Cheers To Our Quarter Century On The Emerald Isle

i actually don't know where to begin. So instead start by thanking my beautiful country and feel overwhelmed that the amazing archipelago, a cluster of 350 small and large islands, situated midway between my country and Burma, in the Bay of Bengal belongs and is a part of my own dear country.
Large stretches of white sand, coral reefs teeming with marine life and tropical rain forests combine to make the Andaman islands a veritable Xanadu.

Although our holiday was a short one and a special one too as we chose Andamans to be that place where we would go down memory lane to 25 years earlier on the 27th November 1985, the day we got married, we came back feeling unsatiated and hungry for more.
For to
-Really soak in the beauty of the shimmering sea at it's best
-Figure out the different shades of blue, actually the turquoise blue sea
-Delight in the solitary virgin nature
-Feel the sincerity and serenity of village life
-lose yourself in the tropical lush green forests
-Venture into  lush green mangrove creeks
-Enjoy the thrill of actually spotting one of the various primitive tribal groups that has strongly resisted any efforts at civilization and are still hunters and food gatherers
-Discover the species of birds, insects endemic to the island
-Get totally floored by unusual beautiful tropical flowers and orchids
-Savour the local delicacies and a wide array of seafood
-Learn scuba diving and indulge into the various water sports including para- sailing
-Finally to sense history and feel gratitude for all the hardships/torture endured bravely by our freedom fighters,who with their indomitable spirit got us the independence which we are so easily and carelessly enjoying,
one would require a minimum of 10 days at least and so it is natural to feel the way we do now as our 4 days in a paradise that also is historical was just so minimal.
What we did manage to catch up,  all in a hurry was a kaleidoscopic view of the picturesque island, in between finding just some time to feel intrigued by nature's artistry as an unbeatable painter,  sculptor,  musician and even a lissome dancer.

Finally i was calm enough and at the time of my life when i could appreciate nature as the best original painter beyond human imagination as i watched the sea and tried to figure out the various shades of blue-green. Sometimes jade green as it shimmered like molten jade and at other times a cool refreshing turquoise blue.
The brilliant colours of the school of fishes as they swam past so close to my snorkeling goggles rather too close that it felt as if they are sliding past the glass and i wondered how nature mixed and matched those colours . Some looked flourescent of the kind as if they radiated light.
The amazing array of huge, tall trees in all possible shades of green with artistic canopy as if it was topiared by nature and just in the middle of all this green a passionate splash of red. There among the greens would be a tall tree with scarlet red leaves.  A close perusal of this red tree on my way to the beach on Havelock island led to an eureka moment of the sort that educated me that all the leaves had uniformly reached a mature stage...when the leaves would first turn crimson red...then scarlet before finally dropping off.  i picked up a couple of these leaves to bring it back home only to discover much to my chagrin that it would finally turn a dull red and perhaps brown and would cease to be scarlet forever.  Just so typical of nature...effervescent but transitory.

Then  nature as a sculptor as i watched all types of corals...from the ones commonly seen to the most rare. Brain coral that resembled the convoluted structure of a human brain, mushroom corals,  finger corals, staghorn corals,  boulder corals,  flower corals,  fan corals and still many others that our guide could point out but didn't know the names of.

If we had been there earlier than this we would be able to see another of nature's marvels in the form of the limestone caves at Baratang which unfortunately had closed for visitors and no more bookings could be made.

The sound of the surf as it crashed into a foamy white mixed with the balmy breeze and the chirping of birds produce some kind of a panorama for the senses that cajole and sometimes one can't help but get mesmerised/hypnotised when nature plays it's music in such sylvan surroundings.

To know how lithe a dancer could be one should just watch the waves as it sometimes takes sinuous long strides, before breaking into feathery small ripples. The mudras of a dancer flashes before you as you gaze at the waves, the crests and the troughs and see the infinite peaks merging and re- emerging and then you begin to appreciate nature's magnificent dance. We had plenty of time to watch the waves as we cruised from one island to the other, some 90 minutes apart and some even more.

A loving husband who took all the pains and efforts to take me to an exotic locale and even surprised me with a beautiful card;
A blogdost who now is our dear new friend and thanks to his efforts and warm thoughts about our special day, we were wished pleasantly by the hotel staff with a fresh bunch of roses, all of different colours, the first thing on the 27th morning;
A dreamy destination in the lap of luxury by my standards and lots of comfort in the way i felt;
A quarter century rarely gets better than this.

However in the midst of all this what we sure could manage was soft loving looks, a cheery, non-argumentative but very accomodating temperament, an occassional holding of hands as we moved together trying our best not to miss out on anything that the island promised for the day, before taking a warm shower and then crashing into a happily tired slumber when we returned to our hotel.

Whatever happened to all our plans of having cocktail drinks and exotic seafood candlelit dinner and going down the memory lane reviving the wedding smell of rajnigandhas (tuberoses)...
Well we only laughed it out the next day as we woke up to a late and fully bright sunlit morning.
So we made another best plan sipping our fresh cuppa...that for the entire week to be our anniversary week and maybe manage the candlelit dinner and revive the memories of when we were so shy and total strangers sitting awkwardly on the bed decorated elaborately with rajnigandha garlands and rose petals strewn all over the satin sheets...laters.
If not in the Emerald islands then in Chennai definitely.

Right now as we are back home,  we look at all my collections for which i had to get special permission at the airport as picking any item from the shore which may slightly resemble a part of a coral is strictly banned, we feel quite happy if not fully satisfied that we did manage to make it a unique day in an island which has the ever changing blue waters, explored some marine life, walked hand in hand on the beach with velvety silvery sands feeling so soft under our feet, where the palm trees cast slender shadows and the crystal waters cajoled us in for a swim.And in the most mellow but reflective moments actually spent in silence, sincerely paid tributes and saluted our freedom fighters who were sent to Kala Pani never to be seen again.
Thankful to the Andaman Islands, we see them now with that never say die demeanor in that 3ft x 7ft cell braving the odds and singing, " Sarfaroshi ki tammanna ab hamare dil mein hai
                                              Dekhna hai jor kitna bajuye kaatil mein hai..."

Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna with English Translation

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mai.N hai

Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet
Dekhta hun main jisey woh chup teri mehfil mein hai
Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat mai.N tere oopar nisaar
Ab teri himmat ka charcha Ghair ki mehfil mai.N hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai

Waqt aanay dey bata dai.Ngay tujhe aye aasman
Hum abhi se kya batai.N kya hamare dil mai.N hai
Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed
Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mai.N hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baiTha udhar
Aur hum taiyyaar hai.N seena liye apna idhar
Khoon se khelai.Ngay holi gur vatan muskhil mai.N hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai

Haath jin mein ho junoon cuTtay nahi talvaar say
Sar jo uTh jaatay hai.N voh jhukte nahi lalkaar say
Aur bhad.rkega jo shola-saa humaare dil mai.N hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai

Hum to ghar se niklay hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan
Jaan hatheli par liye lo bhar chale hain ye qadam
Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mai.N hai

Yuu.N Khad.raa maqtal mai.N qaatil keh rahaa hai baar baar
Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisi ke dil mai.N hai
Dil mein tuufaanoo.N ki Tolee aur nasoo.N mai.N inqilaab
Hosh dushman ke ud.raa dai.Ngay humai.N rokoo na aaj
duur reh paaye jo humse dum kahaan manzil mai.N hai

voh jism bhi kya jism hai jis mai.N na ho Khoon-e-junoon
toofaanon say kya lad.re jo kashti-e-saahil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

Poet: Bismil Azimabadi 

English Translation:

The desire for struggle is in our hearts
We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy

Why do you remain silent thus?
Whoever I see, is gathered quiet so...
O martyr of country, of nation, I submit myself to thee
For yet even the enemy speaks of thy courage
The desire for struggle is in our hearts...

When the time comes, we shall show thee, O heaven
For why should we tell thee now, what lurks in our hearts?
We have been dragged to service, by the hope of blood, of vengeance
Yea, by our love for nation divine, we go to the streets of the enemy
The desire for struggle is in our hearts...

Armed does the enemy sit, ready to open fire
Ready too are we, our bosoms thrust out to him
With blood we shall play Holi, if our nation need us
The desire for struggle is in our hearts...

No sword can sever hands that have the heat of battle within,
No threat can bow heads that have risen so...
Yea, for in our insides has risen a flame,
and the desire for struggle is in our hearts...

Set we out from our homes, our heads shrouded with cloth,
Taking our lives in our hands, do we march so...
In our assembly of death, life is now but a guest
The desire for struggle is in our hearts...
Stands the enemy in the gallows thus, asking,
Does anyone wish to bear testimony?...
With a host of storms in our heart, and with revolution in our breath,
We shall knock the enemy cold, and no one shall stop us...

What is that body that does not have hot blood in it,
How can a person conquer a Typhoon while sitting in a boat near the shore.
The desire for struggle is in our hearts,
We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy.

It surely was togetherness at it's best.
"It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives".Unknown
                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                          

Image Courtesy: http://www.lizasreef.com/HOPE%20FOR%20THE%20OCEANS/central_indian_ocean.htm