Just when Bunny starts getting tired of Land, he jumps into waters, literally and figuratively. Ergo, what better place to discover the waters than in the emerald isles of Andaman. Having paid homage to the freedom fighters at the cellular jail and the British ingenuity at the Ross Island and the Chatham saw mill, bunny decided to do something new that cropped up in the shape of a boat ride through the mangroves and the backwaters of the middle Andaman (the second largest island in the main island chain of Andamans.
Chatam Mill in Andaman( Photo: Arun R.S.)
Lush Gardens and Lily Ponds in Andaman island ( Photo : Steve Hoge)
Interplay of the Suns and the Shadows in Andaman
The cruise started from the tiny secluded logging Jetty of the forest department at Rangat and almost immediately it was another world of dense foliage right into the sea growing on both sides through which we were navigating with the interplay of sun and shadow on our faces, fresh sea breeze in our hair, wind driven spray in the eyes and music of the creatures of the forest in the ears. The journey had a dreamseque quality to it with a feeling of having been transported to a Netherlands that is neither land nor water, neither earth nor sky but a world of its own where only the explorer gets to pass by.
Havelock Island in Andaman ( Alliance Pravas)
Jarawa Tribe at Andaman Island
Our destination was Long Island (made famous by Kipling), an island that is now home to the GreatAndamanese Tribe, that once had the run of Andaman group of islands and whose survivors now are reduced to barely viable population of barely 30s. These tribes having been settled on this island still preserve some of their original folklore in terms of music and dance. However it is interesting to note their ancestors once challenged the authority of British on more than one occasion by force of arms for primacy on the islands, though sadly lost to the diseases brought on by the so called civilizing influences.
Fauna in Andaman Sea
Mangroves in Andaman
Long Island also has a quaint plywood factory belonging to the ‘Kitply’ brand. One does get to see here a glimpse of the logging and plywood industry the way they used to be. Nevertheless an industrial enterprise in the middle of the dense forest does come across as a bit of misfit like a Long car placed somewhere in the middle of a field like in the surreal world of Vishal Bhardwaj in ‘Matroo ki Bijlee…’ . Andaman Monsoon forests do have that effect on you that you want to leave them unmolested as a part of our collective heritage. Bunny was happy to know that large parts of Andaman forests were saved from gross commercialization thanks to the vision of one of the former prime ministers of the country.
Thank God for nature Loving Prime Ministers… Bunny Muses…
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