Seafarer's Log: Kondul - The Sleeping Island

“Sometimes in the waves of change, we find out true direction” -  unknown

I

As a  Hydrographer my voyages and work in the Andaman and Nicobar islands have been an exciting one.  The fine turning of my job with respect to the planning phase, execution and monitoring the progress etc., the tasks off and on in these beautiful islands has, undoubtedly, been the sweetest memories so far.  The hydrographic survey on the coasts of mainland and island holds not much of a difference, but facilitating various requirements in an island where connectivity is almost nil, therefore ensuring a seamless operation always gives on an immense joy pertaining to the job; in short I love my job! 

Now, for those who are unaware of what hydrography is all about, let me give you a general idea about the job, just so that the reader is not found wanting.   The explanation which I am providing contain comparison of normal, visible to human eyes, jobs so that one can understand it to an extent.

 

While travelling from one place to another, we use maps, which shows the general geography for example, roads, towns, distance, contours etc., so that the traveller can easily comprehend.    If the traveller is carrying a handy compass then it adds a deeper understanding of the map as the orientation of the path gives  a whole new meaning to the map, further if the person is carrying a handheld GPS set then the map becomes more accurate.  Consequently, one can relate the signs, marks and structures etc while on journey while referring to the map with a compass and yes, a GPS set. 

But how does the vessels, crafts and ships travel in a water body, at sea??  There are no towns or hills or marks at sea right?  And more importantly, there won’t be any idea about the depth below your boat.  The ‘map’ of a water body, channel or sea makes complete sense if it has depth marked at specific locations marked according to the latitude and longitude.  These factors cumulatively provides a navigator the knowledge on how to proceed from one place to another using water as the medium.  In short Hydrography is about making a ‘map’ of the sea, in nautical terms as ‘chart’, which contains the water body is, accurately depicted with respect to the available depth and width of water conjoined with the exact spot of depth marked within the latitude and longitude.

 

However, there are certain procedures in achieving this feat, which are using an echosounder clubbed with a GPS set.  An echosounder produces sonar pulses which keeps on ‘pinging’ acoustic pulses and the equipment has certain settings where it measures the time taken for the pulse to transmit and receive post reflection by the sea bottom.  The time taken divided by two marks the depth and the equipment itself is connected to a GPS set which keeps on monitoring and registers the Latitude and longitude along with the echosounder, thus recording each depth with respect to its coordinates. 

Additionally, these depths are corrected for the tides; high and low and so on and so forth.  So ideally before the survey starts, there are enough tasks to be carried out from setting up of a tidal station, GPS integrity monitoring station, sound velocity readings etc…...if you’re feeling it as lengthy as a  budget speech, let me stop it here and start afresh on my story of the Island of Kondul. 

II

In the midsummer of 2018, my ship was tasked for survey of St. George’s Channel located between the North of Great Nicobar Island and Little Nicobar Island.  As part of the homework, we generally refer to the old survey which were carried out in that area so as to understand the terrain better in terms of  tide station, tide behaviour, currents, triangulation points, accommodation of crew etc.  All necessary planning was carried out, referring to the old data, and we prepared for conducting the survey godspeed.  We set sail from Port Blair for Great Nicobar and reached the next morning at St.George’s Channel.

 

As per the records the last hydrographic survey of the area was carried out in 1992!  The general layout of depth contours, navigation hazards et al doesn’t change in a time of 26 years yet a conscious decision was taken by my skipper to maintain a suitable distance of five nautical miles from the island.  Perhaps catering for the strong currents of the channel and obviously the 26 years period of uncertainty is a wise decision!

During the planning session we had decided that the tidal station will be set up at Kondul island, since the data of 1992 mentions about favourable conditions and facilities, a 50 meter length concrete jetty, a passenger hall, a police station, a forest outpost, a small town with fresh water well and friendly people.  With nearly ten years of  experience in reconnaissance in many a locations, setting up the tidal station, accommodation and food for the ground crew, liaising with the local populace, police and fishermen etc, I was pretty sure in achieving what I had desired of  on that field.

I convinced my skipper and once again volunteered for the initial reconnaissance of the location.  By early morning I along with my team was lowered on a boat and headed for the island of Kondul.  I never knew that I was heading for the rarest of the experience in my life which was in a way very emotional and spooky in all its senses. 

III

Generally, in any island it has been observed that the very first respondent to any visitors are dogs!  They appear on the beach as those buggers are sharp and ever ready with their perfectly functioning olfactory and audiometric senses.  As we were approaching the island, contrary to the set procedures……there were no dogs to greet us!

 

A perfect looking island, with lush green trees; palm, coconut, casuarina and very many other species, swaying their branches in the morning breeze, and the clattering of the leaves sounded like a standing ovation of a thousand people.   But, the beach was eerily empty, the flotsams on the beach clearly demarcated the tidal line and there was no sign of people either.   Through the binoculars all I could see was some huts which appeared like they were empty and had not been maintained with broken roofs with dried tree trunks upon it.  A pathway, appeared to be made of concrete, with strange kind of shadows made by the trees which stood on both the sides, was spiralling towards a little height and vanishing somewhere around a turn. A huge rock of about fifty meters stood on the north of the island in all its majestic demeanour as if a loyal soldier standing guard, looking out at the sea, not even a single flinch of his eyelids. 

There are times when in broad day light, one starts feeling uneasy, because of various reasons; predominantly subdued by a thought that the planning phase itself was a mistake since the man on the field is responsible for finding the locations as mentioned in the records.  All your plans needed to be matching to an extent, but then again for a moment I was stuck with several doubts, predominantly whether this were ‘the’ location I was looking for? Or did I grossly go wrong by several miles??

 I ordered my boat to be stopped, maintaining nearly a kilometre off the island so that I can recheck the copies of the old record I was having.  The old record was nearly two pages which had black and white photo showing the silhouette of the island and it’s a perfect match except for the outgrowth of flora.  The jetty was only a few meters length which was not the case as on ground it appeared nearly 35 meters or more, indicating it must have been constructed after the old survey in 1992.

 

The rolling and pitching of the boat in that strong current had already had its effect on everyone onboard that boat (including me!), and my ship which was monitoring our boat was trying to contact through wireless set regarding the status.  Somehow the radio transmission was not clear and mostly broken and our status had to be appraised. Come what may, I went ahead and transmitted the message in my set, knowing that the ship will receive it, mentioning that:-

“the island appears to be uninhabited.  We are going in for a closer look. Over”

            Whether the approval from my ship was received or not, augmented by the alibi for poor radio coverage in place, driven by a deep inquisition and a strange determination I ordered my crew to take the boat closer to the jetty.   The question still lingered in my mind: “is this really the Kondul Island??”

            We approached the concrete jetty, which was broken at various locations, the barnacles growth has spread all over, indicating absence of movement for longer a time.  Had there been movement of people, boats and material on that jetty these outcrops wouldn’t have been present.  My coxswain manoeuvred the boat so as to touch the bows on to the jetty so that a few of us could climb over it.  It’s an uncertain step since we don’t know the integrity of that structure if it hasn’t been touched for long, and the destruction caused on the structure was visible very much. 

 

For a concrete structure, built on sea, the main adversary is the sea itself, the dynamics of the waves, tides, winds , salt etc. combined makes a perfect decoction for destruction, it won’t be a quicker one, but in due course of time these forces will result in systematic corrosion and will bring it down.  For a structure like a jetty which is extending towards the sea, it was clear that the powerful enemy would have been none other than the wave action.  And only one such perfect condition existed between 1992 and 2018 which could, in all probability, be the reason for its destruction; a humongous wave, that could be the cause of uprooting of concrete from its pylons, with its sheer power; a giant wave or waves, a tsunami, the tsunami of 2004!

            Even though the consequences of Tsunami of 2004 was discussed during the planning session for this hydrographic survey, it never crossed our mind that such a devastation could have been possible resulting in abandoning a complete living area.  That broken jetty, a destroyed passenger hall, absence of people and animals, flotsams on the beach etc. had a story to say…..the story of an abandoned island. 

            We did not venture much in to the dilapidated jetty and stood there for some time looking at the island, because I failed in understanding the destruction that a tsunami had brought.  I called my boat to come back, touch the bows so that we could embark. My heart sank, because my dreams or thoughts about a seamless execution of my survey suddenly hit a roadblock.  Then again, it’s never the end of the road…that was the thought to harbour at the moment when all my men look up to me for a decision.

 

            One of my crew spotted a structure just south of Kondul Island, at the northern tip of the Great Nicobar Island, it appeared to be a concrete jetty!  Now that is the indication of civilisation, possibly a village, a small hamlet, which was not recorded in the old archives we were holding, neither included in the latest information too.  I chose to head towards that concrete structure and to my surprise it is a brand new structure made of concrete masonry, with a ramp and rubbing strakes for medium size ships to berth alongside…..and yes a few people and a small gang of dogs too! 

The construction work of a concrete pathway was still in progress by the public works department viz, Andaman Lakshadweep harbour Works (ALHW).  We berthed our boat alongside, greeted the local people and stood on the land; that feeling of standing on a firm ground after heavy rocking on boat is something heavenly, for at least a minute or so.  But first things first; inform the ship which was visible in the horizon, approximately 7 to 8 nautical miles.  I transmitted the new decision taken and the observation that Kondul Island is abandoned, and that I was setting up my ground support at a new location called ‘Afrabay’. 

IV

            Afrabay village existed earlier along with Kondul and was not a new location for our brothers-in-arms, The Coast Guard.  The CG ships do patrol in these areas and at times have berthed alongside Afrabay jetty too.  However, these information was not updated with the hydrographic archives alas! 

Now, there are certain customs and tradition to be observed while on a new location, especially an island.  Obliging to the custom I ventured into the village to meet the Chief of the Village as a mark of respect.  This tradition goes back in time, perhaps centuries back, and here I am fast forward in 2018 obeying the unwritten code of conduct! 

And I did so, met their Captain Mr. Lawrence, and followed by the staff manning the Police and forest outpost.  Verbally took the permission from Captain Lawrence and assured him that none of our tasks will cause any difficulty to his people, nor any damage to the proper of the island and the permission was granted in consultation with the Police and Forest department staffs. 

We carried out a recce for setting up the tide pole, found a place and my guys were happy to jump into those crystal clear waters for setting up the same. Meanwhile, I proceeded to arrange the accommodation for my crew whom I will be leaving at Afrabay for tidal and GPS observation.  As directed by the Police staff, we found one hut where the construction crew were staying, arranged for their food and replenished them with additional food supply of rice, wheat flour, lentils, spices, bread, eggs etc. 

       The tide pole was rigged, the crew to stay back was provided food and accommodation, a new spot for GPS observation was also set up; in short the ground control is in place.  The people of Afrabay was so friendly, that they brought a lots of bell-apple which was abundant in their village, some black tea was prepared by the construction crew and in return, for all the children, in Afrabay we gave them chocolate and juice packets.  My ship instructed us through radio, to maintain on the spot and recovery will be carried out before sunset. 

V

I should admit that the curiosity got the best of me, and wanted to know the reason Kondul island was abandoned and is still vacant.  There was none other than Captain Lawrence to speak about it and I mustered my courage to ask him about that day…….26^th of December, 2004.  

I knew it was uncalled for, or may be a higher degree of disrespecting a man’s moments, which were undoubtedly filled with pain and agony.  However, Captain Lawrence sat next to me, had a subtle smile, took a long breath and narrated the incident.  An eye witness version of that fateful day emerged……. 

Apparently, he and his family were settled at Afrabay and kith n kin at Kondul Island, where he remembers his earlier generations being settled there.  It was just another Sunday, where most of the village was just waking up and many were into Sunday mass in their little chapel nearly at 7 o’clock.  Suddenly there was a rumble, the entire island, the high rock and trees around it started shaking violently for about five minutes and continued in a severe mode reaching a certain stage where the huts, smaller buildings, the jetty crane and installations started cracking and falling. 

The frenzy continued for more than five minutes, as Lawrence mentioned, and then stopped gradually.  Even though he said it in a quick time, I sensed that those single minutes of quakes must have felt like eons…..

The big bats that occupied the trees got a rude shake up from their morning slumber and they scrambled away quickly, so was the case of other birds.  In that brief moment of silence the leaves which were shook down from the trees started falling like rain, everybody scrambled out of their homes and at that moment the safest place was the beach……everyone stood there silent, not knowing the gravity of the situation. 

            The islanders are not new to earthquakes, every season at least a couple of minor earthquakes used to happen along the stretch, but that day was different, that it shook for nearly ten minutes, starting slowly then shaking violently then gradually subsided.  The nearby southern tip of Little Nicobar Island had a huge rock cliff which was split into several pieces and fell into the sea with a loud splash.  The rock on the northern tip of Kondul however maintained its grandeur; one tough old son-of-a-gun it must have been!

            Within an hour, the water started receding. The level went down so much that the seaward edge of the jetty stood bare, the rock formations nearly 250 meters off the seashore was stark naked, it appeared like the blanket of water has been pulled off revealing everything that existed in the channel.  The horizon showed up slightly strange that a wave appeared with its crest falling which was akin to a wavelet made by a large ship, approaching fast, growing up in size as it neared the edge of Afrabay in a strange fashion of destructive approach.

It took nearly a minute or so, a huge wall of wave struck the island!!!

     Lawrence’s face was emotionless, he paused for a moment, stared blankly towards the island and let off a long breath.  I did not have the courage to look into his eyes or ask any further, perhaps I cannot fathom the amount of pain that he and his family must have gone through, for whom this island was their only world, only bastion, their only home.

 

     The island’s location being in the middle of the Channel (named as St.George Channel) between Great Nicobar Island and Little Nicobar Island, accentuated the sheer power of this wave action of Tsunami, presumably by focussed hit on the Northern half of the Island. 

The Tsunamis have a peculiarity; the shallower the gradient the higher the wave becomes.  Since the nearby depths around the island was comparatively following a shelving trend, resulted in a huge build-up of waves.  The waves built up into a huge wall, which without much difficulty passed through and through the island.  The fury of the waves continued for another hour and half, as the people at Afrabay couldn’t do much other than to watch in horror.  Lawrence paused , turned to me with the same smile, as if he doesn’t have any more things to say……and looked up at the sky and stayed transfixed for some time.  I did not disturb the man anymore, as unintentionally, I believe, I had done the damage.  He stood up and started walking back to his home, and waved his hand, without looking back…..my heart sank.

VI

            A total of 116 people lost their lives that day.  The few who could manage to find a higher ground upon the Northern rock stayed there till the water subsided.  The mortal remains of many a people was found in the following days, but many were missing and their bodies were not to be found.  The government sprang into action and disaster relief services were provided, as part of which the rest of the families were rehabilitated at Afrabay.  The people of Kondul and Afrabay came together and buried their dead within Kondul island, and decided not to return to the island.  A monument was erected in Afrabay to commemorate the ones who couldn’t make it on that fateful day.  I couldn’t ask for a reason why they chose to never return....perhaps those good hearted people chose not to unrest those who rested there along with their sweet memories.

            The time was nearing sunset, the plans with which I had started my day took an unprecedented turn, but still a chance accident diverted my path to another place where I could recommence what my predecessors left in 1992! 

We bid farewell to the villagers and my ground crew who will be staying for another fifteen days.  As my coxswain manoeuvred the boat towards East to my ship, I once again glanced towards Kondul island, prayed for a moment for all those departed, and wished that I would say this story someday. 

                                                          VII

            The island is real and alive, but chose to be in a sleep, perhaps dreaming while on a long sleep when life was everywhere within that small island.  The setting sun in the west showed the silhouette of the island in all its glory, the breeze still shaking those leaves, sounded like a standing ovation with a thousand claps……perhaps its for us….and for all those who is fortunate to see their homes and loved ones, faraway from everyone…..to hear their story….and to see the beauty of their little island called Kondul.