Seafarer's Log: Oral-kaicha Part II

 

     The work progressed, the ebbs and floods of tides kept nourishing the flora and fauna on and off, the sightings of crocodiles and some alien kind of fishes kept happening.  Occassional visits and gauging of the tide pole continued by water snakes….poor things, aye !

            One day in between the field work, me and my team carried out a reconnaissance…..and went ahead further north of the area, to see the location of our next phase of survey.  There is one more tourist attraction ahead of the channel called “Parrot Island”, apparently it’s the parrots’ headquarters of entire Andaman Islands…..at any given time there shall be a huge flock of green parrots!!  The tourist boats which operated from Baratang Jetty to this island had a light draught and occasionally enticed my coxswain to increase the speed and possibly replicate a hollywood boat chase scene.  Well, that never happened, since I had a seasoned crew behind the wheel.  The shallow draught of the tourist boats allowed them a closer maneuvering near to the mangroves of the island and provided the tourists an up-close-and-personal view to this ‘Pandemonium’. 

My boat surged ahead slowly because in comparison to the tourist boats, my boat had a larger draught and with every knot of speed the draught could increase; in seamanship terminology its called the “Squat”.  Two of my crew were positioned on the bows basically acting as a lookout.  Because, due to lack of usage of the channel, apart from the lighter draught boats, there existed a higher possibility of encountering floatsams, big n small, and my lookouts could guide the forward movement accordingly.  At any given day it can damage my boat hull and/or the propeller.  A damage in my boat meant that I have to stop till my backup arrives.  Fear can creep inside you, but then again, all the surveyors who passed through this channel before me surveying every bit of this place must have felt the same…..!!

 

The surprising point was to see depths in my echo sounder ranging between 5 meters to 30 meters, indicative of a peculiar seabed.  The echo rolls (the paper trail of digital reading) showed thick dark lines indicative of a solid sea bottom.  For a normal plane area, the seabed can be (in all probability) found to be flat but this channel’s trend turned out to be an intriguing one.  As my boat maneuvered on to the left side of the corner a single rock stood proud, with approximate dimensions 3 meters in height, 4 meters in width and around a meter in thickness.  A simple rock, but a rare one since the mangroves did not grow around it but at the back of it.  And Murphy Struck, in the form of a stray rope which entangled with one of the propeller of my boat.  The affected engine was shut down immediately.  The control of the boat was restricted to one engine only.  My team went into damage control mode!  To cut the rope using a seaman-knife.  These things are a normal exigency in field work.  Generally carried out by someone jumping into the water and do the job as they float.  But the situation didn’t warrant for such a step otherwise one of my boy would become an afternoon snack for them Giant Salt Water Crocodiles!!

Luckily my mechanic’s tool box had a hacksaw blade and the job became easier without getting into the water.  As the grinding of the rope with the blade started, the boat was brought slowly alongside our good old rock and passed the forward and aft ropes.  I sat on the transom (the aft side of the boat) just to observe the progress of the work.  

My senior most crew Pandey asked me a trivial question, out of the blue.  “How would this place look like during last Ice Age ??”, and looked at me.  Now, that’s a classic LBW way to be out in Cricket!!

One simple question, which acted like that “Limitless Pill” which went through my neurons, activating some pieces of memories…..the memories of reading Graham Hancock’s book and the chapter about Ice Age!  It would sound too megalomaniacal of me to speak like this, but lets agree to disagree, because of two reasons; one, the centre of narration is me, and two, I had read the book and wondered …just wondered how it would look like ?. 

Pandeyji was all in thrill, and that split moment of silence caught the attention of my crew too, except the guy who was cutting the rope with the hacksaw blade.  I started with an insurance that I might be wrong, but I shall try to be correct as far as possible.  Rest we all can imagine.  And I started the narration. 

During the Glacial maximum or the peak period of the last Ice Age which was around 20,000 years ago that the sea shore would have been at a place which has a depth of 120 meters during these times.  If so, this entire Middle Strait a.k.a Godam Juru a.k.a Amit La Boicha Passage would be a Canyon!! a canyon of volcanic origin.  Whose entry point would have been on the Eastern Side of the Middle Strait and end on West at a place called Port Anson (Possibly named after 18^th Century British Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Anson, who circumnavigated the Globe).  Since the seashore would be far away there wont be any mangroves too.  The highly imaginative analysis made my crew attentive. 

Then something happened, which brought in a paradigm shift in climatic condition around 13000 BC which was the end of Ice Age and from then to the current scenario of sea level.  The tides then slowly sculpted the landscape as and when the waters claimed the land in minute graduations.  The curiosity never ended there, as one of my guy asked about the civilization then. 

Since the story would be never ending, I told as a “figure of speech”, that maybe where our boat is secured, this standing rock, would have been a geographic marker for an unknown civilization who had their hunting grounds or hamlets on the land which is now underneath us!!  Pandeyji took it one step ahead, in a melodramatic manner that  maybe this is where they might have sacrificed their offerings !!!

Voila, the rope got cut completely, and my mechanics started the engines and we started our way back to ship, promising that we would move further West on the same channel some other day. 

We continued our trip back to ship slightly early because the night crawls faster in the Eastern Longitudes and I cannot risk my men and material.  So, reached back to ship in time and met my Skipper.  Well, I couldn’t hide anything from him, maybe the old man knew everything that was bound to happen and he concluded his debrief in his usual manner “Kuch toh seekh liya na?” (Atleast, you learned something, right ?)…I nodded my head in agreement, greeted him once again and went back to my cabin. 

Later at night while I was alongside the data processing team my boat crew came to meet me, just to see the area where we operated…..once again, with the eyes of wonder, and a new outlook about our job, about the topography of the location …..with a smile on their face!!

What else should I be asking for other than my crew’s illuminated minds and mine!

(NB:  The Middle Strait still exists as one distinctive geographical location which connects the Andaman Sea to the Bay of Bengal.  However, conscious decision awaits for it to be used for navigation.  The Western side opens up to Port Anson and that Survey was also attempted in the future by my ship under the same Skipper, whereas completing the entry and exit points of that location in its totallity.)

Seafarer's Log: Oral-kaicha, Part 1

 

     

“The evidence of something crucial for knowledge appears in the most unceremonious manner in front of you, almost every time.  You see it, yet you never observe it completely!  And one fine day the same thing re-appears and you call it an epiphany.  In reality, it was there, time immemorial, yet you chose to look the otherway!” 

The last time I narrated the story which I am gonna ponder here had to be left unfinished……as the listener diverted the subject to another level where the story shifted to fantasy including a particular Khal Drogo and Khaleesi (Game of Thrones, obviously) and settling their scores etc !.  Anyways, I had actually written something closer to this in one of my previous blog titled “The Last prisoner” and may be read for a little continuity….a decade old continuity!.  Nevertheless, this time it is gonna be a bit more technical in detail…..basically requiring an elevated neuron activity or in other words, just kidding!

     In September 2012, I was handling my independent project as a Hydrographer and headed to Andaman Islands for the Hydrographic Survey off Middle Strait, survey titled as “Oral-kaicha Island Part I and II”.  After all the necessary planning and kitting we set sail to Andaman Islands from Visakhapatnam.  My ship entered Port Blair Harbour for getting a few final administrative approvals as the area of the survey encompassed a reserved forest area hence requiring the clearances from the Department of Forest, Andaman Police and the Andaman-Lakshadweep Harbour Works (ALHW).  As all the correspondences which required to be communicated were forwarded on an earlier date, the approvals were acquired in time.  The ship left Port Blair harbour and headed to North.  Around 45 Nautical Miles North of Port Blair lies the survey area.

   The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a preserved area with lush green forests, pristine beaches, with very less human interference (Yes, you can still see plastic in these areas too) absolutely enjoyed by the native aborigines of the islands in most of reserved forest areas.  There are isolated settlements in between, predominantly owned by the second/ third generations of those convicted ones from the notorious cellular jail of Port Blair.

    If one has to travel to the Northern Andamans for visiting Mayabander, Diglipur, Rangat Bay, Mud Volcano, Lime Stone Caves, Tarlait Bay etc. one has to land at Port Blair which is the Administrative Capital of the Islands.  There are strict regulations regarding the traffic movements off Port Blair towards Northern Andamans.  The vehicles move as a convoy escorted by the Police and Forest officials and it takes nearly 6-7 hours on road to reach the Forest Jetty of the Middle Andaman Island.  Cross the Middle Strait via a ferry to Baratang Jetty, Baratang Island and further North to Mayabander, Rangat Bay, Diglipur etc.

     It is true that the Islands have a darker reputation, till recently within a century, where the worst human sufferings took place in and around the Islands, mainly at the Cellular Jail of Port Blair.  The sufferings did fuel the Independence movement in an unprecedented manner too.  Even though these took place in a single location, predominantly, but was enough to tarnish the unspoken history of the land.  But before that, the Islands were a pit stop for merchant ships which traversed between the mainlands into the South East.  And that’s that…..with all due regards to those known and unknown, lets move ahead!

      As I had mentioned earlier, that this project was my first independent one; and I lacked one crucial factor called experience.  And it did affect my judgements on field however, having a super experienced and unforgiving boss ensured that the right wisdom was poured into me at times through hook n crook!  So, my ship anchored off the eastern entrance of Middle Straits and commenced the basic settings for the survey.  The tide pole, for measurement of tides was decided to be set up deep into the strait at the jetty of Baratang Island since that was the mid location between the eastern and western mouths of the channel.  So, two 9 meter Survey Boats were lowered, carrying the men and material for setting up and started off early morning into the channel.  I breathe a kinda freedom, when I am in water!!!  

      Here I was….on a different role, necessary homeworks done, full of expectations, assuming things, and hoping that everything falls in place….the unknown territory which every hydrographer walked before me have gone through….maintaining one simple code of conduct.    The channel, is named as Godam Juru in local language and rechristened as Amit La Boicha Channel (citation required!) and would give one a feeling of entering unknown waters, similar to those intricate riverines of Amazon!  Well, the feeling of Amazon is purely through those generous documentaries of NGC, Discovery and yes that goddamn Anaconda Movie (with J Lo’s hind quarters which they didn’t focus, and I wondered why).  For a person who has lived mostly in main land, a trip through the internal waters of the islands can be an unforgettable one! 

      And here we are cruising slowly through the channel, absolutely calm waters and one could hear those distant voices of those birds perching somewhere in those tall trees echoing all around us.  The infinite chirping of crickets, their momentary pause indicating the cautiousness to the humming of the boats’ engines……free souls aye ? Maybe its their way of telling one, eerily, that “I see you”!  The banks had thick vegetation of mangroves spread deep then followed by thick vegetation.  Since the channel is connected directly to the seas, the effect of tides is very prominent and the same tides have played a crucial role in maintaining the aquatic life in these parts.  The jungle is thick and the banks are predominantly have light grey coloured mud/ clay, giving an appearance of finely made dough ready for baking.  We spotted some huge crocodiles, Giant Salt Water Crocodiles!!….obviously the original owners of the place!  The rumble made by our motor boats were enough to disturb their routine sun-bath and rushed back into the waters vigorously waving their tails…..million years of evolution and we see those distant relatives of a T-Rex! 

      We crossed the Lime-Stone caves which is one of the tourist attraction.  A small jetty marks the alighting point which is made of wood with a long wooden ramp leading through the mangroves , deep into a small hamlet where the cave is situated.  Yes, I promised my crew that we shall visit soon, but not now!  We crossed a small island in between the channel called “Bell Island”. 

      After around an hour we reached Baratang Jetty.  The jetty is swarmed by tourists but we had to do out work.  The first step was to erect the tide pole on a suitable location without any disturbance of boats and people.  Among my crew I had two qualified divers and they’re expected to be in the water while the tide pole was being rigged on to a strong structure.  Since it was a concrete masonry structure the pillar of the jetty was chosen to be the ideal location.  The locals who gathered around us in curiosity warned us otherwise!  Because the spot is prone to crocodiles!!  They generally don’t venture into the jety area during the ferry operating time, but, hey, why you want to take a risk??? And without the tide pole my survey cannot be fulfilled too.  Meanwhile, the ‘Pradhaan’ or the President of the Village also arrived there and he suggested an idea….to make a temporary cage with bamboo sticks and the divers can work within that enclosure.  The idea sounded good, and I agreed.  He informed some local guys and within half n hour a cart arrived filled with long bamboo sticks.  The entire village gathered around and helped in erecting temporary scaffolding around the designated area.  My divers entered the water and completed the rigging in an hour or so. 

      This was one great lesson for me, which I carried throughout my field-days that, without locals there aint any team or teamwork.  The Pradhaan helped me to accommodate my tide watch-keepers in a nearby cafeteria.  His and the Baratang Villagers’ help continued throughout my three phases of the survey and I shall be indebted forever for taking care of us.  I ensured that little packets of Juice bottles and Chocolates were transferred during our phases from ship to the people of Baratang. 

 

(Contd…)