‘Saddam Beach’— the signboard with the executed Iraqi dictator’s picture greets visitors to Kavarathi, the headquarters of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Similar nomenclature on the other side of the Arabian Sea - in Kozhikode in Kerala - had hogged news space. The island doesn’t come under media radars but for its tourism potential. Despite familiar signposts, Lakshadweep has little in common with Kerala as far as politics is concerned. Elections to the lone parliamentary seat and ten panchayats are keenly contested by the Congress and the Nationalist Co [View Full Entry]

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Shades of blue span through the horizon. An electric blue lagoon, a cobalt sea and an azure sky. From atop Minicoy lighthouse, MV Kavarathi anchored off the vast lagoon looks like a paper ship. Tourists try to retrace the long boat ride from the ship to the jetty as the bored watchman regulates traffic on the narrow ladder leading up the tower. Metal halide lamps have replaced oil lamps, now showcased in the top chamber. But a thermometer and a clock, built in London at the time of the beacon’s commissioning in 1885, still work. The 41.7-metre-high lighthouse, the archipelago’s [View Full Entry]

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The ship is still swaying. A green line of land is visible through the cabin window. Clockwork flashes from the light house illuminate the pre-dawn grey sea. A public address system tells the passengers to be ready to disembark at Kalpeni. There are no ladders leading to the jetty, there is no jetty to land, and there is no land. MV Kavarathi is anchored a mile or so off the coast, from where mechanized boats dart towards the ship. For freshers, the adventure is about to begin. For islanders it’s homecoming. The 2.79-square kilometre atoll is surrounded by a 25.60-square kilometre [View Full Entry]

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