Andaman Tales

Nahid Khan, Zarina Khan and Bhaswati Bose jointly address the Club today

Apart from the usual touristy hotspots and water sports that Andaman has to offer (ref yesterday’s post), what seems to have left a lasting impression on the group that visited the islands were the many sideshows.
This became eminently clear when Zarina Khan, Bhaswati Bose and Nahid Khan were to narrate their experiences from the trip today.
While Nahid’s biggest takeaway was the “enjoyable train journey” (to Chennai and on her way back), Zarina appeared hung up on the “hotel stay” and “variety of food” she got to savour.
For Bhaswati who organised the six-day trip, getting to meet many interesting people for the first time made for a memorable trip. “When you travel together as a group for days on end, you discover the true nature of people,” she said, singling out Rajendra Agarwal, a garden regular, for high praise.
Still, there were incidents that can never be forgotten. For instance, on the two-and-half hour cruise from Port Blair to Havelock Island, everybody on board the luxury liner began to vomit out of seasickness, barring (miraculously) Nahid and Zarina.

Nahid recalls an amusing incident

“I can never forget how everyone went wok-wok,” Zarina laughed. “I found that very funny. Badaa mazaa aya!”
As it used to get dark early in those parts, the group had organised several recreational activities to keep everyone entertained during those long evening hours. One such involved play-acting, with Nahid once assuming the role of Zarina’s husband. Their mindless bickering leading to a dramatic showdown (all very spontaneous) had been recorded on cell-phone and was played this morning for our benefit.
Another hilarious incident involved collecting the coral rocks (found in abundance on the beaches) as keepsake mementos. This is illegal. In spite of warning from various quarters at every stage, some members of the group tried to smuggle a few coral rocks in their luggage only to be caught at the airport and having all their bags opened up. Luckily, nobody was arrested but it conclusively put the fear of god in them.
In the end, they came back with the realisation that in this time and age, it is possible to live in harmony not only with nature but also with fellow beings, regardless of religion, class or colour. The locals celebrate all religious festivals and pray to all gods. To top it all, Andaman maintains a ‘zero crime’ record. As a tour guide pointed out, “If there is heaven on earth, it is here.”