Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

Mount Harriet National Park (Manipur Parvat): The Most Sought-After Wilderness in Andaman By Debkumar Bhadra Cover Page of Go Explore Andaman Travel Magazine, December 2021 Stand at the summit of Mount Harriet (now Manipur Parvat) on a clear morning and the world opens up around you — the deep blue of the Andaman Sea stretching to the horizon, the lighthouse at North Bay glinting in the distance, islands scattered like emeralds across the water. It is the kind of view that stays with you long after you have descended back into the city. And yet, remarkably, this wilderness sits less than an hour and a half from Port Blair (now Sri Vijaya Puram), offering rate accessibility to an incredible natural landscape. This article explores Mount Harriet National Park, its landscape, rainforest, biodiversity, trekking routes and the famous viewpoint that connects it to one of India's  ₹20  currency note. [This post was carried in the December 2021 Edition of Go Explore Andaman, a trave...

All in the name of road safety!   By Debkumar Bhadra   I was driving my way back home, when a policeman, at about half past five in the evening, walked across the poorly lit stretch of road near the entry gate of Primary Health Centre (PHC) Wimberly Gunj and stood before my vehicle. I cautiously pulled over avoiding both the policeman at the front and the 4 wheeler driven on my rear. Aapka license dikhaiye/ आपका लाइसेंस दिखाइये (show your license) he said. I complied. It was no surprise he could not read a single word from the diving license (DL). Even I couldn’t read the name plate on his uniform in the absence of proper street lighting. Upon asking his name, he simply said he is a police constable. In a while two more constables, dodging a couple of vehicles, crossed the road making it three of them. I asked if anyone among them could educate me under which section of Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, police constables have been authorized to stop vehicles on the road or ask pro...

How a Little Oversight Cost Bittu Both His Arms - but Brought an Entire Community Together By Debkumar Bhadra There are accidents, and then there are accidents that rewrite a life entirely. For Gaurab Kumar Paul — fondly known in our neighbourhood as Bittu — a single unwary moment on the morning of June 21, 2018, did exactly that. What began as a gesture of goodwill to help a friend ended with severe high-tension electrocution injuries that ultimately result in the amputation of both his arms. I have watched Bittu play as a toddler and grow to adulthood in my small neighbourhood in South Andaman. Writing this is not easy. But his story deserves to be told — not just as a personal account of tragedy and resilience, but as a larger reflection on how our healthcare system, administrative machinery, and community respond when one of our own falls. The Accident That Changed Everything It was a Thursday morning when Bittu went to lend a helping hand to a village mate wrapping up the pr...

Celebration in the time of pandemic By Debkumar Bhadra Festivals and festivities are an integral part of Indian culture. In the words of Sadguru significance and importance of festivals in Indian culture was such that there was a time when there used to be a festival every day of the year. If today is ploughing day, tomorrow will be planting day, day after tomorrow weeding day - 365 days, 365 festivals. The sole purpose of these festivals is to bring peoples closer to one another, break the monotony, socialize, celebrate and unite into a fabric appreciating and rejoicing each other’s tradition, festivals and cultural diversity . In the coming month, we have Durga Puja between 22-26 October, 2020. Celebration of Sharadiya Durga Puja in the islands and elsewhere in the country is unique in the sense that more than those five auspicious puja days, preceding months spent in preparation are also an event in itself. Secondly almost all Durga Puja is performed in temporary pandals put ...