ঘুম ঘোরে ওই স্বপ্ন দেখা

আমি লব টুলিয়া বৈহার যাবো। গ্রীষ্মের প্রখর রৌদ্রে টিলার উপর দাঁড়িয়ে দিগন্ত বিস্তৃত পলাশ আর জঙ্গলের মাথায় বুনো তেউড়ির সাদা ফুল দেখবো। শুকনো মাটির খসখসে গন্ধ , শুকনো ঘাসের গন্ধ নেব প্রাণ ভরে। পূর্ণিমার রাতে ক্ষেতের মাঝে কাশের ঝাড়ের খুপরি বানিয়ে থাকবো। ছোট্ট ঘুলঘুলি দিয়ে দেখবো ফটফটে চাঁদের আলোয় ভেসে যাওয়া সর্ষে ক্ষেতের সৌন্দর্য। রাত শেষে আগত ভোরের শিশির ভিজিয়ে 

দেবে আমার প্রাণ - মন । শীতের পরশে কুঁকড়ে যাবো যখন , কলাইয়ের ভুষির ওমে আরাম খুঁজে নেবো। 

কাঁচা শাল পাতায় মোটা চালের ভাত আর বন কুমড়ির তরকারি মেখে খাবো , আর খাবো বনকুল মাখা। হাঁটু জলের কারা নদীতে গা ভাসিয়ে দেব, করবো চেষ্টা বৃথা সাঁতার কাটার। গামছা পেতে ধরতে চাইবো মাছ --- রাতের তারাদের সাক্ষী করে সেই মাছ বুনো ঝোপের আগুনে পুড়িয়ে একটু একটু করে খাবো আস্বাদন নিয়ে । মশলার দরকার নেই , ওই বুনোকুলের আচার দেবে যথার্থ সঙ্গত। 

কচি শাল গাছের মতো দেহ সৌষ্ঠ্যব নিয়ে জগরু পান্নার মত কেউ আমায় পথ দেখিয়ে নিয়ে যাবে জঙ্গলের মাঝে , যেখানে বুনো মহিষের দেবতা টাড়বারো দাঁড়িয়ে থাকেন অন্ধকার রাতে। আর সেই জলাশয় যেখানে কত নাম না জানা পাখি , ফুল লতা পাতা কোনো বারণ মানে না । বেড়ে চলে নিজের আনন্দে। 

নরম তুলতুলে সজারুর মাংস খাবো তথাকথিত আদিম বর্বরদের সঙ্গে বসে , মিশে যাবো তাদের ঘাম গন্ধ আর ভুলে যাওয়া ইতিহাসের গল্পের মধ্যে । তাঁদের কেউ মনে রাখেনি , রাখতে চায়নি। তাঁদের সহজ জীবনে আমাদের এই কঠিন শহুরে জীবন শিকলের মতো মনে হয় , মনে হয় শ্বাস রুদ্ধ করে দেবে প্রতি মুহূর্তে। 

ওই পাহাড় , জঙ্গল আর জঙ্গলের মানুষ ডাকছে ,,, বড় আদিম সেই ডাক। যে শুনেছে সেই নিশির ডাক --- বড় কঠিন  বাড়িতে থাকা। উঁচু ইট কাঠ পাথরের জঙ্গল ভেদ করে সেই ডাক আমি শুনতে পাই --- 

"I can hear you but I won't

Some look for trouble while others don't

There's a thousand reasons I should go about my day

And ignore your whispers which I wish would go away, oh oh oh"..... (lines from film frozen 2)

ছবি নিজস্ব

La La Land - Minicoy

"To one who has been long in city pent,

  'Tis very sweet to look into the fair

   And open face of heaven,—to breathe a  prayer

  Full in the smile of the blue firmament.

  Who is more happy, when, with heart's  content

   Fatigued he sinks into some pleasant  lair"   - John Keats

I sank my tired city soul in the arms of white sand of Minicoy. The water was so clear that even the Arabian sea could not make me cry. As if I was bathing in the glass of blue margarita. Wow, life can not be more beautiful as I look towards my family, were busy kayaking and making merry out of the limited time we had. I was in no mood to return to the mainland. Full of oxygen, no pollution, good people around us and good food...what can be a more perfect way to spend a holiday. Oh, yes I won't mind having a or few books of my favorite authors, good music and lots of sunscreens.

Minicoy, locally known as Maliku is the southernmost atoll of the archipelago of Lakshadweep, India. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep. The cultural traits of Minicoy differ from those of any other island in Lakshadweep. Manners, customs, lifestyle, and food are similar to those of the Maldives to the south of Minicoy and Malikubas. Minicoy islanders, like the nearby Maldive islanders, follow Islam.

MV Corals, MV Lagoons, MV Amindivi, MV Arabian Sea, MV Bharat Seema, MV Dweep Setu, MV Kavaratti, MV Lakshadweep Sea, and MV Minicoy are the important passenger ships connecting Lakshadweep with Kerala. The passage takes between 14 and 20 hours. We took the package from The Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports (SPORTS) and boarded the ship MV Kavaratti.

According to our package, we weren't able to stay on the island but for sure I want to come back here in an exclusive Minicoy package of SPORTS and that too in full moon night. SPORTS is maintaining an excellent Resort in Minicoy, next to the milky white seashore. I just couldn't hold my imagination from thinking myself and my family seating in the white sand and watching the full moon coming out of the cloud casket while the sun was still trying to embrace the blue lagoon and sank himself at the bottom of it. The pleasant wind and the well-orchestrated sound of nature takes one to a walk-in poetic lane.

"Blow gently over my garden

 The wind of Southern sea

In  the hour  my love

Cometh and calleth  me."

The Light House

The Resort

The Beach

kayaking... it's free ...free :)

Milky white sand 

A jetty for me only 

How to visit Minicoy

Nearest airport: Agati and Cochin

Waterways: Well connected with main Island. There are four passenger ships; MV Minicoy, MV Tippu Sultan, MV Amindivi and MV Bharat Seema for Minicoy. High-speed water vessels are also available from Agati Island, in fair seasons.

Best Season: September to April end.

Where to Stay: Minicoy Island Beach Resort 

Minicoy Festival package: This is offered by SPORTS, the most trusted one in this island tourism. 

Follow the link: 

https://lakshadweepadventures.com/package/minicoy-national-festival-package/

Contact - mail@lakshadweepadventures.com

                  mail2lakshadweep@gmail.com

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@anindita

                               

FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE

​

Over the years, I have learned that 'Freedom is never free.' Freedom costs us more than just sweat and blood or whatever we are forced to give.  It costs us the lives of our fathers, our sisters and brothers and many more. But while freedom is never free, we have to remember that, it has been bought at a great price and with it comes to great responsibility. As I stepped inside the great yet notorious cellular jail, a chill gone down my spine. And soon I realized that what actually freedom means. The twilight hush, the lazy evening sky, and a retiring sun may set our mind free but the boundary wall won’t let you go too far. As if, I am a kite but my movement is maneuvered by the invisible kite man. Though there were many visitors still I felt alone. The corridors, now echoing with the juvenile chirps of the young ones. But the silent screams of our brave heroes could be heard. 

Amar Jyoti: The Eternal Flame

Memorial to honor the first World War Indian soldiers and the Freedom Fighters

Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, stands as a dark reminiscence of the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. This most dreaded and grueling colonial prison situated in the remote archipelago was used by the British particularly to exile Indian political prisoners. Isolated from the mainland, this jail, also referred to as Kala Pani (where Kala means death or time and Pani means water in Sanskrit) witnessed the most atrocious punishments imposed on prisoners. India’s struggle for independence saw imminent freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar being incarcerated in this jail. The jail, completed in the year 1906 acquired the name ‘Cellular’ because it is entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement. It originally was a seven prolonged, puce-colored building with central tower acting as its fulcrum and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors. The central tower had a large bell for raising alarm and also during someone going in gallows. The building was subsequently damaged and presently three out of the seven prongs are intact. The Jail, now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom-loving people, has been declared a National Memorial. The jail museum here draws your memories back to those years of freedom struggle.

The path to History

The Tower

Those ropes and....

It was my fourth visit to the jail, yet every time I feel, there are more stories to come out, need to be told. But, who will tell us? The inmates had been killed or might had been silenced by the stroke of time. Only this mute spectator, the Jail, standing along with the Peepal tree, and without uttering a single word telling a lot that mere words can describe. Tears were rolling down the cheeks, grief and sadness engulphed my heart. I was eagerly showing my kids every corner of the cells and corridors and telling the stories I have heard earlier.

Our past laid behind this lock...

So many stories...

The chair of notorious General Barry

Oil machine for coconut oil.....
But in place of a bull, our freedom fighters were made to do the bull work

The freedom fighters in hundreds were sent to the island where they remained under the custody of jailer David Barry and military doctor Major James Pattison Walker. Notable freedom fighters confined in the jail included Batukeshwar Dutt, Diwan Singh Kalepani, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, and the Savarkar brothers - Babarao Savarkar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar among others. Being in solitary confinement the Savarkar brothers were unaware of each other’s presence in the same jail for two years. Many freedom fighters in the jail went through inhuman and unimaginable tortures, the very thought of which brings chills down the spines. The jail drew attention when its inmates observed hunger strikes in the early 1930s. Bhagat Singh’s associate in the freedom movement, Mahavir Singh went on a hunger strike in protest of such cruel treatment but died when authorities tried to feed him milk forcibly which went to his lungs. His body was thrown into the sea. In 1937-38 following intervention by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore the government decided on repatriating the freedom fighters.

From the Roof

My kids were pretty shaken seeing the rough clothes meant for the prisoners and the torture tools used by General Barry. But they should know that the freedom they are enjoying didn't come easy. They are standing on the sweat, blood, and flesh of our freedom fighters. The road was never easy, it wasn't meant to be.

Some quick note on Cellular Jail:

When was it built: From 1896 to 1906

Who built it: British

Time took: 10 years

Where is it located: Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Why was it built: As Solitary Confinement

Architectural Style: Cellular, Pronged

Visit Timing: 9.00 am to 12.30 pm, 1.30 pm to 4.45 pm

How to Reach: Port Blair is well-connected with many cities of mainland India by sea and air.

Light & Sound Show

It regularly holds Light & Sound (Son-et-Lumiere) shows on India’s freedom struggle in Hindi and English excepting on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The price of a ticket for The light and sound show is Rs. 50/- per adult. (rates may be revised)

P.S. I have visited the place in 2019, 2009, 1993, 1992

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@anindita

TINTIN'S TRAVELAGUE

Brown pant, beige trench coat over the long-sleeve blue shirt.....spiked hairdo.....ahh you guess it right...we are talking about none other than our beloved Tintin, a Belgian reporter. Our childhood was blessed with this iconic character and his partner snowy, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus. Tintin was not only a reporter but also an adventurer, traveler and an inquisitive character created by Hergé. Through his adventure, he took us on the other side of the world; some of them were fictitious also yet made us curious. His love and bonding with his pet cum friend snowy nourished every child's inner soul, and better to say, it has also nourished a grown-up mind with the twinkle of childlike imagination & reliving those by-gone days.

A few days back, while sorting some of my childhood collection, I just wondered how he traveled all over the world. His travel diary can be a travel goal for any tripper around the world. Therefore, I took out some time and try my hand in mapping the adventurous journey of Tintin with the help of my friend. So, here is my little gift for you Tintin lovers...... Avere Un grande momento.

Pic courtesy Internet 

Sneak peek:

Hergé was the pen name of Georges Remi.

The Adventures of Tintin is a series of 24 comic albums.

Tintin had been published in more than 70 languages.

More than 200 million copies sold.

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@anindita

Turmoil of a city pent

When I listened to the song of the Mountains,

The sea started swelling up

Waves raised their heads as if touching the clouds!

If  I swim obedient to the stream

The murmured sound of the jungle

Raged through the heart of each passer-by.

Oh, holy mother Earth, let me sink in...

Open your arms and embrace me in your warmth,

As I roam around from the mountains to the seas

Just let me sink in ..sink into your bliss.

@anindita

God's Abode

"रक्ष रक्ष महादेव नीलग्रीव जटाधर
ग्रहैस्तु सहितो रक्ष मुंच मुंच कुमारकाम्"

1996/Month of July

What a long way I have come across but still, that phase of my life is fresh in the memory. I had just finished my class 12th final exam and my dad planned a trip to Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham yatra. For me, it would be a second trip. My bua's family was to accompany us this time. All so excited. Everything was falling in place and the trip was on its high time under my dad's supervision. We reached Gauri Kund and walked till Ramwara and stayed there for the night. The next day early in the morning we set out and walked the remaining distance to reach Kedarnath. The whole day we roam around in the surrounding areas, though not much to move around still, even that small area was also like a casket of beauty and peace. The night came with a cold blanket. The wind picked up its pace and biting every inch of our uncovered body parts - eyes, nose, fingers. Too cold to set foot outside.

Kedarnath Temple 1996

But don't know how and why I, along with my cousin sister, my parents, a swamiji from Bharat Sevashram Sangha and a porter came out of the warmth of the dharamshala and were absolutely dumbstruck. In front of us, was Kedarnath temple standing along in the mystic light and the surrounding mountains were standing quietly as if waiting for something magical to happen. And then the magic took place. Behind the Kedar Mountain, the full moon peeped through as if playing hide n seeks. Oh, God! the twinkle it showed no solitaire could match it up, no Sapphire could glow to that extent. The full moon started to come out more, showing off its beauty, making us flabbergasted. The valley now flooded with moonlight, the temple was shining and those guarded mountains were now beaming with pride. I, better to say we all were motionless, spellbound by the magic. And then I realized, I was crying, not for being cold but out of sheer pleasure, an abundance of pure love and a realization that Shiva was with me, He is with me. I had truly come to God's abode. I was safe and couldn't be better than this.

Har Har Mahadev! Om Namah Shivah!

The mystic Kedar Mountain

The rear side of the Temple

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@anindita