Andaman could be ideally called as a jewel in the sea...in the Bay of Bengal...
Situated in the Bay of Bengal as an archipelago between Myanmar and sumatra is a large conglomerate of nearly 570 islands....of these only about 35 odd are inhabited and the rest are innate and natural and uninhabited....
Andaman could well be called as jewel...that elusive jewel found deep in the sea...like a seasoned fishermen searching for that elusive gem braving the winds and deep sea,a seasoned traveller has to brave the heat and humidity,wind and weather,manmade and natural phenomenon to explore and enjoy Andaman...
Beauty begets problem...so is Andaman...Andaman has been sailing in the troubled waters ever since it was discovered...It was Raja Raja cholan who first went to Andaman to establish trade...Seeing Andaman as a wasted opportunity,the cholas left Andaman for more greener pastures and from then on it was in everyone's hand from British ,Japanese ,Portugal and so on...
Everyone would be aware of the role Andaman played in the history of our Independence...that black days....that black waters(kalapanni).... Suffered...All of us must visit at least once that historic cellular jail in our lifetime... Which embodies our struggle...which enlightens the crafty British in making the gullible morons of our country to orchestrate the most heinous crimes on our own freedom fighters...
The latest of the disaster was the Tsunami in December 2004...the telltale signs of that leftover scar of tsunami still there as a monument...lot of cultivable lands were inundated with giant waves of water on that day. . ..and they fail to move away..still remains as a permanent blur or scar just like that cellular jail.....still those cultivable lands are inundated with that sea water,, soggy ,salty marsh land which lies as a barren landscape in the beautiful Andaman....except for that telltale devastation of Tsunami...
Buildings that ought to have gone for housewarming function on the next day of tsunami are still there in a old dilapidated condition in a soggy marshy land ...standing as a testimony to the colossal devastation...
Andaman was in my bucket list ever since the trip to Kashmir and Sikkim was successful...Having soaked in snow and marvelled in mountain..I want to be marooned in sea.. And Andaman is the ideal location for being left in water from which you can't escape easily..... Water..water...water...everywhere ..you can go to any island and get soaked in water...not only the sea water but also the barley water,which is cheap...no tax as in Pondicherry..
Liquor,petrol and diesel are tax free in Andaman...you can soak in sea water and bark and bash in barley water... No qualms..no issues..just pure fun and frolic...
Nearly 60% of Andaman is forests...all kinds of timber are over there... Coconut trees and betelnut trees are omnipresent..not a metre could be travelled without sighting a coconut or betelnut tree...rubber plantations and banana and spices make the rest of their plantations...
Andaman could be a nice destination for honeymooners...Serene and azure waters,pristine and enchanting beauty,solitude life, clear blue and black skies,all adds up the glamorous and amorous side in their lives .. Forgetting the people around them,they soak in love ,cuddling in waters and locking their lips for hours and slithering their hands all over the curvaceous body and immersing in pure unadulterated love, totally oblivious of the surroundings and all adds to the enchanting beauty of the Andaman...I felt i missed honeymoon in Andaman...
Having zeroed in on Andaman this summer,i googled and acquainted with my friends and doctors who toured Andaman...I said we planned for 8 to 9 days trip to cover the length and breath of Andaman...
Everyone was beleaguered and put a pensive look at me...8 days? Nothing except water..you will get bored...I said that's what i want and proceeded with that and contacted an operator in Andaman...He too was bemused..not needed sir..no one would go to north Andaman except a few Bengali's..out of 100 tamilians ,only two would opt for it..it is too much of a distance and tried hard to dissuade me from embarking on a tour to north Andaman...
Andaman is divided into north,middle and south Andaman....
Most of the tourists would get satiated with the waters of south and middle Andaman...few would venture to north and little Andaman... Little Andaman,still far south to south Andaman is not easily accessible...it would take another five to six daysin a jetty or helicopter,which would eat up all your savings,.. .so we decided to leave little Andaman..
I asked for a customised tour to cover north,middle and south Andaman...
But it all reinforced my unqenchable thirst.....added to it,my son too was not interested.. But they let my way and took my sides and on landing in Veer Savarkar international airport,we headed straight to Diglipur in north Andaman...
The journey to diglipur was arduous...it took one and half days to reach diglipur...First stop on the first day was at jirkitang,a tribal reserve forest area....... From there,we have to cross nearly 50 kms of tribal reserve area...only with the convoy with the police in front and behind in a scheduled time daily...only four trips are allowed per day ..the original tribes of Andaman, Jarawas and onge,who came from Africa long long ago reside there...
While most of the tribes have tried to come to mainstream and mingle with the general public,these Jarawas are the most resistant and the most hostile and violent of all six to seven tribal community to mingle with the public...
They don't wear dresses, eat pork,and kilangu and fishes...their sacred animal is deer...
We were fortunate to accost few Jarawas on the way...most of them seem to be violent..with bow and arrows.. Their eyes spew anger and venom on seeing us...
On our return journey,saw a herd of deer's and slowed it to click a photo...all of a sudden,a Jarawa jumped on to the road and tried to block us...being a regular driver,the driver just didn't stop and passed around him...no one should slow or hurry,stop,pose or shoot photos or give any eateries to tribes..all are punishable with seven years
Rigorous imprisonment...I was really astonished to see every bit of those 50 odd kms being travelled slowly and steadily with no horns and without any overtaking... ..all the 200 odd vehicles assembled in the check point at the said time and the convoy moves like a beeline of ants moving slowly towards their destination...
After that convoy,we headed straight to mud volcano by crossing two river streams in a ferry...during Tsunami,here mud erupted up to 15 mts height and it took litres and litres of water from fire engine to douse the mud...still there is some seismic activity and mud erupts there continuously.. After a host of scientist studies,a transformer has been erected and current is being produced from that seismic activity...
We stayed in Rangat village that night..planned to start to diglipur by 5AM...when we woke up by 4am,astonished to see the bright skies.. By 4:30 am,sun is out of the woods and bright sunshine by 5AM...life starts by 4am there and sun is under the woods by 5pm and gets completely dark at 6pm...
On the way to diglipur, we saw three beaches..Aamikunj beach, where olive Ridley turtles lay their eggs by December and January.. During that time,the beach is usually closed in the night..
Next stop is at Morci dera beach,another beautiful beach with clear waters...Next,we headed to Dhaninallah mangrove beach...
We had to trek for nearly one km through the dense mangrove forests to reach the beach..mangrove forests are the typical forests in salty beaches.. The roots,leaves and stem everything gets adapted to the salty conditions and we could see all the insects,crabs and fishes of different hues and sizes to everyone's amusement...
After a heavy breakfast,we travelled for another two and half hours to reach diglipur...At Avies bay resort,took a speed boat to Ross and Smith island...after an half an hour ride in the clear dark waters, we reached that island...Spectacular is what i could say...
We were jettisoned off in a sandy bar..and on either side of that bar are beautiful beaches..the turquoise blue waters and the emerald green waters on the other side with the visibility of the waters was a stunning and a beholding sight..
One could swim in the waters for hours and since the tides are not menacing and the depth of the waters is only up to the neck for deep into the beach and with two to three lifeguards at their position,anyone could swim and sway and dance and play in the waters...for nearly three hours,that island was ours..no one was there other than the lifeguards..
That sandbar is quite distinct between two beaches...during high tides,the sandbar gets swamped in water and disappears and during low tides,the pure crystal white sandbar reemerges and gives us a soothing and alluring experience..that is why everyone would be evacvated before 4pm...as the sun sets,the moon rises,tide swamps and sandbar disappears....a well cherished moment after a difficult and taxing journey....we moved from there with a great satisfaction...
Next day ,on our return to portblair,we went to baratang limestone caves...we travelled for about 45 mts in a sped boat through the dense mangrove forests...
Nature is at its best with stalactites,stalagmites and halicitites forming a distinct characteristic shapes like lions paw,golden hues,and so many shapes and sizes...Although not big as Borra caves in vizag,this Baratang limestone caves finds a unique spot in dense mangrove forests..
Having soaked in the beauty of the caves,we missed the convoy in the junglghat by 15 mts and had to stay in the check post for two and half hours for the next convoy time..killed the time by playing cards and striking poses in that hot humid weather...
Next we went to chitiya tabu beach for sunset point...we had a beautiful view sitting in that beach...although it is not classical sunset as in kanniyakumari where the sun sets in the sea,here it usually sets under the woods,behind the trees but it is still very beautiful...although,the purists would question and say it as a pseudo,it was a beautiful sunset point ..
Next day,out trip was to Northbay island and Ross island....the back of twenty rupees note has northbay island printed on it. The tall coconut trees,with beach and lighthouse is the North bay island.....The best corals and reefs are in northbay island,the other spot where you could find it in India is Lakshadweep... The most famous corals are in Australia....next to it is the corals in northbay island...
The Government is trying to preserve this great underwater animals...swimming is strictly prohibited as it could damage corals and reefs...
We went in a glass boat and saw beautiful corals and fishes up to the depth of 6 to 8 mts....then sea walking in the middle of the island to explore and enjoy the corals and fishes and touch and feel it....great fantastic experience..every one of us had fear whether we could make it as there would be severe ear pain and respirstory difficulty when you go deep and deeper in the sea..
But we all made it and enjoyed the corals and fishes.....
Then moved to Ross island,which was the capital of the British during the preindependence period..it epitomises the lavish and luxuriant lives of the British rulers ...now the ruins remains...there was tennis court,bakery,bar,colossal buildings,
Engineering marvel and everything and the British enjoyed the lives amidst the struggle of our freedom fighters in the cellular jail...From the top of Ross island with the binoculars,they could see the movement of our impoverished people languishing in the cellular jail...when the British and Japanese left,we destroyed the island and now only the ruins remain....
Next day,we went to Havelock island in a catamaran which travels at 12.5 nautical miles for about two hours...it is home to the best beach in the Asia...Radhanagar beach...and the world's fourth best one..with tall coconut trees and crystal clear water and sun playing hide and seek,swimming and playing and enjoying the beach is a treat to everyone...
All over the Andaman, the waters are crystal clear and fantastic...tides are less..and enjoyment is universal....
Next morning,we went to scuba diving, waited with bated breath...customary signatures about pros and cons...after a 20 mts training with aaa,eee,ooo,,was taken into deep sea with nose pinched,a fiberoptic like laryngoscope was given and asked to bite it...and asked to take breath only through the mouth...
With great difficulty and throbbing pain in the ears and with near death experience, enjoyed the corals and fishes under 12 mts deep...more than the corals,it was an achievement that was fitting...
Then went to elephanta beach for other fun activities like snorkelling and banana ride and jet skiing...finished off the Havelock island in kalapatthar beach with a hired two wheeler....
After that we went to the Havelock jetty to catch the ship to porblair so that we could go to another beautiful island,Jolly buoy...but the nature's fury was that the ship got cancelled and we were all locked in Havelock for that night till next day's ship with no room to stay...we had to fight with the ship authorities for nearly three hours and at last got a nice stay in the sea facing four star beach resorts that day...but had to forego our jollybuoy island trip...
Instead,we went to cellular jail...the epitome of our freedom struggle...and had a guide who went through the events and happenings of the cellular jail which would bring tears in our eyes....
The cellular jail is architectured with a spokes in the wheel arrangement...there were seven spokes with a central module or cell...from top of the centre every event in all the seven spokes could be watched..
One ,six and seven spokes have been preserved as a monument and the rest had been demolished and made it a GB Pant medical college hospital...
Each spoke has ground floor,first and second floor...each floor has 42 cells..total it was said about 680 odd cells...
There was one special cell...Veer savarkar cell,a barrister who finished law in England, was placed inside that cell.....it has two layered gate and his cell was in direct eye contact with the CONFIRMATION CELL..here,all the freedom fighters who were awarded hanging by ropes would be put up...the British wanted the fighters to die by themselves rather than by hanging...it was a psycholigical torture...
But that great man,veer savarkar,was a very bold man and he survived there for twenty years before being let off...
The British officials,who revelled in Ross island,could see through the binoculars the happenings in the Jail from there...
In the evening,after the sun sets,the black waters surrounding the jail,would engulf whoever tried to escape from that jail...hence called as kalapanni ..
With deep pain and heavy heart,hearing the sufferings of our freedom fighters ,we moved to some of the best museums and finally wound our tour with wandoor beach and mahatma Gandhi international marine museum and some shopping...
An unbelievable tour cut short by time..
Had great memories...
