, most of them with pools of water from the last night rains. We did not take the scooters here, and preferred going around in a cab. The cab driver first took us to Bharatpur beach famous for water sports. My family was not keen enough, so instead we just splashed into the water, wading into the sea for about 100 metres. Entering the low tide phase, the waves were soft and smooth, and gave us waist deep water that far. We had the time of our life soaking ourselves for more than one and half hours, and tanning ourselves to the hilt.
After a sumptuous lunch at a nearby eatery, we drove to Laxmanpur-II beach. We were recommended to hire a guide here, and we got a young one just past his teens. Not expecting much, what he showed us was beyond our imagination. Different types of corals and marine life including a touch-me-not and sea cucumbers too, opened our eyes wide, till we reached a spot, where we could not count the number of beautiful fishes, with every possible colour combination. It seemed like aquatic environment was more colourful than the land. A big wow escaped our mouth, when our guide disclosed that all four of us were actually standing on a brain coral of 6 ft diameter. Other tourists were waiting, so we had to leave the spot, as our guide led us to the Natural Bridge about 30 ft high. We could not believe that this was a huge dead coral too, but as we went closer, we realised how high the waters would have been to make a coral at this height. Inside a cave like cavity in the bridge, lay a sea snake in hibernation.
Mesmerised and still in awe, we rushed to our next spot Laxmanpur-I to watch the sunset. Although the clouds did not allow the sun dip till the horizon, but the colours of the sky made up for it. I walked on the stones till about 50 metres, till someone signalled that it’s time for high tide. A warm cup of tea concluded the evening. We packed our dinner and came back to our cottage, for a good rest.
20th Sept: At dawn, a yellow bird sat on our window sill and whistled, as if asking us to follow. I got out to see it sitting over the railing of a flight of iron stairs going down. The bird led me, as I climbed down the stairs, till it whistled at me again. The last flight of stairs was a wooden one with one step broken. Probably the bird wanted me to be careful. Getting down the last flight of stairs, I stepped on the sunrise beach of Neil Island, the Sitapur beach. The rising sun was beautiful, playing hide and seek with the clouds, as I walked in ankle deep water for about an hour. Back to the cottage, we had a wonderful interaction about life on Neil Island, with the care takers there.
It was time to leave as we drove back to take the ferry back to Port Blair. Here we met our couple friends again, exchanged contacts, and promised to visit each other soon. The ferry ride this time was a rough one, as we were going against the waves. The boat rocked and went up and down, with many tourists puking too. Back from the jetty, we drove to our pad in Port Blair, only to be told that we will be leaving in an hour for Ross Island.
The boat that took us to Ross Island was very welcoming, as they showed us around the sea, and also briefed us a bit about the island. But surprises were waiting for us, as our guide Anuradha led us into Ross Island, and made us travel through its history. She criticised the past governments of not restoring the island despite its role in the freedom struggle, and expected that now with renaming the Island after Subhash Chandra Bose, the Government will take some restoration work. Here we found the first British printing press, the Bakery, a Club and a Tennis court, all built in the year 1930. Post independence, the island had faced an earthquake, that split it into two. That was the time when the abandoned barracks that housed over 500 British troops, fell. And then the Tsunami arrived. Ross Island was the first one to face it, took all the impact, and split the tide into two, weakening it, so that it could not impact the much habited Port Blair, Havelock or Neil Islands. There were deers, peacocks and rabbits, mingling with the tourists, as if they were pets. The 3D light and sound show of Ross Island projected on a restored part of the Bakery, was mind boggling. But what really caught my attention were the Pipal trees (Ficus religiosa) that grew on the ruin’s brick walls, and spread their roots all along the walls. The walls that were held by the trees’ roots neither fell during the earthquake, nor got swept away by tsunami. Is this the best example of sustainable housing, I wondered.
21st Sept: We got up early for something more exciting. The same boat that took us to Ross Island, now took us to North Bay, got us into dive suits, and shifted us to an Inflatable boat. As the inflatable boat with us, moved away from the mother boat, we could feel it rocking up and down the waves. After some basic instructions, flippers, and masks making us breathe through our mouth, we jumped into the sea. With the instructors, we saw the water world for the first time, beautiful corals, colourful fishes, all swaying by the waves. The water world seemed more colourful and serene. After about 30 mins of coral watching, we returned back to our world above water. It was our first scuba diving experience. And trust me, it felt like we had met a challenge. On the way back our boat pilot showed us the surrounding landscape, that is printed on the old Rupees 20/- paper note.
Our afternoon errand started with a visit to the Marine Museum, where we saw the different categories of shells. I had earlier heard the word ‘Cowrie’ in a Hindi proverb ‘Do kauri ka aadmi’. But it was in this Museum, I got the exact meaning of it, and and why it was used in the proverb. Cowries used to be traded as currency because of their uniformity, colour and shine / glaze.
After soaking in all the knowledge from the Museum, we drove to a Mangrove beach at Chiriyatapu Island. Our guide here was a Marine Biologist, who took us around to understand the relevance of Mangroves on sea shores and river estuaries. Her explanation was so simple yet scientific, that we realised how trees adapt themselves in different environments to survive and spread.
22nd Sept: The last leg of our trip took us to a wonderful initiative started by NWWA on converting ‘Waste into Wealth’. A Naval Officer’s Wife supervising the operations explained how they are converting the wet waste into manure both in natural and machined form, dry waste into different utility products, sanitary napkins into ash, and giving the rest to Municipality for shipping to recyclers in mainland. The best part of the initiative has been their success in making households segregate waste at source, and even wash and dry the dry waste before handing over to the collectors. The way they have engaged and empowered the local women and youth in the whole process, is highly inspiring.
We got so overwhelmed by all the exposure, knowledge and information, that we got pretty late to reach the airport. Thanks to our host there, who had got us checked in early, and we ended up being the last ones to board the plane. As our flight took off and kept climbing, the islands became smaller, and then slowly faded behind the clouds. But the indelible memory that it had left in us, kept us immersed in the mesmerising beauty of the beautiful islands we had just visited.
Some Observations and Learnings :
Although the history of the Islands dates back much before the Britishers, but the visible history is only from the remains of the Britishers. Post 1971 war that gave Bangladesh freedom from Pakistan, refugees from Bangladesh were rehabilitated in the Islands. These families lived a happy life primarily on fishing, coconut and beetle nut plantations and bit of vegetable farming. The seas have plenty, therefore there was no competition, and hence no poverty. While their families have moved into the third generation, over the years people from other states have also moved into the islands, with business interests, bringing in Tourism in a big way. Port Blair now represents a mix population, but with majority Bengalis. Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and Neil (Shaheed Dweep) Islands have almost 95% Bengalis. The islands come under the combined Defence command, with Indian Navy in primary control, because of the Island’s strategic position in the region.
But the most striking aspect is the level of crimes and lawlessness in these cities. They are almost NIL. You can just leave your vehicle with the keys, leave you bag with all valuables, and even forget the way to your house/hotel comfortably. How can this happen. Is it because the Indian Navy is in command, or the Police is very effective? The reason we found out was beyond all this. The local community has created a system of self-governance. If any case is reported, the local community find out the culprit and simply banish him/her away from the Island. Even the family of the culprit supports the decision of the community. Moreover, similar professions come together, estimate the total business potential for the profession in the island, and then divide it equally among all the professionals. The objective is to keep everyone professionally engaged, so that there is no poverty and unemployment. We saw a live example of this, when we were briefed by a guide about the facilities there. And when we decided to take a guide with us, he asked the others, that who has got less tourists today, and directed us to him. When I asked him the reason, he said that we have found that if each one of us gets 7 tourists in a day, we can earn decently. So since he had done six already, he led us to the guide who had done just three till then. To add more, we found this behaviour among all, eateries, water sports, bike rentals, cab drivers, etc. None of them ran after tourists to grab them, instead they divided the tourists among themselves. In a competitive world, here we found how collaboration wins over competition, in a self governed society. I thought to myself, had Gandhiji lived till now, he would have been happy to see his Hind Swaraj in action, at this little island.
The two big reasons behind communities in these Islands living together in harmony and collaboratively, are according to me: a) Very little proliferation of Internet and TV, that has messed up our Indian society; and b) No Politics, being an Union Territory.
Ross Island (Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep) was first inhabited by Britishers in 1930, and they constructed a Printing Press, a Bakery, a central Library, a Club House and Tennis court, besides their houses and army barracks. This island faced a major earthquake that split t into 2, also faced the infamous Tsunami, protecting Port Blair from it. But the walls of the British architecture stood tall and erect. The reason was not the quality construction material, but the roots of Peepal (Ficus Religious), that grew over the walls, and clung their roots all over them, pinning them down to the foundation. During my growing up stage, I have always heard that Peepal damages brick mortar construction. But here Peepal did just the opposite, saving the construction from destruction. Isn’t this the best and most convenient form of ‘Sustainable Housing’?
The Mangroves at Chiriatapu had their own history and adaptability. Inside saline water, the roots could not get enough oxygen to complete their food cycle. The Pneumatophores with their roots looking up just above the high tide to absorb oxygen, the Rhizophora Mangle with its roots propping the tree up above water, and acting as additional legs (some curved, some bent like a knee) to support during waves, all appeared just out of text books into a real world. The best part was that they grew in their own zones, defined by their distance from the water, and slowly claim land from the sea.
I was quite keen to know how do they spread their seeds, in these turbulent waters. In this harsh environment, mangroves have evolved a special mechanism to help their offspring survive. Mangrove seeds are buoyant and are therefore suited to water dispersal. Unlike most plants, whose seeds germinate in soil, many mangroves seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree. Once germinated, the seedling grows either within the fruit, or out through the fruit to form a ready-to-go seedling that can produce its own food via photosynthesis. The mature seedling then drops into the water, and floats over great distances. They can survive and remain dormant for over a year before arriving in a suitable environment. Once the seedling is ready to root, its density changes so the elongated pod now floats vertically rather than horizontally. In this position, it is more likely to lodge in the mud and root. If it does not root, it can alter its density and drift again in search of more favourable conditions. All this knowledge was so overwhelming, that we did not realise that we were standing among sand flies for more than an hour.
Much is still left to be seen, observed and get immersed in, as the islands seem to hold much of our history and directions for a sustainable future, within their volcanic rocks, corals and Tribes.
