THE EMERALD ISLES - ANDAMAN: DETOUR
Air India Flight landed at Veer Savarakar International Airport by 11.30 AM. After arrival, we were greeted by our tour coordinator Raju, with a placard prominently displaying our names. He took us in his car to Ramakrishna Mission Guest House on the downhill of the cellular jail cliff opposite to Mahatma Gandhi Park. We have booked a suitable accommodation through friends from Port Blair Customs House. The guest house, because of its location on the sea, having a beautiful lush green lawn in front and the cellular Jail at a stone’s throw distance, is much sought-after accommodation in Port Blair. Practically there is no beach as the sea is very deep near the guest house which is founded on lower portion of the cliff and there is a concrete pedestrian path with stainless steel fencing for protection of the visitors, who used to stroll in the serene, quaint and calm walking track, often greeted by the effusion of sea waves dashing against the concrete wall to drench the walkers. We were thrilled and excited with a feeling as if walking on the captivating blue sea.
In the evening, Raju our tour coordinator met us in the sprawling lawn of the guest house and apprised us with the tour itinerary .As per the itinerary ,next day of our arrival we have to conduct a cruise safari of the nearby islands mainly viper Islands and Ross islands,3rd day for local visits –Gandhi Park ,Anthropological Museum ,Fisheries Museum, Marine Park and Cellular Jail to enjoy Light and Sound show inside the cellular Jail ,4th day for Havelock cruise and 5th day to visit mud volcano through the sensitive homeland of the Jarwa tribes of Baratang island on Andaman Trunk Road .The Andaman archipelago like glittering jewels ,casually scattered on a velvety blue carpet of the Bay of Bengal , is otherwise known as the Emerald Isles ,provide an enchanting setting refreshingly different from many other places, that one would ever find . Despite its horrid reputation during the colonial period, Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, about a group of 570 islands this day, are of the most sought after tourist destination of India.
VIPER ISLAND - This small island was the site of the Jail where the British used to imprison convicts and political prisoners and presently the ruins of a gallows atop a hillock stands as mute testimony .Our guide also informed that the penal island was infested with deadly viper snakes and the convicts were thrown in the island to be bitten by the poisonous Russell vipers and meet their end uncared for. The tiny island was used by the British to inflict the worst form of torture and inhuman hardship on those who strove to free the country from the British yoke. The jail was abandoned when the cellular Jail was constructed in 1906.
ROSS ISLAND - Once the seat of British power and capital of these islands, it stands now as a ruin of bygone days. The British administered the Andaman archipelago from this island 3 km east from central Port Blair. The historic ruins are a tourist attraction .Named after marine surveyor Sir Donald Ross, the island was first discovered by him for guarding the Port Blair harbor. Now deserted, the island had all modern amenities such as bazaar, bakery, stores, water treatment plant, church, tennis court, printing press, secretariat, hospital, and cemetery, the ruins stand as the mute testimony. We got sadden by going through few epitaphs in existence in the cemetery at the untimely death of young officers and children at their tender age due to inhospitable climate and tropical diseases .During the uprising of 1857, the British had to flee to Ross Island and settle there for about 90 years .The Japanese took over the Andaman and Nicobar islands in 1942 during the second world war, lords over for next 3 years. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose hoisted our national flag atop the Government building during his one day stay in this island. Now the island is named after Netaji to commemorate his historic visit as the head of Azad Hind government.
CELLULAR JAIL - The capital of Andaman and Nicobar Isles, Port Blair is a poignant reminder of the many sacrifices of freedom fighters. The Cellular Jail here is perhaps one of the most infamous remnants of India’s struggle for Independence. The main motive of establishment of this prison was solitary confinement of the prisoners far away from mainland at a distance of about 1100 km. There were 7 wings spreading from a single tower which served as the intersection and watch tower for the guards to keep watch on the inmates. The wings radiated from the tower in straight lines, much like the spokes of a bicycle wheel and built in a manner that the face of each cell only saw the back of the cell opposite it. Many freedom fighters were incarcerated in this prison colony including Veer Savarakar and Batukeshar Dutta .The jail, with existing 3 wings, is now declared a national memorial, is a place of pilgrimage for all freedom loving people. There is also a museum and an art gallery. After taking an emotional round throughout the jail, we joined the light and sound show in the evening and were nostalgically enchanted by the impressive narratives on the immortal saga of the heroic freedom struggles brought alive in a moving sound and light system by the sonorous and emphatic voice rendered by iconic film stars Amitabh Bachan and Om Puri .
HAVELOCK ISLANDS - Alerted by Raju, our tour guide, we were ready by 6 AM for the voyage to Havelock islands from Phoenix Bay Jetty. This jetty bears historical significance due to the sad incidence which shook the British Empire as its Viceroy Lord Mayo was assassinated by one exiled convict Sher Ali Afrid on 8.2.1872.Lord Mayo who was returning after inspecting the British penal colony and finalizing the draft Regulation of Port Blair in the evening to board the Vice royal Yacht, Sher Ali appeared suddenly from his hiding under the garb of darkness and fatally stabbed the viceroy who bled to death in the lap of Lady Mayo. Sher Ali was condemned to death and was hanged on the gallows of Viper Island prison on 11.3.1873.
Havelock islands is 45 km from Port Blair ,home to Radhanagar beach, one of the most popular beaches in India, also awarded the best beach in Asia by Time Magazine .After 2 hours ship journey, arrived at Radhanagar beach and strolled leisurely in the captivating white sandy beach, a must visit site . During the voyage met the captain Mr.Ganeshan of the vessel –M.V.Green Ocean and enquired about the epithet Kalapani for Andaman. To this the captain replied that due to fathomless depth of ocean near the cliff on which the cellular Jail is founded, the water appears very dark, hence the sobriquet KALAPANI.In contrast, the waters at Radhanagar beach, are sparkling blue and devoid of any wave action .There are huge number of activities that one can do like scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, fishing etc. We enjoyed scuba diving putting on oxygen mask and overjoyed to see the beautiful array of coral reefs. The beach is especially popular for couples as it is almost vacant and the serene environment adds to the romance. One can also enjoy elephant rides here .A chance encounter with a local, Nanhigopal Basak, who was peddling fruits on the road side can’t be erased from memory. We enjoyed the big tender coconuts, yet to see elsewhere, full of nectar like sweet water to our hearts content which still linger in our memory. Being inquisitive to know about the island and its inhabitants, got the information that during the Bangladesh war in1970-71 some refugees were relocated in this desolate islands by the Government of India, to populate the extreme marine frontiers as sentinels .we offered one of our lunch packets to the old man as a mark of our gratitude for his affectionate behavior and valuable information.
BARATANG ISLANDS - Last leg of our journey was programmed for the Baratang islands,a must visit site for all the people who are planning their trip to the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago .Our programme was to visit the mud volcano ,lime stone caves and the Jarwa home lands.The cab journey passed through the Andaman Trunk Road flanked by tall trees like Albizzia,Areca,Barringtonia and Rhizospora ,constituting the deciduous forest which is also home to the indigenous Jarwa Tribe. As our vehicle was to move through the protected area, under the Protection of Aborginal Tribes Regulation-1956, our tour operator has obtained restricted area permit from the Deputy Commissioner, Port Blair. Before the prohibitive area begins, the police issued permission for 30 vehicles in a convoy escorting up to the end of the sensitive Jarwa home land with strict instruction not to inter act with the Jarwa people, not to offer anything to them, not to allow them into vehicles and not to smile at them. The Jarwa population is on decline, present number estimated between 280 to 400 individuals. These indigenous aboriginals have largely shunned interaction with outsiders, and many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood. International attention has previously focused on the danger to the tribe from the daily human safaris that taken tourists through the Jarwa reserve on India’s remote Andaman islands, a phenomenon exposed by’ The Observer ‘.Despite of the administrative assurances that the Jarwas would be protected from the prying gaze of tourists, hundreds of vehicles still pour through the jungle every day packed with tourist, whose main purpose is to photograph members of the Semi nude tribe. Members of the poacher’s gangs, many from Burma (390 km) are known to have been regular visitors to the Jarwa territory.
Baratang island is 100 km away from Port Blair .The Baratang island trip brings forward the tropical side of Andaman Islands . After driving ,through the dense evergreen forest inaccessible to many travelers and many people of Andaman, regarded as one of most feared destination stretching 20 km on the Andaman Trunk Road ,the police escort left us free on our journey to a ferry at Middle Straight Jetty ,to cross over the deep creek for our destination the Mud Volcano .After alighting from the huge ferry having a capacity to ferry about 30 motor vehicles at a time ,we proceeded towards the destination .Hardly travelled a kilometer we faced a police check post for verification of identity and vehicle documents .As the vehicle permit has lapsed the police check post informed the officer in charge of the police station by the side of the trunk road. However the Inspector one Mr. Bhubaneswar Yadav from mainland Varanasi proved to be a good Samaritan and after ascertaining my identity to be a retired customs officer having Air Port posting at Dumdum air port, Kolkata and from Bhubaneswar, allowed the vehicle to move after raising a challan for 50 rupees with an advice to the driver to renew the permit on return to Port Blair .With a huge thanks to the friendly police officer we proceeded towards the mud volcano. The mud volcano in the village Nilambur is a nature’s wonder which last erupted in 2015 emitting mud and gas. Gas entrapment funnels are placed at Baratang creek site by Department of Atomic Energy to monitor the Hydrocarbon levels. As there was no eruption and only some clay mounds in huge funnel shaped formations are existing ,we got disappointed and returned back to Port Blair in the evening to the comforting environ of Ramakrishna Mission guest house to prepare for next day early flight to Bhubaneswar.
Gouranga Charan Roul (gcroul.roul@gmail.com)
The author, after completing post graduate studies in political science from Utkal University, Odisha in 1975, worked as a senior intelligence sleuth in the department of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax and retired as senior superintendent. As a staunch association activist, he used to hold chief executive posts either as General Secretary or President of All India Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officer's Association, Odisha for 20 years. Presently in the capacity of President of Retired Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officer's Association, Odisha, coordinating the social welfare schemes of the Association. Being a voracious reader, taking keen interest in the history of India, Africa, Europe and America. In his globe tottering spree, widely travelled America and Africa. At times contributing articles to various magazines.
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