Where every sight is beautiful
On our visit to the Andaman islands, Subhas Chandra Bose Island, formerly known as Ross Island, was our last stop. It was worth every minute spent on the island. I’d say it was complete paisa vasool for me — meaning, I got my entire trip money’s worth in the 2-hour window of time spent on that island. And I am left thirsting for more.
We hopped on a ferry for an approximately 10-minute ride from Port Blair to Ross Island. We jumped off the ferry and into a strange world — a world where deer roamed free, where the forest has reclaimed the space that belonged to it, and where palms held their heads high and watched over us like sentinels of the island.
The first gasp from me was when I sighted all those deer. The place was teeming with spotted deer and all of them seemed utterly friendly. Some of them looked like they wanted to strike up a conversation with us.
After meeting and greeting some of these cute fellas, we hired a buggy to drive us around the island. We were on a limited time window. We had to gather at a designated location in an hour for the famous light and sound show.
The buggy ride was fun. The drivers doubled up as guides and pointed to landmarks all over the island. They talked about how Ross Island was ravaged by the Japanese during the second world war, by an earthquake, and by the tsunami of 2004. In spite of repeated attacks by humans and by nature, Ross Island stands proud and bears witness to all that it has seen and endured.
As we drove uphill in the buggy, I gasped often and begged the buggy driver to stop for me to click photos. I was not above jumping off the moving buggy to capture all that I could. The whole thing felt rushed. I wish we had more time. There we so many ruins of old British and Japanese buildings. They looked beautiful with the vines and tree branches that had grown all over them. Reclamation — the forest winning over man-made structures. What a sight it was!
The ride uphill was dotted with a generous sprinkling of spotted deer. I tried to talk to them and even addressed a baby as Bambi. That cracked up my buggy driver. Bambi seemed to like the name too. He actually looked up when I called out 🙂
We arrived at the top of the hill. Our buggy driver told us we had twenty minutes to visit the lighthouse and get back to the buggy. I am telling you now — twenty minutes is absolutely not enough! Arrive early on the island. Reach the top of the hill faster. Do something. Anything. But make sure you have more time to walk down to the lighthouse and back. Seriously.
We walked down a series of steps and gasped often as we descended. The palms at artistic angles, the rays of the ‘getting ready to set’ Sun streaming through the trees, the glorious colors of the sea, and that impossibly stunning lighthouse! I was so overcome by the beauty all around us.
We could not walk up to the lighthouse. We had to stop at a small viewing platform. I settled down there, staring out into the sea, enjoying the gusty sea breeze, wondering about the lives of the sailors, the British officers, the prisoners who were brought to the island, our freedom fighters, and so on. It was a heavy and heady moment rolled into one.
And just when I thought Ross Island couldn’t get any better, there was a deafening roar in the sky. Two Indian airforce fighter jets streaked through the air, one from the right and another from the left. They crisscrossed each other above my head and sped away into the horizon. I screamed with the sheer excitement of hearing that high-decibel roar, the speed with which the jets cut through the sky, and the unbelievable coincidence of being at that exact spot at that moment in time. It is hard to capture my emotions in words. I thought I would explode with the joy and excitement of it all.
Sitting there at the tip of the island and watching our fighter pilots in action preparing for an aero show filled my heart with pride. Our own real-life mavericks were in the air, superbly manning their fabulous aircraft, and guarding our skies. Having heard the heart-rending stories of our freedom struggle earlier in the afternoon, the sight of India’s defence prowess on display re-ignited our spirit of patriotism!
Everything looked amazing. Everything felt right.
Reluctantly, led by the rays of the setting Sun, we returned to our buggy and rode down to watch the light and sound show. Apparently, Ross Island has no dearth of ‘how to wow an innocent tourist.’
While we waited for the show to begin, one of the guides on the island came along and told us that there were 550 deer on the island. We learned that the lady is a self-appointed guardian for the island’s varied fauna such as deer, squirrels, bulbuls, eagles, and so on. Someone told us that she is a squirrel whisperer and has named a lot of the island’s squirrels. She calls them by name and they respond with the same level of enthusiasm and love that she showers on them. It was amazing to meet someone like her.
The light and sound show was spectacular. Sitting under a clear black sky dotted with countless bright stars, we listened to the narration of the Indian freedom struggle and all that was endured in the Andaman islands. We were again reminded of how precious our freedom is.
Too soon, it was time to leave. No one is allowed to stay on Ross Island and thank heavens for that. The island remains clean and un-touristified!
Ross Island left me breathless. I need more time on that island. I need to spend time staring at the ruins and at the creeper-like trees. I need to stop and chat with the deer. I need to meet the squirrel whisperer. I need to sit down and stare at the vast sea and the beacon of light.
I’ll be back, Ross Island!
Anu Anniah Writes 