Oh what I wouldn’t do for the sea

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Hello hello, the kayaks I rent out to adventurous water-lovers are knighted “Sea Kayaks”. Their names are Draupadi (alias Blue One), and Parvati-Sita (alias Red One). They are currently the only sit-in touring sea kayaks in the entire, whole, total, full, complete and intact Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As you can see I’m very proud of them.
Although I do insist on guests wearing the life jackets being provided, sometimes I get guests who insist on not wearing the life jackets being provided. So then I have to keep watch - from the top of a mangrove tree which acts as a convenient masthead. It feels like a scene out of jungle book. And it’s not too painful an experience either because mangrove branches don’t break that easily…they just kind of bend…till you slip right off them.
But the couple - incredibly - had never seen mangroves before. They said they came from Sweden where there are no mangroves. They said they owned an island there too, which they only reserved for family and friends because they didn’t need to earn from it, and that the waters here were so calm it almost looked like a big sheet of glass spread out before them.
The usual route that guests take in my kayaks is a round of Viper Island - Where the women prisoners were hanged to death during the British Regime - and then a round of my island, and then return.
I certainly did not allow the Swedish couple to see me perched on top of a mangrove tree… neither did the tree, incidentally.
They asked about my race kayak: I haven’t one; I borrow the government’s kayak to race in - on the sly - and am being trained by the police kayak-team’s coach - on the sly. Because for civilians above the age of 15 there is no legal facility for race enthusiasts in these islands. And I’m the one who’s going to change that - soon.
I race in what has been termed by the police team as a tsunami damaged kayak supplied by the Government - She appears half-eaten and half beaten, her rudder sticks in high speed, and her buoyancy has a big hole in it. On capsize she floods instantly, and goes down like the titanic…head first…and takes me down with her. As my friend Deeptimaan always advices me, “try to row your boat horizontally down the stream and not vertically down the stream today.” But, I’ve kind of grown attached to her, coz she can really pull me ahead in a race because she’s sleek and fast and very unstable and when I turn her up to scrub her down, she looks like an athlete.
So, to avoid all that drama, I just have to keep myself upright…no matter what. That’s when my coach screams at me from his wake-creating machine, “Stop using your paddle as a balancing stick and start using it as a f*@#ing paddle! Are you deaf?” no…just disbalanced - and not mentally.
Today I took a-10km long route around Viper Island in the govt’s half-eaten race kayak. And it was actually a beautiful ride. That’s despite the waves giving me such a stiff neck trying to keep myself above them. I saw soft coral on the seabed around Viper from inside my kayak. And it’s relatively deep (about 10ft); and because the sea-bed is brown (soil) not white (sand), the sea appears green instead of blue…it’s very strange to see right to the bottom of deep green sea. It’s sad that I’ve gotten so used to the fish I’ve stopped mentioning them…but they were there too, lots and lots of them.
I loved it.

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Photos

masthead
This little mangrove branch also doubles up as a nice look-out point for law-breaking kayakers.
photo: ankush Myint

Pepper
Black pepper is actually a climber. This is what it looks like on the tree.
Photo: Ankush Myint

shell beach masthead
The look-out mangrove, incidentally, is situated on a nice little beach of shells. It's a very tiny clearing.
Photo: Ankush Myint

Comments

[shiv]

missing
just when i thought i could get over leaving the island. i now start to miss it even more. Well done tanasu. Hope the tree doesn't whip you.

[Nikhil]

underwater shoots
Why don't you get yourself a waterproof camera and take some underwater shots? I could offer you my expert advice on what kit to buy if you're interested ;)

[ankush Myint]

Moments relived.... crazy for my birth place !!! good lord take me back !!!

[tanaz]

hi
Hey, how have you been? When you coming back this side??? Haha, i put them up without your permission, hope that's okay with you :)