Sunset at Chidiya Tapu

Facing amber skies, we wait

The golden sun to fall,

Tourists, tourists everywhere,

Who only shout and squall

 

Noisy people, each of them,

A shutterbug about to be,

How many photos will they take,

Never again to see

 

What was there to see, in fact

Not even a beach of gold,

Yet, the sunsets are ambrosial

That’s what I was told

 

‘The sun’s about to set behind

Those silhouette hills in black,’

My driver tried to inspire me

But then I asked him back

 

‘Those hills, are they in Andaman?

Couldn’t we go that far?’

Dilip smiled and answered back

‘No one lives there, Sir!’

 

‘Its another island far away,

Where the Jangils used to thrive,

People hardly live there now

But smugglers - and those who dive!’

 

The sun had turned now carmine red

While I looked upon my phone,

Ruttland Island was its name –

The isle of the unknown

 

The sun set fast behind the hills,

The skies glowing bright,

Scarlet, crimson, blushing red

Indeed, a lovely sight

 

The sun had set, the skies had paled

The instagrammers turned to leave,

But I stared on at the hills and found

It hard enough to believe

 

In the most populous country now,

There still were gems to see,

Where human hands had left the land,

That was standing timelessly

 

The hills and woods were exactly how

They’d be those aeons back,

But how long before we touch them too,

The silhouette hills in black

 

How long before it turns the new

Havelock or the Neil,

How long before we stamp upon

Its waters turquoise-teal

At least, one more sunset left in peace

The wood pigeons of that land,

One more night of tranquillity

For the Ridleys in the sand

 

Let the chaos, camera, caterwaul

Stay on this side of the seas,

Let it be, Ruttland Isle

Its hills and Mahua trees

 

Night descends at Chidiya Tapu,

‘Sir, it is time for us to go,’

I leave: a prayer for sunsets to come -

Let Ruttland breathe and grow

_____________________________________ 

 Cover image: Author's archives

11^th Feb’2024

 

Written after witnessing a brilliant sunset at Chidiya Tapu, Port Blair, Andamans.

After being bedazzled by the blues of Havelock and Neil Island, I visited Chidiya Tapu – perhaps named after the local birds that could have been seen here in the past. It is a popular destination for tourists to witness sunsets drenched in liquid gold. Fantabulous indeed, but what snatched my attention that evening was Ruttland Island, behind whose hills and ridges were we to witness the magical sunset.

I was amazed that there was very little human population on Ruttland, despite its proximity to Port Blair and the main Andaman Island. But such is the norm here – thankfully, low population and a respect for the indigenous tribes have ensured there are still many islands in the archipelago that are uninhabited or sparsely inhabited. Perhaps it is a matter of time (for I read about government ships plying to Ruttland and tourism opening up) but the fact excites that even today, in the most populous country in the world, there are pockets of isolation and aloofness.

To see a sunset behind the hills rising in that sanctuary was a privilege indeed, a gentle reminder of both freshness and delightful surprise that has been a hallmark so far of my visit to the Andaman Isles.