Arrival at Agatti (Lakshdweep)

Lakshdweep islands always attracted my attention because of its serene beauty and charm but more so because these chain of islands are located far away from the Indian mainland close to Maldives. Since the entry into the islands is restricted, the nature here is at its natural best with crystal clear blue waters, white sandy beaches , lush green coconut trees and unpolluted environment. I finally made my mind to visit the islands in October 2010 alongwith my family. Obviously we all were excited to see what these dotted island on the Indian map actually look like. We have seen videos and images of this beautiful island on internet but the excitement of actually being part of all this was something that is difficult to describe in words.

As already said the entry is restricted in Lakshdweep and both Indians and foreigners require permits. While most of the habited and some inhabited islands are open to Indians, the entry of foreigners is permissible only on the three islands of Bangaram, kadamat and Agatti. Administrative office of the  U.T. of Lakshadweep at Wellington Island, Kochi is the competent Authority for issuing Entry Permit. He has also been authorized to issue permission to Indian Tourists/Foreign Tourists and Officials as per simplified procedure. Besides, Department of Tourism, Goa is also authorized to issue such permits. Getting a permit was easy for me being the government official .

We took Air India flight to Bangalore and boarded another small one from Bangalore for Agatti. Kids were more excited to see the 25 seater aircraft , while my wife looked little puzzled . She seemed not sure if this little one can take us safely to the islands.

 

Initial 20 minutes were like usual but suddenly we were forced to peep out of the window when many fellow passengers were shouting “wow” in a voice filled with excitement. The view was out of the world. Blue water everywhere and few patches of land here and there. Suddenly , we could spot a narrow airfield .There was some amount of anxiety and anxious moments as the airfield was so narrow and surrounded by sea. Anyone will have doubts if the plane can land safely. It’s definitely not meant for any big aircraft to land. But, before we could do further analysis, we did land safely. Agatti has the only airfield in the entire Lakshadweep islands and the airport is very small with bare minimum facilities. But who had interest in the facilities at the airport !.

 

We drove straight to the Government Circuit house , which surprisingly had good rooms fully equipped with Television , refrigerator. The view from the rooms balcony was breathtaking . It was already a thrilling experiencing with sea all around us.

 

Agatti's total land area is approximately 2.7 km² and it has a length of about 5.5 kilometers and the maximum width at the middle of the island is about 1000 m. The circuit house was located at the narrow end so the sea was approximately 250 metres on each side .  There are about 7000 inhabitants on the island –mostly fishermen. There is only one private resort on the island, which obviously is costly to stay. There are few petty shops nearby that sell daily grocery items. The island is full of coconut trees . Since I am fond of coconut watres, coconut trees have a special significance to me besides its natural and beauty. The island sells “ilaneer”, which is coconut water but  very sweet in taste unlike the coconut water that we are used to drink generally.

We were lucky to have Hameed who is a fishery officer and proved to be a good guide to us. He is a very popular among the locals and was an exceptional host. With him we were able to know the every minute details about the customs and traditions of the local people. The people on the island are very lively and cooperative. Its common to find locals greeting you with smile. The taxi driver was a friendly boy too. The million dollar question is if we needed a taxi at such a small island !! Anyway we were treated with the local delicacies by this taxi drivers family. A lacal bank manager treated us with neer dosa and very spicy chicken .

Agatti has long stretches of absolutely white sandy beaches on both sides of the island. Most of the stretches of beach gave us the feel as if we own the beach because there were hardly any people around, just a few fishermen occasionally found roaming around. Lying down under a tree looking at the never ending sea with blue water , listening to the roaring sound of sea is memorable experience. Sitting on the  white sandy beaches with no one but only my family with me and watching sun set and gradually the darkness engulfing the area with only ever increasing sound of the mighty roar of the sea –is the lifetime experience that one can only feel and nit easy to describe....to be continued