Andaman Diaries

It was intended as a short ‘Leave Fare Concession’ break, after-all. My first thoughts on a holiday to the Andamans with parents was one of going there because thats the farthest you could go within India for the amount that I could get from my organisation :D. However, I was compelled to change my views when the travel researcher in me had taken over and I had begun looking up for places I could cover. Be it the 2 day stay in Port Blair or the 2 day hiatus that was Havelock, it was total bliss.

Port Blair, to begin with, was a visit to the several museums and shops to pick up local sea-shell based souvenirs for people back home. Well, that was not all. We did make it to the famous Cellular Jail (Kala Pani) which is now a National Memorial for all the right reasons – a place which would easily wake up the patriot in you. The visit to the prison was all the more relevant since we were there on the day India became a sovereign republic (26th Jan). The Light and Sound Show at the prison which has been conceptualised as the old Banyan tree over there explaining all the brutalities it had witnessed before its own eyes would move even a stern rock solid heart. Visits to the Corbyn’s Cove Beach (where we picked up some fabulous conches, sea shells and stones) and the Ross Island were memorable too. The latter is now under the control of the Indian Navy. I don’t remember seeing such several herds of deers freely running all around me ever before; and whats more we could feed them with our own hands!

Just when I thought that I had seen enough of aqua at Port Blair, came Havelock Island – a place so idyllic that it can only rightly be called Heaven. A small island village which was untouched by polluted roads and minds; where newspapers and magazines were a luxury and internet connectivity unheard of; where a single mobile network tower caters to the entire village, and the television cables would not be functional for most parts of the day. For someone from maddening metros like Chennai and Mumbai who thinks that the world comes to a standstill if I don’t have web connectivity 24*7, having to cycle for about 15 minutes to reach mobile tower even to just phone the car driver was indeed quite an experience. We fell in love with the endless mangroves and coconut trees and betelnut trees and had only the birds and a couple of local people from the resort for company. The days begin at about 9 am and end by 6 to 6.30 pm – and they don’t really give a damn for the night life thats absent for them!!

The beaches are as pristine as they can get. The Radha Nagar Beach was voted as the most pristine beach in Asia by the Times magazine, a couple of years back – deservedly so! The Kala Pathar Beach, Elephant Beach (where I attempted a li’l bit of snorkelling to experience arguably the best under-water life and coral reefs in the world) and the Vijaya Nagar Beach with some awesome sunrises/sunsets, white sand and several hues of endless aqua marine were a visual feast.

At the end of it all, we were truly and totally lost in the islands’ beauty - if only we could pause the time clock a li’l longer during those 4 days....:-).

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Indeed!!