Death in Nicobar

Kakana village graveyard

4^th November 2016 was a sad day. The sky wept and cicadas sang a sad requiem for the death of village Kakana’s 1^st captain, Sh. Gabriel, a very noble soul and a very enterprising leader amongst his fellow villagers.  Having spent time in Nicobar, we have been witness to the fun and frolic during festive times, a very merry and dulcet Christmas season, the energy filled canoe races which are a sight to behold against the myriad blue-green hues, the alacrity to participate in song and dance events in even the other communities’ religious festivals, the slow pace of life which celebrates the rhythm of Nature,  but it is the poise and grace with which the Nicobarese deal with their grief that struck me so deeply. Unlike the noisy cacophony which we often find in certain parts of our country, these people internalize it and stand in silence, praying for the man’s last journey, paying floral tributes one by one without trying to assume unnecessary importance silently and in the most disciplined manner. Being close to Nature they understand the rhythm of life and understand the human seasons too which makes them seemingly stoic to the death. But they also remember their dead every day as their loved ones have become the part of the nature around them, every year on All Souls’ Day (2^nd November) they decorate the graveyard with ixoras, mussaendas and light candles and incense sticks on the graves. At tsunami memorial too, floral wreaths are laid down and candles and incense are lit in the memory of those who perished in the gigantic sweep of the cruel tsunami of 2004  on 1st november every year. 

decorating the graves. photo courtesy : greatheart nicobari

another view of the ritual on All Souls' Day on 2nd Nov

Flight of the sparrow : “beti bachao beti padhao” initiatives in nicobar

“he for God,

she for god in him”

-         John Milton in “paradise lost”

well!! Not quite!!! Nicobar presents itself as a perfect exception to a generally discriminatory World. It is a society where no gender discrimination takes place. There  is no fasting or praying for the birth of a male child. The birth of a girl child is as much a celebration as a boy child’s birth. Daughters are educated at par with their brothers.  There is no dowry and certainly no concept of the woman at the mercy of in-laws.  Yes!! this utopian arcadia does exist in the southern most district of India. It is a society where this half of the population is given the full sky to spread their wings and fly high. The apotheosis of this limitless flight can be seen in the case of Ms. Deborah Harold, the world No. 4 cyclist from our very own kakana village in Carnicobar, whose parents, tuhet and village didn’t see her being a girl as a hindrance but encouraged her at every step to reach the position she is in and are continuing to do so.

When district Nicobar was included in our National Government’s flagship programme “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” , we were surprised as Nicobar enjoys fairly good sex ratio and doesn’t practice discrimination. But then we saw it as a great opportunity to even further broaden the horizons for our girls and women.

We identified the areas where we thought more could be done:

Health, Hygiene and Nutrition : awareness camps with the help of  medical doctors were organized in which discussions were held about adolescent girls and women’s health, the problem of malnutrition, prevalence of anemia and the ways to control it, the menstrual and gynaecological health, upkeep of hygienic practices etc. Demonstrations were given to properly wash hands,  to clean teeth and tongue after each meal, to dispose of sanitary tissues etc. . Kits containing  hand towel, liquid hand wash, toothpaste, tooth brush, sanitary napkin, date and almonds were distributed.

Figure 1 distribution of health, hygiene and nutrition kits by Hon'ble LG Prof. Jagdish Mukhi ji on 27th Oct 2016

Child protection, awareness about “good touch, bad touch”, POCSO and prevention of teenage pregnancy: an extensive campaign was done to reach to every girl child and teach her the meaning of good touch and bad touch through a short film called “komal”. Nicobar Police joined hands with the district team in explaining POCSO and protection of children from physical or mental abuse. One matter of great concern in the district was and still remains, is the prevalence of teenage pregnancy which requires both tact and strategy. This year our target is to develop a full-fledged strategy to combat this problem that kills the adolescence of girls and pushes them in to an early womanhood. This year Police department also plans to impart a ten-days basic self-defense training to Nicobarese  girls.

Organizing competitions to enhance the academic excellence : various competitions like essay writing, quizzing, speech competitions along with poster making, slogan writing, craft making competitions are organized all over the district to bring out a competitive edge amongst the girls of Nicobar. Attractive prizes including bicycles were given to them which were appreciated in far flung islands of Chowra as well.

Zonal sports competitions: Nicobarese people do extremely well in sports. Various competitions including cycle race, 100m, 200m and 400m , sack race, needle race, 3 legged race, shot put, long jump, high jump etc are organized from time to time to further hone the inherent sports potential among girl children. The winners of the sports competition held in feburary 2016 were given very attractive cash prizes.

      Figure 2: picture of cycle race, held in feburary 2016.

Beti janmohatsav and post-natal maternal health: It was realized that apart from felicitating mothers and newly born girl children with baby bedding and bath kits, it was important to ensure that proper nutrition was being provided to mothers. For this post natal checkup, emphasis on mother’s milk and mother’s daily nutritional

requirements was made. New mothers were also given nutrition kits that included horlicks, dates, almonds and other dry fruits.

Figure 3: distribution of baby bedding and mothers' nutrition kit by perka village captain, Sh. Moses Reuben

Skill development by provision of training through other departments: other departments like agriculture, animal husbandry and industries are poised to organize a fortnight long training for 50 girls in each of the three sub-divisonal blocks, to enhance their capability and impart skills to make them employable or help them form self help groups to start small enterprises.

Awareness programmes: a plethora of programmes were done all over the district to bring out the best in girl children. A team called “dhoomketu group” sent by Ministry of broadcasting, Song and Drama Division was sent to organize puppet shows, magic shows and nukkad nataks all over the district. The team was accompanied by our CDPO, Smt Indira devi and performed at Chowra, Teressa, Katchal, Nancowry, Kamorta, Campbell bay and delighted. The district was dotted with Cycle rally, candle marches and media rallies which were great festivals witnessed by the islanders.

Figure 4:  magic show by dhoomketu group in kinyuka village

 Apart from these a series of events like great women themed fancy dress competition, baby girl shows, distribution of sanitary napkins, cultural evenings, showcasing of women oriented movies like “chak de” etc took place, which were well appreciated by the people of Nicobar and especially among women of Nicobar. The greatest achievement this year had been an increase of 35% in this year’s class 12^th result while the class 10^th result increased by 1% to 97.9%. We also saw a decrease in cases of anaemia, skin diseases and viral hepatitis which has encouraged us.  This year too we intend to carry the previous year’s legacy even further link the programme with the improvement of  our district’s  IMR and MMR, prevention of teenage pregnancy, felicitation of academic excellence, skill development, capacity building and a overall holistic development of the girl children to help them become better humans, better citizens and the pride and glory of our great nation

BBBP poster designed by Dhruw Nath Singh, PGT

Naming customs of Nicobar

What’s in a name? And oxymoronically, almost everyone familiar with this phrase knows that it was said by Shakespeare. Name, a random but socially acceptable combination of letters not just identifies a person but defines him as well. Growing up in a small town, as a child my knowledge of names and surnames was limited to a very small set. The portals of college introduced me not just to the wide world outside but its nomenclatural trends of human beings as well. The amazement at coming across new names was a never ending process as I moved ahead in life and started working first with an MNC and then for the government. India is a land of diversity and nothing underscores this statement better than the diversity of names and surnames of Indians.

                After doing my term in Delhi, I moved to my next karmkshetra Andaman & Nicobar Islands. These scenic and mysterious islands are spread out in form of a convex arc in the Bay of Bengal and form Indian frontier in the Indian Ocean. My journey didn’t stop at Port Blair, capital of A&N Islands, but it took me further down south to Car Nicobar where I was posted as Chief of District Police. Nicobar, is altogether a different world, so far removed from the mainland not just physically but culturally as well. Every single day, which I have spent in Nicobar, has brought new fascinating discoveries to me. Nicobari people are the most amazing people I’ve ever met; they don’t just live their life, they celebrate it. They are explorers and their inventive and exploratory faculties are quite evident in their names.

                To begin with, my PSO is named as Faithful and there are people named as Grateful, Greatheart etc as well. Faithful has named his son as Anshul Roberto Carlos, a combination of names of one of former SP’s son and Faithful’s favourite footballer(Faithful has played football at national level).I was surprised to my core when I found that one Martin Luthar has his son named as Boris Baker. I have met at least two persons named as Plus Minus.And I have heard that there’s one lady with really interesting name- Yes Please. Where in India you’d come across people taking such liberties in naming themselves. If someone loves a name he’ll pick it even if it doesn’t conform to the norms; which are ultimately a collective expression of a society’s choices. Earlier, almost all names used to be in English but the predominant Christian religion hasn’t stopped the Nicobari people from giving their children Hindu names such as Shyam Lal, Priyanka, Rahul, Sanjay, etc. Nicobar has a small proportion of Muslims as well who keep Muslim names and surnames. So, names wise we see such a huge diversity of people at such a small place.

I hope that the prevailing naming customs will continue and Nicobari people will continue to display freedom and imagination in naming their children, as they do it now.

--Deepak

Töölöök Tövai Panam : a small step towards a more beautiful world

“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds”

                                                             G B Hinckley

The sea flanking the Carnic island is in turn teal, aquamarine, azure, sapphire, lapis lazuli and grey and the sands silvery white . Beholding one such view, two eco friendly huts and  seven benches, made up of locally available material, completely in-sync with the island’s beauty have been constructed and dedicated to the people of Sansad Adarsh Gram Kinyuka, under the aegis of MGNREGA scheme of Government of India

.

The site known as “Töölöök Tövai Panam” (our beautiful world) is a charming little spot for recreation and picnic dedicated to the people of Carnic. The two eco-friendly huts are made up of locally available bamboo, cane and jungle post so magnanimously provided by the captains of Kimious and Aarong and are covered with thatched roofs. The craftsmanship displayed in the construction of these huts with delicate molding of cane is par excellence. The huts are painted in earthy browns and forest greens and are in complete harmony with the surroundings.

This project incurred an expenditure of a little above four lakh rupess, out of which more than 3.7 lakhs were given as wages to create 1554 mandays  and in this case “women-days” as more than 80% MGNREGA workers in this project were women, scripting a small but successful story of asset creation , with a very small carbon footprint (if at all), along with providing meaningful and satisfying employment to these very proficient craftsmen and women of Carnicobar.

The construction of these huts and benches along with cane garbage bins and planting of flowering plants like periwinkle and tecoma was completed in a record time by the MGNREGA team comprising of Block Development Officer, Programme Officer, Assistant Engineer and four extremely dedicated Gram Rozgar Sevaks . Three solar street lamps erected by the electricity department adds to the attraction and safety of this spot.

entry to the picnic spot

blessed by a priest before inauguration

The site was decorated with tender leaves of coconut and was inaugurated by S.P. Nicobar after a prayer was read out by the Kinyuka church priest on 15^th August 2016, to the loud cheer and exultation of everyone present. The inauguration function also saw the distribution of complete Soccer Kit and Yoga mats worth fifty thousand rupees by sports department to the sports loving people of Kinyuka under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)..

The eco-huts constructed at Kinyuka have been widely appreciated for their recreational utility and environmental friendly construction. The district administration plans to construct  similar huts under MGNREGA not just in Carnicobar but also in other islands of the district as well. We firmly believe that it takes a small step to make a giant leap. Jai Hind

tsunami preparedness in nicobar : the initiatives by the district disaster preparedness creative team

Tsunami is one of the most dreaded words for any citizen of Nicobar district. One eighth of the population was swept away by the onslaught of these murderous waves of 2004 December Tsunami. No eye can remain dry if one hears these heart rending tales when hopes, dreams and families were sacrificed at the altar of Nature's demonic manifestation encountered by these people. One can hardly make up for this loss but together we can be better prepared to take on the future ones while obviously hoping that such calamity must never occur again.
The District Disaster Preparedness Creative Team after a month of deliberation has come out with a disaster management booklet on tsunami which can be seen by following the link below:
http://db.and.nic.in/nicobars/docs/DisasterPreparednessBookletOnTsunami.pdf
This booklet is a very short and simple guide for the citizens to follow. the Nicobarese version would be made available soon and would be uploaded as well.

 Other important initiative was designing of two posters after much deliberation to explain the steps to be taken by the people in the easiest and shortest possible manner to take on the onslaught of any calamity. the creative team has also been given the responsibility to demonstrate through nukkad natak and other means in every school and village, the basic steps to brace oneself for any eventuality.

The survival kit and its contents. every family is being encouraged to prepare one

3 simple steps : what to do during tsunami??

Seventy years of Independence and Nicobar

India, with her kaleidoscopic diversity is a country whose charming variety emanates from its history, shaped by its geography and adorned by myriad cultures. A few days from now, we shall be celebrating our 70^th Independence Day. Years ago, India made a “tryst with her destiny” and the hopes and dreams of a great nation were envisioned and dreamt.

Today, we are a proud nation with the third largest economy (in PPP) and possess the second largest human resources. We have sent mangalyana and are envied by the world for our indigenous technology. We are also poised to fight the demons of unequal development and socio-economic infrastructure bottlenecks.

Here, in the southernmost district of the country, we are proud of being a part of India’s progress. The district has seen the worst of natural disaster and yet its people are so resilient that they have bounced back to normalcy in record time. This quality of people of Nicobar is our greatest asset.

Usually, we associate growth and development only with the economy and completely ignore the social aspect of it. From Nicobar, the materialistic world can learn a lesson or two. Whereas, in the rest of the country, the position of women even after 70 years of independence is still questionable, the Nicobari women are independent, free from the fear of foeticide, gender discrimination, eve-teasing, dowry deaths, domestic violence, acid attacks and even the social ostracism which only a woman faces in case of child out of wedlock. It is indeed a great achievement that the people of Nicobar treat their women so well and help in materializing the true spirit of freedom envisaged by thinkers like Tagore and Rousseau – the freedom from the fear and a dignified life.

Figure 1: A group of nicobari women in their traditional dress.

Photo: Greatheart Nicobari

The tuhet system that takes care of the orphans, the old, the sick, the disabled is yet another strength of the people of Nicobar. It’s indeed a great freedom from insecurities that the people of the district ensure for one and all. Our friendly neighboring country, Bhutan is well known for its high happiness index and the people of Nicobar too can boast of the same as they are so socially advanced, resilient in the face of adversities, so happy, simple and content.

Yet, we are certainly not a Utopian district. We have more than our fair share of problems which have made administration in this district an arduous task. The biggest challenge for the administration is the long gestational period of developmental projects due to the very geography of this district. The district comprises of 22 islands and eight of them are inhabited. These islands are not only far from the nearest economic hub i.e. Port Blair but also separated from each other by a very tempestuous sea, making transportation of people, goods and everything that is important for the development of infrastructure a slow and cumbersome process. The lack of mobile and internet connectivity along with this geographical isolation also inhibits the islands from taking giant leaps towards progress. The smaller islands like Chaura and hamlets in Nancowry and little Nicobar also lack some very basic facilities like water and 24x7 electricity. Though the administration has been taking steps like floating a tender for de-salination plant in Chaura Island, installation of solar street lights, commissioning an exclusive boat for the southern sector etc, the common islander still has a lot to wish for. Therefore, a lot has to be done by the administration, by in fact everyone, from the lowest MGNREGA functionary to the district administration to the highest policy makers for the betterment of this beautiful district. With the 70^th anniversary of India’s independence not far off, we must understand that the only way forward is as enshrined by our national government’s motto .i.e. “together with all, development for all” and to achieve this, we all must join hands and play our small role in this glorious march to a better India. Jai Hind.

Spectacular sunsets of nicobar

Talk about setting of our life-giving star, and the even the most taciturn and reticent speaker shall wax eloquent, ordinary mortals like me may even turn poetic. The tangerine sunsets washes the skies and earth in a golden hue so enchanting that not even a puritan can stay indifferent to it. The mysterious song of cicadas, the slow fading of deep orange, mixing with darker crimsons and finally disappearing into midnight blues, the darkening of coconut greens in to gaunt windblown silhouettes are priceless. The sea beaches apart from mountains are considered best for viewing these sunsets in their full glory and we have been fortunate to behold many of these mesmeric ones here in Nicobar islands and their more popular cousins in the andaman group and we thank the Almighty to bestow upon the opportunity to be a witness to these breath-takingly beautiful sunsets..

sunset at pilpillow beach, kamorta island
photo : Deepak Yadav, IPS

kimious beach, Carnicobar
photo : Deepak Yadav, IPS

sunset at macachua, little nicobar
photo : Jabestin Arulraj, IFoS

another shot of kimious beach
photo : Pandava Shreenu, NRHM

The enchanting Teressa Island

meadow-like grasslands in bengali and alurong villages

Named after the Austrian Arch-duchess Maria Theresia, Teressa or Tarasa (or Luroo in the local language), is one of the most  beautiful of Nicobarese islands. It is the neighbour of the abandoned Bompuka island and is situated south of chowra island (famed for its shamans).

rainlilies (pic taken from internet)

The island surrounded by the silvery white sands is unique with its vast expanse of grasslands dotted with ubiquitous wild kevadi or Pandanus trees. This mesmerising verdure is interspersed with flowers of the most lurid colors ranging from flaming orange colored pagoda flowers (also known as "hanuman kireetam"), luxuriant clusters of shocking pink and purple rain lilies,  red and green wild poinsettias (euphorbia cyathophora) and wild lantanas with yellow and tangerine florets and riot of (what is known as) common floss flower or siam weed.

pagoda flower in its full splendour
(pic taken from wikipedia)

The island is serene and tranquil and is served by one north south road  that connects southern villages  luxi and Chukmachi with northern villages Bengali, Kalasi and Alurong and boasts of a brand new RCC jetty. However due to lack of breakwaters, the jetty is used sparingly as the big boats are seldom able to touch the jetty. This island is being served by pawanhans helicopter service four times a week to Kamorta, Carnicobar and Port Blair and twice in a week to Chowra.

a sign board showing the names and distance
of all the villages from the helipad

teressa jetty built by ALHW

safed balu beach

The beach Safed Balu , true to its name boasts of silver sands, encasing myriad shades of aquamarine waters, covered with beach morning glory vines with hot pink flowers is a lovely place to visit. Another  interesting place of interest could be a lone gazebo-hut on a small hillock, though shunned by the locals and covered with crosses and un-hexed by nails  and from here one can view really spectacular sunsets.

Teressa with its english meadow- like beauty is truly one of the most bewitching islands in the Nicobar group of islands with simple, god-fearing and content people as is case with all the Nicobarese Tribals. 

the view hut protected and un-hexed by use of cross and nails 

the nicobari canoe - the lifeline of these islands

an "Ap" in the carnic waters

                           Nicobarese hodi or "Ap" or  "Ri" as it is called  further south than carnicobar and chowra, used  for  a gamut of activities like fishing, for "Asol Ap" (canoe racing) and for pleasure rides,  is made up of a single hollowed-out tree trunk with a single outrigger for support and is quite narrow, usually decorated with traditional and pre-christian motifs. Its beauty lies in its very lightness and maneuverability which makes it a much more dependable option than typical "dinghys" or even more sophisticated gemini boats in the tempestuous waters of bay of bengal as it can easily be flicked to drain the water that could have got in due to those furiously raging waves, making another boat heavy and susceptible to submergence.
The inhabitants of chowra island (in nicobar district) known for their eldritch and shamanic powers clearly dominated the trade of wood, arecanuts, lime etc which was done for manufacturing these canoes and were feared and admired so, that their canoes ( apart from pottery) were used by most other islanders as the rituals done by the chowrite shamans "kamasuon" seemed to have bestowed a protective power over these canoes. The sea-worthiness of the "ap" can hardly be challenged as even today it epitomises the very best of indigenious watercraft traditions. With length varying from 2m to 25m, these canoes are a sight to behold on the turquoise blue waters of these islands and especially during the canoe race. 

two "ap" decorated with kevadi  leaves stationed outside malacca village community hall
photo : Pandava Sreenu, NRHM

the link to a beautiful video on the "asol ap" day. 
courtesy : Greatheart Nicobari  https://www.facebook.com/greatheart.nicobari/videos/653817184721512/

nicobar dotted with mussaenda trees

a mussaenda tree in its full peach and coral splendour,  Malacca village, carnicobar

Mussaenda Frondosa, another variety found in abundance in kamorta island, Nicobar district

Nicobar : my home, my islands

a view from the top of the light house, at Keating Point, Mus village,  Carnicobar

"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety"
                              - William Shakespeare, "Antony and Cleopatra"


India, with her infinite variety, is a land of myriad charms and beckons us to experience in all its grandeur and sumptuosity.
Nicobar district, the southern-most district is actually a group of 22 islands, situated in the south-east of the Bay of Bengal adds a distinct shade of its own to this multi-hued, myriad-faceted country. The emerald green isles with its luxuriant flora, its acres of coconut gardens, its flaming scarlet ixoras , stunningly crimson hibiscuses, peachy coral hued mussaendas, is surrounded by azure blue and turquoise green waters, enchant us as we approach the isles by Pawan Hans Helicopter services, once in a week chartered Air India Flight or by the various DSS Ships.
A home to Nicobarese and Shompen tribes, these islands are separated from the Andaman group of islands by the tempestuous and “menacing” ten degree channels giving these islands an aura of mystery and elusiveness, which is further heightened by the fact these islands with the exception of revenue area of Campbell bay in Great Nicobar islands is closed to tourists and outsiders.
Many pristine virginal beaches with silver sands sparkling in the sun surround these islands makes one remember how "A thing of beauty is a joy forever"
But these beautiful isles have also a heart breakingly sad tale to tell. Not a day passes, when the dreaded word "Tsunami" is not mentioned not a day passes when an eye doesn’t shed tears in the memory of their loved one taken so brutally away by the on-slaught of nature. The destruction of one’s home doesn’t ever rattle one when one has seen the families withering away.
But time heals everything and every dark cloud has a silver lining. The silver here lies in the renewed jest for life and the herculean efforts made by Nicobarese people and administration in not only re-constructing the shattered hopes but building new ones and we are poised to welcome changes that will bring about a paradigm shift. The slow but sure and steady steps would pave way for a Brave New World, unafraid of the furies of nature and being a part of India’s march to inclusive development and happiness for all.