Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

M Nageshwar Rao : The Man who walked the talk By Debkumar Bhadra | Musings of an Islander | South Andaman It was just another day for M Nageshwar Rao, a cobbler until he picked up the suitcase that has come to his shop with a broken handle earlier in the day. As he turned the suitcase on the working platform, a bundle of currency notes popped out of it. The bundle had 11 notes of Rs 1000 each, totalling to Rs 11000.00 (repeat Eleven Thousand). Keeping the money aside, he went ahead to accomplish the assigned task. Next day, Surajit Chowdhury visited the shop to take delivery of the suitcase. He was happy to see his suitcase ready. But the real surprise was yet to be delivered. He was taken aback when Nageshwar Rao told him about the discovery of Rs 11000.00 from his suitcase. It was nothing less than a bounty, since he lost track of his money probably kept in the inner compartment of the suitcase during one of his repeated visit to mainland hos...

Bilimbi (Irumban Puli / Chemmeen Puli): A Lesser Known Sour Fruit of the Tropics By Debkumar Bhadra Following the encouraging readership and feedback on my earlier article on Passion Fruit , I am tempted to write about another locally available, lesser-known, under-exploited fruit — Bilimbi. Commonly found in coastal India including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) is a tropical fruit known for its intensely sour taste. It is widely used in cooking, pickling, and traditional home remedies, valued for its sharp flavour and everyday utility. In the islands, Bilimbi grows almost unnoticed—clustered along slender trunks in backyards and by the roadside. This article explains what Bilimbi is, how it tastes, its medicinal properties, culinary uses, simple recipes for Bilimbi squash and its understated presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The fruit belongs to the family Oxalidaceae and is a close relative of the carambola (star fruit), widely cultiv...

Online registration for the post of Stenographers and Lower Grade Clerks under A&N Administration begins; poor internet connectivity and to some extent candidates limited exposure to web world play spoilsport Click here for result The Andaman and Nicobar Administration notified vacancies for the posts of Stenographer(Ordinary Grade) and LGC which would be filled based on the result of the Competitive Recruitment Examination conducted with the assistance of Staff Selection Commission, New Delhi. Since this is the first time an attempt is being made to invite applications online, poor internet connectivity and to some extent candidates limited exposure to www culture, the Administrations novel initiative  evoked mixed response . I too faced some issues and notified them to the authorities concerned along with probable solutions and suggestions. To my utter surprise, the authorities responded proactively to my suggestions and incorporated necessary chan...

The workers of M/S A ndaman T imber I ndustries (now called M/S ATI L td) have been reeling under abject poverty ever since the company closed its operation rendering thousands of its workers jobless. To add insult to the injury, workers retirement dues had been linked to liquidation of company’s immovable property, which is the subject matter of court’s proceedings. M/S A ndaman  T imber  I ndustries  having its plywood manufacturing company at S hore P oint, B ambooflat in S outh A ndaman closed permanently on 9th O ctober 2000. Following wide spread protest, a meeting was convened by the then H on’ble L t G overnor at R aj N ivas involving ATI management, the then MP , ATI workers representatives, and S enior officers of A&N A dministration on 08/09/2001 . Subsequent to the deliberations at R aj N ivas and with the  MP  later in the day, ATI management issued a notice under R ef N o 231/118/2001-02 dated 17/09/2001 promising its workers enhanced ret...