A working day.
Location – Boss’s cabin in office
The temperature in the room is high…too much work…not many people…too little time. Just then the phone rang…“Home Calling” ~the ringtone played – main rang sharbaton ka tu meethe ghaat ka paani…some songs just get stuck to my head and end up being the ringtone~ …Fortunately the boss had just walked out for a call. I am irked at the timing of the call…don’t really prefer calls from home during office hours…and with that exasperated expression on my face, I pick up…“Hello! Kya hua mamma? ~thunder~ Jaldi batao…I got work”…Mom from the other end…“Month end trip to Andamans…bas yahi batana tha” ~hangs up~
And thus it was planned.
Then came the day when I packed my bags in 3 hours ~that is quick for me considering the procedure involves making of a list, placing each stuff systematically in the bag, rechecking the list and then finally putting up a lock~…It was a welcome break…continuous office work with no other entertainment whatsoever had bogged down my energy levels…the smile from my face ~the only thing constant about me~ had begun to fade.
Pack bags ~check~
Carry laptop ~check~
Tickets ~check~
Documents and Cards ~check~
Wallet ~check~
Mobile and charger ~check~
The cab came at 3:00 am…bumped in…airport…food…pictures…flight…through the clouds…over the water…unknown anxiety.
Veer Savarkar Airport, Port Blair
Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair. There you go!
Collected the luggage and walked out…the Make My Trip representative stood there with a placard in his hand…I just saw him and smiled and he pointed his hands towards where there were other guys standing…all from the same travel company…TSG Hotel ~madame luggage udhar rakh do aur who saamne lagi bus mein baith jao~…like a well-disciplined girl I kept the luggage in the corner and walked towards the bus…I have loved the first seat ~window~ ever since I was in school. So, as could be expected of me I placed myself there as a matter of fact and right! Since all the others were couples or in a batch of two…I got to sit majestically in a seat for two, all by myself! Through some tops and turns and bright yellow painted walls we reached the TSG Grand…jumped down…giggled and walked towards the reception. There waited a charming face to welcome us…Alida D’Souza…a happy young girl…our tour manager for Port Blair.
Exchange of greetings with those around and then straight to the room…from Delhi’s cold to Port Blair’s heat…it was a sudden change. The AC had some problem, the water kettle some other, the taps some more…but the mind wandered in a different world altogether…such that these petty everyday issues didn’t seem worth the attention. Got ready in a jiffy…had lunch and then off again in the bus ~on the same seat of course~
Location – Andaman Water Sports Complex
No water sports for me. Let us just clarify it right here so that I don’t have to repeat it again and again – I am not ‘very’ fond of water ~blah blah~ I am not a water person ~blah blah~ I am scared of water! Ferry ride to Ross Island.
Location – Ross Island
Once the capital, this island now only bears the rude testimony to that fact. Left behind are remains, of Power House and grumpy faced tanks…the deer played along, posed for pictures ~with everyone except me~ and the peacock amazed us with its marvelling blue. There was a guide too, cannot recollect her name. She carried in her pocket a tiny bird which pecked time and again. Too lost in my own world as always, I did not focus on what she was speaking. The heat gave me a headache which only the breeze soothed. Coconut water, Kulfi and then on the ferry once again…view of the lighthouse which Kumar, our dear tour escort, showed us and informed that this was the same lighthouse one can find on a 20 Rupee note. Back to the Sports Complex…boarded the bus…off to Corbyn’s Cove Beach.
Location – Corbyn’s Cove Beach
Too tired to enjoy it, I stood in a corner munching bhelpoori…a while there and then to the last tour destination for the day – the Cellular Jail.
Location – Cellular Jail
The heart-rending sound and light show…took me back to those books on history and politics that I have been reading of late…my mind got stuck to that red light in the corner which was once where Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was confined. The show got over and the queue rushed out. Tired souls.
Some distant voice ~TSG TSG TSG…yeh bus jayegi TSG~
Got on…moved…reached…dinner…sleep.
Day 2 started in a jiffy again…got ready…breakfast and off on the bus to the Cellular Jail…this time to touch and feel those narrow confines where brave souls fighting for our motherland were incarcerated so as to dwindle their strength and enthusiasm…gory details! And then the queue rushed out again…amazing coconuts are sold outside…mine had a tankful of coconut water! The heat was kind of bothering us…pretty women put on their ‘seemingly’ jute caps to keep their beautiful faces in shade…how much that helped is questionable though. The bus then moved on to the Anthropological Museum.
Location – Anthropological Museum Camera tickets…Pictures of pictures of Jarawas!…smiling Nicobari kids…sample huts…and jewelleries made of shells and corals…Toicho (Anklets)…Cherebele (Waist girdle)…more pictures…awful heat…God-sent pedestal fans…Kumar guiding us back to the bus. Location – Some fruit market I don’t remember the name of Everybody jumps down…the health conscious buy fruits…the not-so conscious buy Lays and cold drinks! Everybody jumps back in…and the noisy vehicle starts moving.
Location – Jetty Happy faces awaiting a journey on the ‘M. V. Makruzz’…need I say more! Well…for those who haven’t yet had the privilege to board the Makruzz…here is a brief description of the journey…we formed a queue in the scorching sun…kids were just too eager to get in…not that the others were not! And then men in uniform came out and we got in one after another…the cruise was beautifully decorated with balloons matching the festive spirit…nobody got the desired seat such that 5 members travelling together had to sit in 5 different rows…Kumar got shouted at…I don’t think he was the one responsible for it in any manner…but then we are ‘Indians’ and thus ~jugaad~ worked. Exchange of seats ~uncle please aap udhar baith jaoge…heyy could you please exchange your seat with me…my wife is sitting here…so please~ …a few ‘ummms’ and a few ‘errrs’ and everything settled…picture perfect. And then complimentary snacks were served. But the cruise takes back what it gives…whoa…one after another…almost everybody vomited! Kind and well-mannered staff helped people out running from this end to that end…you give back what you take…a universal rule!
Location – Havelock Jetty
We rushed out like children do when the school bell rings and the classes get over! Beautiful view…‘Welcome to Havelock’ as it read. Ever heard of ‘Love at First Sight’! Another place, another tour manager…another charming bespectacled face with a husky voice welcomed us with a smile…thus we got to know Mohammed…and again the bus…I get my favourite seat for reasons well known by now…he comes in…very promptly but subtly explained the knick knacks…told us the bus would stop at a liquor store just in case anyone wanted to purchase anything and then laughed it off saying the bus would stop at an ATM which is close to a liquor store…a multi-purpose halt! Guys they are all up for it…almost always! After collecting the ‘desirable’ the bus moves on to TSG yet again…it is TSG Blue this time…beautiful property. The swarm gets collected in the dining area…students waiting for dear Professor Mohammed to start his ‘lecture’ on how to behave in the next 2 days! He did that and did that well…and then we got our respective rooms/cottages…after all the graceful vomiting activities undertaken by the travellers and imbibing the knowledge that the island was “a gen-set run island where the hotels had a choice of either having air conditioners or geysers and that everybody preferred the former” we tired souls slept like a log…got up…got ready…had dinner and then off to Radhanagar Beach.
‘Prof.’ Mohammed had said it was safe to walk to the beach at night if one wasn’t scared of the dark…and believing him we did. And it was totally worth it! TOTALLY! Think about being all alone on a beach listening to the sound of the waves…you can witness God’s magic…the peace that transcends your soul is unmatchable.
Early Morning at Radhanagar beach
And then we turned back…to the lofty room…the magic doesn’t fade as yet. Day 3 too started very early…this day brought in new friendships…the gentle smiles turned into conversations…getting ready…then breakfast and then the bus…’friendship bands’ that symbolised that the boats had to take us to the Elephant Beach and not to Neil Island…the expanse of greenery…not much of life…yet so alive.
Location – Elephant Beach
Hopping on to boats and reaching the Elephant Beach…not that I saw any elephant there! New friends…new bonds…tried going as far as possible in the water…neck shoulder deep…shuddered and panicked…rushed back to the shore…glass bottom boat…under-water life…~chal na sea walking karne…kuch nai hoga tujhe…hum hain na~…yet not convinced…those who went down lived one of the best moments of their life as they said…scorching sun…tanned skin…back on the boat…then the bus…~random observations~ ”have you played with dolls?” “yes, why what happened?” “you look like one right now” ~lo~…then the hotel…slept to heart’s content…eyes, fingers, had all swollen by now for some reason I had no clue of…woke up in the evening…got ready…put on a sweater and got out of the cottage…walked around the hotel property…asked out for a walk…couldn’t oblige…conversations with the tour manager…his observation to my dad ~sir aapki beti bahut alag hai~ Strangers are just strange! Plans to watch the sunrise next day with fellow travellers…friends!
Walked to the beach yet again…only if words could explain the feeling…at times loneliness is lovely…walking all alone on the beach…similar sounds of waves…writing on the sand…pouring out the heart to the horizon…shadows…crabs had walked by…those prints on the sand…my favourite part of the entire trip…sitting on the swing balancing the beach and the sky…parents talking to strangers…walking back to the hotel…that cuddly li’l dog who raised its paws to be friends…who said silence couldn’t speak! Back to the room…fast asleep.
Day 4 wasn’t quite awaited as the others had been…I was so lovestruck with Radhanagar Beach that I kept tossing turning on the bed all night but couldn’t catch with a moment’s sleep. Next day morning…rushed to the beach…the sunrise…hidden behind the trees…only if time could stop! Group pictures…back to the hotel…breakfast…check out…goodbye hugs and handshakes…back on the bus…stories of ghosts and demons…then the queue…not for the Makruzz…thankfully may be! It was the ‘Coastal Cruise’ this time.
Location – Neil Island
A hotel at Neil Island
‘Welcome to Neil Island’…where you see the amazing hues of blue and green…pure water…pristine. Another place another tour manager…Kevin…cute face…and that is it…the grumpy expression he had while talking to a fellow traveller didn’t quite mesmerize me…not that he was there to mesmerize people! Anyhow, my observations about people are never ending.
Location – Bharatpur Beach
No bus this time. Sad. Dumped in cars we set off for Bharatpur Beach…gathered up some courage and got the ticket for speed boating…Kamal and Ellora…beautiful couple…so very friendly…so very cute…went with them…thrilling. Sitavra don’t think I have forgotten how desperate you were to push me in the water! Complimentary coconut water…~‘free’ has its own charm~
Location – Laxmanpur Beach
Complimentary coconut water was followed by a complimentary lunch. And then we set off for the Laxmanpur Beach. All that you go to see underwater…half of it could be seen just like that over here! Corals…beautiful ones…all over the place. On board the Coastal Cruise yet again…giggling…laughing…chatting…sleeping we reach Port Blair. ~TSG wali bus~ And then TSG…checked in…went out for Pani Puri with friends…slept off.
Day 5 wasn’t that attractive…the thought of going back was sinking in…went to the Fish Aquarium…Sagarika Emporium and then back to the Hotel…~raat ko Gala Party ke paases~
Location – Gala Party (at TSG Emerald)
New Year eve ~Phool maalaon ke saath swagat…literally~ games…our group won every damn thing possible…crazy dancing…dinner…rain dance which we did not participate in…back to the hotel.
Happy New Year!
Day 6…the last day…checked out…breakfast…on the bus…farewell hugs…Kumar you will be missed…we loved you…all of us. Kamal, Ellora, Abhinav, Gitanjali, Sudeep, Chandana, Sitavra, Joy (and his ‘imaginary’ Jarawa wife), the cute Punjabi couple, Mayank and his wife, the decent tall ones, the silent ones…it was great meeting you…it’s great being friends.
Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair…flight…bbye.
We are all back to our respective cities.
And here I am.
~Phir wahi office, phir wahi metro, phir wahi ghar~