Despite being mid-monsoon, the day was bright
and sunny. As soon as the small flight took off from Kochi airport, the
coastline with green coconut trees and white sand vanished within a few minutes
and we could only find the deep blue water of the sea. The sound of the fan
wing was tremendous unlike normal flights and the situation was not conducive
for relaxing inside the flight. It continued for more than an hour and
occasionally bumped against the nimbus cloud creating tremor.
Journey to Agatti Island
The ATR flight, with eighteen seats,
gradually dropped its elevation and we could clearly see that it positioned
itself to land on an airstrip surrounded by blue waters of the Arabian Sea. The
flight carried only twelve passengers and three crew members including pilot,
co-pilot and a cabin crew. The aerial distance from Kochi to Agatti Island in
Lakshadweep was 408 km to be covered in almost one and a half hour.
Soon, the flight touched the land and we
found ourselves to be in a safety zone as this was our first ATR flight after I
boarded “Dakota” flight in my childhood, which I hardly remembered.
After the luggage was taken out from the
cargo box, we were welcomed by the representative of “Agatti Island Beach
Resort” shortly known as “AIBER” and the entire luggage was put on a
hand-pulled cart and we were requested to follow him. Within a few minutes we
reached the reception of the resort and we were re-welcomed with green coconut.
Lodging in Agatti
After completion of formalities, we were
guided to our cottage overseeing the lush blue crystal clear water across the
white sand. Few bent coconut trees on the shore enhanced the beauty of the
beach many folds.
We could not resist ourselves and soon we
jumped into the blue waters and found ourselves dancing along the waves. It was
hours together we remained in the water till we were called for lunch.
The breathtaking view of the sea with mild
waves was always drawing us towards the beach. After lunch, we went to the
jetty and sat there for hours till sunset. We could see multi-coloured fishes;
stingrays and olive ridley turtles swimming in the crystal clear water and our
vision was clear up to the sea bed. It seemed that we were enjoying a large
aquarium from its top. The astonishing view of the changing colour of water
bewildered us which we cherished as a lifetime memory.
Sightseeing in Agatti
Next morning, we set off in a glass boat to
see the underwater corals which were slightly far away from the island. Since
the weather was cloudy, the sea was a little rough and the boat moved like a roller
coaster. So, we were more scared than enjoying the journey. However, it was a
wonderful sight to find varieties of corals of different sizes, shapes and
colours, waving their tentacles to welcome us. We could see more flocks of
fishes of different colours swimming within the corals.
After lunch, we walked along the main and
only road of the island. The entire stretch of the road was 7 km connecting
both tips of the island. There were points from where we could see the blue
waters on our both side and ascertained that highest width of the island was
slightly more than 1 km. The entire island was covered with coconut trees of
which few were planted and rest grew naturally. We had a chance of interacting with
the local people, few of which could reciprocate as the majority were speaking
dialects of Malayalam. Majority of the population adopted the Muslim religion
and all their surnames were “Koya”. One of the ladies invited us to her home
and offered us tea and local snacks. We could not refuse her hospitality
despite having little space in our stomach.
On the last day of our trip, we had a chance
to visit a nearby island which was inhabited by birds and reptiles like
lizards, snakes etc. It was a trip of small duration as monsoon restricted
movement of vessels to other islands.
Enjoying the stay
Lying back in a hammock or on an easy chair
in the balcony of our cottage was the main attraction. We were in a relaxing
mood and spent the day leisurely moving in the corners of the beach. During low
tide, the lower portion of the eastern part of the island turned to be like a
pond where various kinds of fishes got arrested, waiting for the high tide to
release them from the imprisonment.
The greatest gain of the stay was that we
were provided various types of fishes which were included in our daily platter.
Since the nomenclature of the fishes was not known, every time the fishes
served were being demonstrated by the restaurant owner with a chart depicting
the picture of the fish in its raw form. As a fish lover, we did not miss a
single opportunity to taste different kinds of fishes cooked in different
forms.
Return Journey
When we reached the airport on our return
journey, we found the same pilot, co-pilot and crew with the same aircraft with
whom we landed on the island. Incidentally, we four were the only passengers on
our return journey. We felt like to have hired a chartered flight to Kochi. The
pilot opened the cockpit door to demonstrate to us how a flight took off from a
static position. It was a new experience for us as we rarely got such an
opportunity.
As soon as the flight took off and left the
land, it started moving perpendicular to the land as if a rocket had been
launched. We all were really scared to find such a movement as our previous
experience did not give any opportunity to witness such a situation.
After moving up quite a bit, though we did
not have any idea about the height, suddenly the flight took a 180-degree turn
and started nose-diving towards the sea. We could see the sea bed from the
windows of the flight thinking our destiny was carrying us to the bottom of the
world. Our condition became really pathetic and we felt to have seen death from
such a short distance. Our faces became pale and we were in a total dilemma. We
tried to read the expression of the face of the crew as both the pilot and
co-pilot were stuck to their seats with back to us. But the crew seemed to be
in a relaxing mood.
After nose-diving for a while, the flight
took a ninety-degree move and started flying parallel to the sea. We had a sigh
of relief, thinking that ultimately the problem of the aircraft had been
solved.
Suddenly, the pilot took a turn to us and
started laughing – “How did you enjoy the takeoff?”
Since we were the only family boarding the
flight; the pilot showed us his capability to control the aircraft and making
us frightened to the extreme.
It was really a thrilling experience
having boarded a flight and seeing death from such a close distance, though the entire process was intentional.
Information about the Island
Lakshadweep constitutes an area covering 36
islands of which only ten islands are inhabited. Permission is granted to both
domestic and international tourists to visit Agatti, Kavaratti, Minicoy, Kalpeni,
Tinkarra, Kadmat and Bangaram
How to Reach
Agatti Island is connected with Kochi and
Bengaluru by flights which ply round the year depending on weather condition.
Helicopter service is available for inter-island communication from Agatti and
Kavaratti. Preference is given to the islanders and officials on duty. There
are ferry services but that depends upon various factors like adequate
passengers, weather condition and availability of vessels.
The “Society for Promotion of Nature (Rural)
Tourism and Sports” known popularly as “SPORTS” organizes package cruise tour
from Kochi covering few inhabited islands from September to May depending upon
weather condition. The detailed information is available on their website.
However, October to May is a perfect time to visit the islands.
In both cases, the planning has to be made
much prior to the date of journey as there is huge rush during the season and
availability of air ticket and package booking is difficult.
My experiences
There is always a comparison between the
islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Having visited both, it may
be concluded that both are unique and there cannot be any comparison. The
spread of islands, physical features, transportation between the islands, cost
of staying, availability of consumables and other articles, the lifestyle of
locals etc. are totally different.
It is suggested that both shall be visited
keeping in consideration that Andaman & Nicobar is more pocket friendly
than Lakshadweep. The call of the blue sea, virgin beaches, untouched corals,
breathtaking marine lives will definitely help you to explore an unexplored the secret of the country.
Backlinks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzIAcLW8TsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkf09q2RiEw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elv4BfLW_jw
As usual a breathtaking description of the entire trip, I read in one breath. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteLast year, I had booked thru a Travel agent but ultimately trip was not approved by the Authorities.. I think, Lakshadeep should be more tourist friendly.
Thanks. Incidentally the pilot whom you see in the photograph is Capt. Ashoke Chowdhury, close friend of our ex CGM, Shri V.D. Bohra. We were helped by my close friend Shri A V V Subramanium (popularly known as Venkat) who was then DDM-Ernakulam and tagged district was Lakshadweep. He made all the arrangements for me. If you want to go please apply through SPORTS which the authorized travel agent. Book Samudram package which is good.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully described and well informative.It will the prospective visitors.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words. Trying to share my experiences
Delete