Trip to Andaman

 

We had been longing to make a trip to Andaman; and Dad made it possible for us during the last summer holidays. Soon after the examinations were over, Mom made preparations for the trip. On the 25th of April, we took the Pinakini Express from Vijayawada and reached Chennai Central by 1 p.m. After lunch we hired a taxi for the port.

In the evening we boarded a ship for Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The ship looked much bigger than our school building. It had four storeys. It set out after sounding a loud horn. People who had come to see off their friends and relatives cheered them up by waving their hands. My sister Amala and I too waved your hands while Mom and Dad smiled at us.

Tall buildings towers and factory chimneys began to vanish gradually. After while, the twinkling lights of Chennai bade us farewell. Soon everything around us begans look dark and calm but inside the ship it was all bright and beautiful. When we closed the windows and doors of our cabin, we did not feel the movement of the ship.

On the second day, we came to know that we were in the middle of the sea. The weather was pleasant on the sea. The day was sunny and the sea was reflecting the cloud like a flat mirror .We saw Dolphins swimming along the ship. They sprang and dived again.It was quite amusing.

I was curious to know what other people were doing on the ship. So I went around. Is some watching films and some others eating and drinking in the restaurants. A few were buying things in the fancy stores. I was surprised to see some in a salon getting their hair cut.

The medical staff was busy treating the patients suffering most from sea-sickness The sanitary workers were on their job of keeping the cabins, corridors and toilets neat a clean. The crew of the ship was very friendly and courteous. They gladly answered all my queries about the ship.

It was the third day. Early in the morning, Mom woke us up to show us the magnificent spectacle of the dawn at the sea. After two days,we reached Port Blair.

"Dad, do you have any idea about these islands and the people who live there?" I asked.

Dad said, “I know a little. There are about six hundred islands. They are located between India's coast and Myanmar. Only 37 of them are inhabited. They have plant, animal and marine life in abundance".

We learnt that the inhabitants of the islands were the aboriginal tribes. Some of theml far away from the civilized society. Despite this, the islands today look like a miniature India. We saw people of different languages, cultures, and faiths living together happily.

We visited a famous national monument, the Cellular jail. We learnt that the Cellular jail was built by the British. It was no longer a jail. It had been converted into a big hospital.