As dusk fell, we got back to our Village 5 or was it 3. Had dinner at El Dorado, another spot in another resort. Pradeep ordered the most amusing chocolate pancake I've ever seen. No chocolate but it had some crushed cream biscuits (cookies). I ate an Israeli Lafa - basically, a big roti with salad and fries on top.
I thought I didn't sleep very well that night for some reason but Pradeep said I snored through the night. I was up early and went to my favorite digs for tea. It was closed so walked a little further to a food shack called Powerfull (yes, the extra L is not a typo). Got back and read for quite a bit lying outside on the bench across our cottage. We returned to Powerfull later for breakfast - omelette and toast and a debate on Obamacare. The Bengali cook at Powerfull wore blue pants and a white vest. He had a somewhat large belly and an unshaven face that looked older than his years. He told us about changing regulations and how a food inspector now drops by unannounced and can shut the place down for hygiene if things weren't clean. I always asked people where they were from. People answer this question in different ways. Originally, he said, Andamans. When I probed, I discovered he moved here 28 years ago from West Bengal as a 12 year old boy. He had come to work, married a local Bengali girl and now has a family. He never went back to Kolkata but always thinks of going. He reminded me of V.S. Naipaul's family that moved generations ago to Trinidad and Tobago. It's the same thing. The Powerfull man's travails, needs are exactly the same as those I know who are in U.S. and mean to move back to India. His eyes looked at same distant past.
Showing posts with label havelock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label havelock. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
SCUBA diving in Havelock
Pradeep was already up by 7.30am when I got up the next morning. He was nice enough get me tea. With tea in my belly, I walked down to the beach behind Gold India. It was nice - small but nice. There were only some dogs around. Next, we went to the neighboring shack for breakfast - omelette and toast. Joy the taxi driver showed up early and asked what we were planning to do. We said we wanted to scuba dive. He said he knows exactly the right place and would make all the "arrangements." After our rather slow-breakfast which involved playing with a kitten, we headed to Village 1 (close to the Jetty) to find scuba diving place.
At the scuba diving place, we met Adi and his wife Vanessa who had just taken over 2.5 weeks ago. They moved to Andamans six months ago. Adi is a professional scuba diver and has been diving for six years in Goa, Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. He was very knowledgeable and took us through everything in a systematic manner, explaining and answering all our questions. The whole experience was novel. For example, it was an aha for me to learn how to breath through my mouth from a 15 kg cylinder while my nose was shut inside a mask throughout. Very novel!
It's a beautiful world underwater. No amount of images on Discovery or National Geographic can ever make up for the real thing. I just couldn't believe that I was seeing fish above my head, next to me, below me. I couldn't believe the kinds of colors and corals I saw, the plants inside water. I hesitated but ended up touching several corals. The purple colored clams that closed shut when they saw us approaching - just amazing! Once we reached the bed of the sea, I picked up the soft sand. It was so interesting to see my hands touching all this. I just felt one with Nature and very complete. In the muddy dust, I saw a clam embedded into the surface. You wouldn't realize it until you approach it - it quickly opens and shuts when you do. I saw a plant - a lightish brown one with white spots (I don't know the biological names). I touched it with both my hands and felt the softness. It was more moist than merely being wet. It was like swimming in a forest. Imagine an exotic forest filled with water and you floating through it and figuring it out, looking up and down trees and the living things on them. In some other ways, you feel as though you are inside an aquarium. There were a zillion things, breathing, moving about, just living - I mean, all this stuff right next to us occupying three-forths of the planet and somehow, we have this perception that we are the only ones here and our lives are the only things that matter. We on earth are indeed very naive.
At the scuba diving place, we met Adi and his wife Vanessa who had just taken over 2.5 weeks ago. They moved to Andamans six months ago. Adi is a professional scuba diver and has been diving for six years in Goa, Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. He was very knowledgeable and took us through everything in a systematic manner, explaining and answering all our questions. The whole experience was novel. For example, it was an aha for me to learn how to breath through my mouth from a 15 kg cylinder while my nose was shut inside a mask throughout. Very novel!
It's a beautiful world underwater. No amount of images on Discovery or National Geographic can ever make up for the real thing. I just couldn't believe that I was seeing fish above my head, next to me, below me. I couldn't believe the kinds of colors and corals I saw, the plants inside water. I hesitated but ended up touching several corals. The purple colored clams that closed shut when they saw us approaching - just amazing! Once we reached the bed of the sea, I picked up the soft sand. It was so interesting to see my hands touching all this. I just felt one with Nature and very complete. In the muddy dust, I saw a clam embedded into the surface. You wouldn't realize it until you approach it - it quickly opens and shuts when you do. I saw a plant - a lightish brown one with white spots (I don't know the biological names). I touched it with both my hands and felt the softness. It was more moist than merely being wet. It was like swimming in a forest. Imagine an exotic forest filled with water and you floating through it and figuring it out, looking up and down trees and the living things on them. In some other ways, you feel as though you are inside an aquarium. There were a zillion things, breathing, moving about, just living - I mean, all this stuff right next to us occupying three-forths of the planet and somehow, we have this perception that we are the only ones here and our lives are the only things that matter. We on earth are indeed very naive.
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