Andaman Islands, INDIA

I had a very mixed perception of the Andaman Islands before I went there. I knew three things about the Islands : It was home to the infamous Kālā Pāni, known for the cruelty dished out to the political prisoners  imprisoned there during the British Rule in India. I distinctly remember Mohanlal licking the shoes of a British officer in the movie. I remember wondering, this is a different kind of punishment - a psychological one. The second was with regard to the tribes who lived there, who wished to be isolated, but had not been allowed to. Apparently, they had been around for over 20,000 years, living as hunter-gatherers and had no interest in any contact with the outside world. In fact, they reacted violently to any form of foreign attempt to enter their territories. The third ofcourse, was the 2004 Tsunami that devastated the area. It was perhaps one of the first times I understood the extent to which nature can destroy all that she creates.  Interestingly, some of those tribes had ancient knowledge passed down to them of the coming of a Tsunami. They managed to evacuate to higher lying areas, thus escaping the wrath that followed (insert extended story here)

Cellular Jail, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Andaman & Nicober Islands

Source & more details about the tribes : http://blog.visiit.com/the-tribes-of-andaman/

By the time an opportunity to visit this Island came my way, it was already 2013. Almost a decade had passed since the calamity. What happened in 2004 was a natural calamity, an act of nature, nobody could have done anything about that. But what happens after such a calamity, that is our responsibility. Unfortunately, a lot of the inhabitants of Nicobar Island were still displaced, living in refugee camps. Most of them lost their land and house, they were eaten away by the sea. They had nowhere to go and ten years down the line, they were still living in camps. I was curious as to what kind of an experience it would be, a paradise island, riddled with a troubled past.

There is a peculiar beauty to nature that no amount of human failures can ever overshadow. Andaman Islands is a testimony to that. So much sorrow and suffering the people in these lands have seen, yet the waters and skies are abundant and rapidly transforming with all the colours and textures that you could possibly attribute to them. We religiously experienced a unique sunrise and sunset each day. There is so much drama unfolding in these skies, all beautifully complemented by endless waters, mangroves and sands. Our days at Havelock Island passed by lazing on hammocks by the beach on some days and diving on the others. We then moved base to Neil Island, a tiny island with some very unique spots. The island itself is very small and didn’t manage to attract a large crowd during our visit. Try getting to the Natural Bridge, which is essentially a large hole in a rock. Our favourite stop though, was the less known spot on the mainland, famous for alligators called Chidiya Tapu. To anyone traveling in these parts, I would suggest, get your hands on a map of the island you’re in (google maps will suffice), and rent a bike or cycle to go explore. No amount of reading and recreating travel blogs can give you the thrill of being the explorer yourself. Pack a day bag with a few snacks, a hammock or a bed sheet to lay on, a good book, a set of portable speakers and ofcourse, plenty of water to drink! Hop your way through beaches and cliffs all along the island from sunrise to sunset. But always make sure you’re close to civilisation by the time night sets in, especially if you’re low on survival skills in the wild :) 

Most of us who live in overcrowded cities merely experience weather and are at most times inconvenienced by it. We lack the opportunity to interact with nature in a way that amazes and humbles us. We have been forced to disconnect from the emotional impact that the visual reality of nature can invoke in us. We seek solace by being absorbed in the technologies we have created while sitting in little boxes looking in to one another. We ignore the plastic on the roads, the smog in the sky and the pollution on the roads, all for the hope of finding something or arriving somewhere one day. Some of us do find it someday and some of us don’t. But ask anyone who has sat down to soak in a sunset on the beach at Chidiya Tapu in Havelock, and they will tell you, for those brief moments, they had everything they desired. Yet, a nagging thought made me wonder, would those survivors from nicobar, displaced and living in refugee camps even after 10 years stop to think the same?