One of Andaman’s Pristine Islands that is turning into a garbage dump!!

This place has huge political and historical significance as this is where the infamous Kaala Pani punishment was meted out to the Indian prisoners. And, to top this, this place is one of Andaman’s pristine tropical islands. But, cleanliness is of hardly any significance here at Viper Island.

 
As soon as one enters Viper island from its only boat jetty, one can spot garbage strewn around the entire beach and amidst the coconut trees and sadly most of it is non bio-degradable plastic.

 
What irks me most is that the locals don’t mind this place becoming a garbage dump!! Little do they know that they will lose their income (from tourism, fishing and agriculture) if this keeps going on.

Read more...

Corbyn’s Cove Beach from different angles

Corbyn’s beach, nestled in a cove near Port Blair, looks exotic from different angles.


I figured this out by walking the entire beach stretch, by climbing the rocks at one end and the densely forested hills on the other.

 
While walking down the main beach pathway, one can keep gazing at the lovely lane of coconut trees while lapping up the sound of the gentle waves.
 

Or, if you are on the beach during low tide, you can climb the rocks that jut into the Bay of Bengal and play hide and seek with the crabs. This is where you can get a panoramic view of the Corbyn’s cove.


Then, if you are adventurous enough, you can climb the densely forested hills nearby and soak in the view of the entire sea along with the cove.

Read more...

Wildlife Sighting during a cruise at Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India!!

The view of the shola forests, the lovely greens and the vast hills is not the only thing that one gets to see during a cruise at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

 
In addition, the jungle loving tourist gets to see a lot of wildlife in its best forms.


The Periyar Tiger Reserve is known for its elephants and tigers. But, sighting a tiger from a boat is very difficult unless it comes down to the river to quench its thirst.


And, I was just plain unlucky not to see the pachyderms. However, I was able to sight huge herds of the gaur. Gaurs are the largest bovine animal and are highly muscular in nature. Their white socks are a very pretty sight.

 
I was also lucky enough to sight huge groups of the wild boar who were busy grazing in the far away grasslands.


Overall, my best sightings were of the fish-loving cormorant and darter birds that were sunning themselves on the dead tree trunks. One could see these ultra flexible birds from a very close range.

 
I was able to sight other birds including kingfishers. But, the surprise package came in the form of a fresh water tortoise that had crept up a small rock and was soaking in the sun.

Read more...

Ripples in GREEN!!

I was on a boat cruise through the Periyar Tiger Reserve, when I captured this very different sight in my lens.

 
The ripples in the water, the reflections of the sun from the surface and the underwater green plants that lend the water its colour make this a dreamy sight! What do you think?

Read more...

Jungle Cruise at Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady, Kerala, India

Most national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India offer their jungle and wildlife experience through jeep safaris or elephant safaris.


But, at Periyar Tiger Reserve, it is slightly different. The tourists get to see the forests and its wildlife from inside/on a boat.

 
This wildlife sanctuary and tiger reserve nestled in the Western Ghats is one of Kerala’s most sought after jungle holiday destinations.


The boat cruise on the Periyar river presents its tourists with some very unique sights.


The naked tree trunks in the middle of the river is a very  different sight indeed. It is very interesting to see the boats go left and right trying to manoeuvre through these tree trunks.


It is said that this river floods during the monsoons and by the time the water recedes, the river had changed its course.


Along the river are these green grasslands followed by dense green shola forests that make for an extremely lovely sight.

 
Even if one doesn’t get to see any wildlife on this boat cruise, which is very rare, one can still admire nature’s abundant beauty here. And, the various shades of GREEN here are so very pleasing to my eye.


The calm waters, the fantastic green cover, the dead tree trunks and the hills of the Western Ghats in the background make this boat cruise a very memorable one.

Read more...

Corbyn’s Cove Beach – Port Blair’s Favourite!!

The setting is special. A pretty looking lagoon, gentle waves, a nice safe cove and a clean and soft beach surrounded by coconut trees nearby and hills and tropical forests beyond.


What more can one ask for? It makes for a great beach destination.

 
This cove and beach is situated just 7 kilometres from Port Blair city. To make it better for tourists, there are a couple of beach facing restaurants that dish out the best sea food. No wonder, the Corbyn’s Cove Beach is a favourite of the islanders.

BTW, don’t miss out on the matka kulfi here? It is yummilicious!!

Read more...

View of Port Blair from atop the Cellular Jail watchtower

The Cellular Jail may have had an infamous past, but the views from atop the watch tower are simply stunning.

 
There are satellite dishes amidst coconut trees nearby. Then we have the bluish green waters of the Bay of Bengal. And in the yonder, we have the views of many tropical islands that are dense and green.


Very picturesque indeed!

Read more...

Cellular Jail Museum – Remembering the infamous past

As I kept wandering about the various wings and corridors of the Cellular Jail, I came upon the Cellular Jail Museum.


This is where one can see life size models that depict the life of a Cellular Jail inmate.

 
The prisoners were punished in various ways. For a certain type of crime, they were whiplashed by the jail officers and made to break huge rocks into small stones for hours.


Then, the other punishment was to strip the prisoner, make him stand on the main portico and whiplash him till he fell unconscious. This was done to send a lesson of fear to the other jail inmates.


Then, the most infamous one was to get the prisoner to grind groundnut/palm oil and whip him if he stopped due to fatigue or pain.

Read more...

The Cellular Jail Gallery!!

The Cellular Jail at Port Blair, which is a national heritage site features great galleries.


Painters and artists alike from all over the country have contributed their works here.


These paintings in the Cellular Jail gallery are not only fabulous in design and taste, but are also monumental in helping tourists visualize life in the jail and outside (around Port Blair) during pre-independence days.

 
While some paintings illustrate the atrocities meted out to the Indian prisoners, the others provide chronicles of the lives of Indian freedom fighters.

 
Then there are some that show fights between the bows and arrows of the local Andamanese tribes and the guns of the British officers.

Read more...

Cellular Jail at a glance!!

Most Indians would have heard about the infamous Cellular Jail or the Kaala Pani punishment.


This is where the British during pre-independence days made the Indian freedom fighters suffer for standing against them.


And, what suffering it was!! I literally cringed at the sights when I visited the Cellular Jail that is being maintained as a National Heritage Monument at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands.

 
The buildings are like dungeons. The narrow corridors and the narrower dimly lit jails are awe-inducing.


The two-floored gallows are also a very disheartening sight. But, if one were to see this all from the sight of a building, then one would hardly feel anything. They would just be seeing brick and mortar.


But, if one were an Indian, and even better, if they know the history of Cellular Jail, then seeing these will bring out one’s patriotic spirit and would ooze hatred against the British and the Indian servants who followed their wicked orders.

 
The atrocities and the punishments meted out to the denizens of this jail would make even the strongest person cringe in pain.

Read more...

Wanna go on a Motorcycling Holiday to the Himalayas!

This July and August, Motours, a motorcycle adventure company from Bangalore is organizing 3 fully packaged motorcycle rides to the Himalayas (One way trip to Ladakh, A Ladakh/Jammu & Kashmir Round Trip and the Baspa, Kinnaur, Spiti and Lahaul Loop of the Indian-Tibet Border)! And since this is the first year since company formation, the rates are the lowest in the market.

A quick highlight can be seen in the flyer below. For more details, do drop by Motours website.

A word of encouragement for all those interested, but worried about credibility of this young organization is that all these Himalayan rides will be managed and run by experienced motorcyclists including me who have travelled the length and breadth of this vast country. Also, each motorcycling package has been prepared keeping in mind all comfort and safety requirements of the rider and the pillion.

Additional facilities like getting a bike on hire, motorcycle and travel insurance and motorcycle transportation can be arranged for a nominal additional cost.

I am definitely going on this Himalayan Motorcycling Holiday! Would you want to join me?

For all kinds of questions, feel free to contact me!

Read more...