Andaman trip 02 - Flag Point in Port Blair

(Before I start the post, I must point out that since last week, I have not been able to apply colour to letters and words in the post. The selected words remain black. 

Also, when I give a hyperlink, it doesn't get applied to the selected words, but the link appears after the selected words. 

I wonder if any other users of Blogger are facing this problem. I have given feedback to Google.)

This post continues from Andaman trip 01 - A reunion 

April 9, Tuesday

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands — which lie about 1,190 km (740 mi) east of Chennai and 1,255 km (780 mi) south of Kolkata in mainland India — are accessible by flights and ships. 

There are direct flights from Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi. Passenger ship services are available from Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata to Port Blair and back. 

We all flew into Port Blair, the capital, from various parts of the country. There were around 30 of us on the Indigo flight from Bengaluru, including those who had flown in Kochi.

The flight took about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and we landed at Port Blair (renamed Veer Savarkar International Airport) at 1400. It's a defence airport, and the Indian Navy handles most of its operations. 

The Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, which opened in May 2008, and the one in Kochi, Cochin International Airport, which opened in June 1999, were defence airports.

A view of the Andaman Sea on our way
from the airport to the hotel

After checking into the hotel, having a late lunch, and refreshing ourselves, we headed to Flag Point in Port Blair. It's to the northeast of the city on the coast and is one of the most visited spots on the island.

Flag Point, also called Tiranga in Hindi (meaning tricolour), is a memorial to commemorate the hoisting of the national flag in Port Blair for the first time in India on December 30, 1943, almost four years before India gained independence on August 15, 1947.

The Flag Point

JAPANESE CONTROL

Here's a little background to it.

The islands were used by the British as a penal colony where prisoners from India and Africa were sent.

The place was defended by 300 Sikh soldiers, with 23 British officers and some Gurkhas from the 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment. 

After Rangoon fell on March 8, 1942, the British knew they couldn't protect Port Blair anymore and started pulling out their defences. Soon, the Japanese overran the weak defence on the island on March 23, 1942.

INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY

On November 6, 1943, the Japanese Prime Minister announced in the Tokyo Assembly that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would be handed over Provisional Government of the Indian National Army (INA) or the Azad Hind Fauj.

The INA was an armed unit that fought against the British on the side of the Japanese. Subhash Chandra Bose served as its Commander-in-Chief from 1943 to 1945.

On December 29, 1943, INA took political control of the island. The next day, Bose unfurled the Indian national flag in Port Blair at a place near where the memorial called Flag Point. 

Though Bose appointed General A.D. Loganathan as governor of the islands, Japan is believed to have had full control of the island for all practical purposes.

(More: Japanese occupation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands / Wikipedia)

The Flag Point

View from the Flag Point

TOURIST SPOT

This memorial is a very popular place frequented by tourists and locals alike. It's a very pleasant place to spend time, especially in the morning and evening.

There is a tall flag mast on which the tricolour flutters and commemorative plaques. There is also a walkway and platforms where visitors can relax, enjoy the view of the sea and take photos. There are also many food joints.

(To be continued)

    

    

Andaman trip 01 - A reunion

Some six or seven months ago, in our class group on WhatsApp, someone reminded all of us that it had been 50 years since we joined our alma mater, Sainik School, Kazhakootam, in fifth grade. That was in 1974.  

Didn't that call for a celebration? Yes! There was a chorus of approval.

After considering various destinations, we decided on a trip to the Andaman Islands. None of us had been there, at least not recently.

The planning began in right earnest.

Source: Andaman & Nicobar Administration

INTRODUCTION

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, east of the mainland of India. They lie closer to Thailand in the east and Myanmar in the north. 

The whole territory spans around 8,000 sq. km. (3,000 sq. miles) and has 836 islands, of which only 31 are inhabited. The population is around 400,000.

To the north are the Andamans, comprising some 300 islands, and to the south are the Nicobar Islands, comprising 22 islands.

It's a popular tourist spot because of the lush greenery (especially during the post-monsoon season), beautiful landscape, vast stretch of beaches, cruises, and a wide variety of water sports. 

It's also known for its historical connections with India's freedom struggle, which I will discuss in my subsequent posts. 

The indigenous occupants of the islands are different tribes, many of which have either vanished or are in decline because of their reluctance to adapt to mainstream civilisation and scientific lifestyles.

The Sentinelese, among them, are considered very hostile to human beings and "probably the world's only Paleolithic people surviving today without contact with any other group or community".

Onges is another. They have been receptive to the government's development schemes (there is an elementary school for them), and their population is stable at around 118. 

The islands they live are either unapproachable or barred by law.

Source: Andaman & Nicobar Tourism

SIX-DAY TRIP

There were 93 of us on the trip, including 44 classmates, spouses of most of us, and children of a few. It was a six-day trip from April 9 to 14.

It could have been a logistical nightmare. But to make it work, we formed multiple groups, did some excellent planning well in advance, made full use of modern communication channels, and ensured seamless, cohesive coordination among all of us so that everything went smoothly. 

This post continues:

Andaman trip 02 - Flag Point in Port Blair

April showers in May

There is April showers or April rains in south India. As the name suggests, it occurs in April. It comes ahead of the southwest monsoon that sets in on the southern coast of India in June.

It's also called Mango showers, Coffee showers, Blossom showers etc., because they play a role in agriculture. It's called Summer showers because it comes in the peak of summer and cools the air.

Since Bengaluru is located around 900 meters or 3,000 feet above sea level, it traditionally has had a very salubrious climate, with maximum temperatures even during summer just over 30 C or 86 F.

But the IT boom over the past two decades and the consequent construction activities, combined with worldwide climate change, has significantly altered the weather patterns with the city getting warmer every year.

This year's summer was the worst. From March onwards, the maximum temperature was between 35 C / 95 F and 40 C / 104 F. So much so that we didn't have any April showers this year!

In fact, the month of April was the driest in the last 41 years. There was just no rainfall in the whole month! The last time Bengaluru had a rain-less April was in 1983.

Over the last few days, temperature has dipped a bit. There has been showers, moderately heavy, in the evening and night, lasting for a few hours.

These rains should have been in April and not in May.

There was a time when we could predict weather with reasonable accuracy. But not anymore!

Now, how will be the monsoon? Will that too be an extreme phenomenon? We are keeping our fingers crossed.