Andaman Day 6 - The Indian Navy's Samudrika museum at Port Blair

 Feb 15th 2024 - post lunch

Continued from here - the morning at Kalatang

The Samudrika museum is in Haddo.  It was less than 500 m from where we stayed.

Maintained by the Indian Navy, it was good to visit - there were sections on the origins, geology, the sea life and the tribals.

I used "text recognition" from the photographs and plates up on the walls - so this below are verbatims from the Samudrika museum.

PANORAMIC INTRODUCTION

Andaman Nicobar archipelago is situated in the Bay of Bengal, mid way between peninsular India and Myanmar, spreading like a broken necklace in the North-south direction. These islands are Located between 06°45" and 13°41" North latitude, and 92°12" and 93957" East longitude. There are 572 islands which can be distinguished into two groups geographically. Only 36 islands are inhabited by human beings, 24 being in Andaman group and 12 in Nicobar group of islands. Islands located north of 10° A latitude are known as Andaman group of Islands while islands located south of 10°N latitude are called Nicobar group of islands: Total geographic area of A L I Islands is 8249 sq km of which Andaman group of islands cover 6408 sq km. while Nicobar group cover 1841 km.

These islands are the summits of a submarine mountain range bring on the great tectonic suture zone extending from the eastern Himalayas along the Myanmar border to the Arakan and finally Sumatra and lesser Sundas. The northern most part of these islands is isolated from Cape Negrais in Southern Myanmar by the North Preparis Channel and the southern most part is also separated from the Acheen Head of Western Sumatra by the great Channel. There are two more deep channels - the Ten Degree Channel which isolates Andaman islands from Nicobar islands and the Somber Channel which isolates great Nicobar from Nicobar Is and the Nancowrie group.

FORMATION OF ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

Far back in time, some 150 million years ago, molten magma might have oozed from earth's crust along the dilated ocean floor at the foot of a submarine ridge. The phenomenon appears to have taken a long time thus creating mid-ocean rise known to many Geologists as. 'whale back tumours. These islands with a few exceptions are volcanic in origin. We are in fact at the tip of a risen undulating lava plateau, the core of which goes deep down beyond the ocean floor. This hypothesis is in conformity with the expanding earth theory.  

The only live volcano in the Indian peninsula, Barren lies around 120 km. North East of Port Blair in Andaman sea (12°17' North Latitude and 93•50' East Longitude. This tiny almost circular island covers an area of about 8 sq. km and has a diameter of about 3 km. It belongs to general Sunda group and is believed to have born out of an eruption which occurred during the late Pleistocene period. Later in the course of geological evolution the prime giant cone got transformed to the present day Barren. The existing cone in fact, is the central part of the blown off cauldron. 

Contrary to its name Barren Island is fully covered with lush green forest and is inhabited by 13 species of birds, 10 species of butterflies, 09 species of insects, 07 species of mammals, 06 species of flies and 02 species each of centipedes and spiders. The mammals include a stock of feral goats, which have adapted themselves to the terrain and depend on sea water to survive in the absence  of a perennial fresh water source on the island. It is believed that the goats reached the island following a shipwreck in the region.

(Barren Island sounds totally fascinating!Erupted in 1991 and then even in 2020!  https://roundglasssustain.com/photo-stories/barren-island)

DISCOVERY

The Chinese knew of these islands more than a thousand years ago and called it 'yeng-t omag' in the first millennium. Ptolemy, the renowned Roman geographer during the second century called it "Angdaman islands '(Islands of good fortune).

I' T Sing, a Buddhist monk, named it Lo-jen-kuo' (Land of Naked). The great traveller Marco Polo called it 'Angamanain. In the 15* century, Nicolo Contri, the Italian traveler called them 'Island of God".

However, when the current name 'Andaman' crept in is shrouded. The Indian legends trace back the origins of the islands to antiquity. The name Andaman being derived from Handuman, or Hanuman, the monkey god of the epic Ramayana, who is said to have used the islands as stepping stones on his journey to Sri Lanka across the sea. The name Nicobar seems to be a corruption of a South Indian term Nakkavaram' (Land of Naked) as indicated in the great Tanjore inscription of 1050 A.D.

ABORIGINES & TRIBES

It is believed that the Andaman aborigines might have reached these islands very early in time, possibly by boat from South East Asia since they show a strong affinity to the Semangs of Malaysia and the Aetas of Philippines. However, a recent DNA match is indicative of direct link with the pygmies of Southern Africa. The Nicobarese must have migrated sometime before the Christian era.

The origin of Andaman aborigines are primarily hunter-gatherers, whereas the tribes of Nicobar are mainly horticulturists and herders. Sentinelese continue to be hostile to outsiders whereas the once ferocious Jarawas are gradually becoming friendly to civilized population. Onges and Great Andamanese have accepted the presence of outsiders. The Nicobarese have integrated well with outsiders and have joined the Indian mainstream. Shompens still avoid contact but are non hostile.

JARAWA

This Jarawas live in the reserve forest belt of about 639 sq.km area in western coast of south and Middle Andaman. The members of this tribe are now becoming frienaly. However, they continue with their primitive way of ife. The Jarawa live in communal huts, which lack a sleeping platform. They utilize naturally available material such a palm laves, barks, canes, seashells, corals etc. for their ornaments as well as for their dress. Their population is around 240.

ONGE

The Onge live in Little Andaman, as island 130 km. south of Port Blair. They inhabited in two settlements, one at Dugong Creek and other at South Bay overan area of 25 sq. km. The Onge differ from the Great Andamanese in language and in some aspects of their culture. Their settlement pattern and subsistence activities are however similar to those of the Great Andamanese. They have their local groups with well defined territories for hunting and collecting forest products.

Each member of the clan lives in his / her respective communal hut. This tribe still exists as hunters. Monogamy is their traditional social norm. Ones are friendly with neighbours and visitors. There are about 98 Onges alive today.

GREAT ANDAMANESE

The vanishing Great Andamanese tribe is settled at Strait Island, which is about 46Km. Away from Port Blair and has an area of 60ha. Present population of 43 are the remnants of ten clans of the once flourishing aborigines who inhabited the South & Middle Andaman and were first to be befriended. Mass mortality occurred among them soon on contact with civilized man through influenza, small pox, measles and sexually transmitted infectious diseases. Today they are considered perhaps the weakest ethnic group.

NICOBARESE

Nicobarese are simple people and maintain a simple lifestyle. A 'Captain' heads each village and the leader of the whole island is known as the 'Chief Captain'. Central Nicobar Islands were sometimes headed by lady captains often termed as 'Rani' of the island. Rani Lachmi of Nancowry and Rani Changa of Katchal ruled their respective islands with authority for a considerable period. The Nicobarese joined mainstream civilization a couple of decades back and boasts of employment in respected civil posts and private endeavours by their clan. Their present population is estimated at 28653.

SENTINELESE

Sentinelese are the sole inhabitants of the North Sentinel Island, which is 60 sq.km in area and located 34 km west of South Andaman. They live in complete isolation. They are hostile, semi -nomadic and their settlement consists of about 20 single huts close to one another in a cluster. Their present population is estimated at 39.

SHOMPENS

The Shompens inhabit 119 sq. km interior forest area of Great Nicobar. They are shy by nature and avoid contact with outsiders. Shompens live invariably along or around the perennial fresh water rivers, streams or rivulets in the forest. Shompen villages generally comprise 2 to 10 huts at a place. Their huts are constructed on piles, the height of which varies from. 1.5m to 3m. they use palm leaves and padanus leaves to thatch their huts. The floor space on the piers is used for living while the space below is utilized for their domestic animals. Monogamy as well as polygamy is a social norm. In each village the oldest male is the head of the tribe. Burial is their traditional custom fordisposal ofthe dead. Shompen population is estimated to be 398.

NATURAL ECOSYSTEM & WIDUFE

Andaman I Nicobar Islands with its vast coastline of 6 lakh sq. km. of exclusive economic zone and richest rain forests are the repository of an immense variety of ecosystems and wildlife. There are over 2200 flowering plants and 120 ferns (Gesides other plants), 58 mammals, 242 birds, 83 reptiles, 10 amphibians, 750 fishes, 326 coelenterates (corals, sponges, sea anemones, jellyfish etc), 407 crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimps, barnacles, etc), 941 molluscs (limpets, oysters, clams, snails, squid, mussels, etc) 1500 insects, 62 spiders and scorpions, and others.

The biological investigation is a continual process and possibly many more species will be unearthed over time.

It is significant to note that a high percentage of these species and sub species are endemic. This is largely because of the isolated nature of the islands where there is always a great tendency for speciation among the island animals.

The flora and fauna of these islands have varied similarity or affinity to the of Indo-Chinese, Indo-Malaya, Indo-Burmese and Indian mainland regions.

TIMBER

(My heart wept at this title - living trees and forests, and all we can see is there use as timber.) 

Andaman Forest abounds in plethora of timber species numbering 200 or more, out of which about 30 varieties are considered to be commercial. Major commercial timber species are Gurjan (Dipterocarpus spp.) and Padauk (Sterocarpus dalbergioides).

Ornamental wood such as Marble wood (Diospyros marmorata), Padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides), Silver grey (a special formation of wood in white chuglam), Chooi (Sageraca elliptica) and Koko (Albizzia Lebbeck) are noted for their pronounced grain formation.

Burr and the Buttress formation in Andaman Padauk are World famous for their exceptionally unique charm and figuring. Largest piece of Buttress known from Andaman was dining table of 13' X 7'.

The largest piece of Burr was again a dining table to seat eight persons at a time.

ARE CORAL ANIMALS OR ROCKS?

Many people think that corals are just lifeless rocks but in fact corals are animals which grow in stony skeleton. The living part of a coral is a thin layer on the outside of the colony. The coral animals can withdraw into the skeleton when they are attacked or when they are just resting. Coral animal is called a polyp and is a small, soft tube which looks like a tiny tree with its branches swaying in the water. At the top of the polyp is the mouth which is surrounded by the finger-like branches called tentacles. The polyp nestles inside a porous cup like structure.

Corals are found in different shapes and sizes. In this photograph (taken at night) the colonies of polyps can be clearly seen to emerge and extend their tentacles to extract calcium from seawater to build their communal coral reef structure, and use their stinging nematocysts to capture tiny zooplankton delivered by marine currents.

Coral Reef

A coral reef is an assemblage of more than 3,000 living organism in perfect harmony, a magnificent manitestation of nature's ability to create, thread and balance various life forms in space and time. Coral reef ecosystem is the most intricate, diversified and aesthetically appealing ecosystems of this planet.

Andaman Reef Builders

Coral reef all over the world are the handiwork of Hermatypic reef builders. In these islands there are two chief reef builders namely Porites and Favia. The other forms present here such as farites, platygyra, symphyllia, ganiasprea and diplostrea (brain coral) are the associated reef builders. These coral create massive dome shape colonies creating shelters for other branching and delicate forms such as Acropora (Staghorn coral) Pocillopora (Thorny coral), Stylophora (Birds nest) and Montipora to establish.

All the massive and branching forms named above are sedentary and colonial. However, there is also a solitary coral, which belongs to family Fungidae popularly known as. 'Mushroom Coral'.

Coral Reproduction

A true reef building stony coral may be unisexual or bisexual.

In sexual process they breed together once in a year at a predetermined time after dusk, a day or two before the spring full moon. Male and Female spawn is released in millions of pink balls. These balls burst and the process of fertilization is completed. This process, at places, is so intense that the water stays pinkish till next morning. A large number of baby corals are released in the open ocean this way. After sometime these baby corals settle over a suitable substratum and start forming new colonies through asexual reproduction. Their morphological features change with environment in which they settle.

I saw these corals on the snorkelling outing from Chidiyatapu, the next day.

The museum had a great shell collection

There was another section on the achievements of the Indian Navy and their presence in the Andamans. It was getting to closing time, and so we left.  I strolled past the humongous Blue Whale skeleton that was kept on the lawns in the front.

There was a souvenir shop with a lot of shell craft - I wondered how shell sales were sill being allowed.  Is it not a protected item?  There were also tribal "dolls",  I wonder they don't have settler dolls.

As we strolled back, this elegant mosque caught my eye.

One of the beautifully decorated minarets.

As the sun went down, there was another surprise pre dinner.  Jabili showed us the Andaman Masked Owl sitting in near darkness under the roof eave of one of the homes!

It seemed smaller than the barn owl, and its facial disc was quite clear, and I am sure it was staring at us.

And so ended the day, and we were heading into our last day in the islands!

Oh, and there was an Inderjeet here too, quite different from our Rangat friend.  Rainbird Inderjeet was in the restaurant and was helpful - up to a point.  

The Achaleswar temple at Mt Abu and the fascinating story of the attacking bees

 6th December 2023

Mt Abu

As usual, I was confused, I had understood that we were going walking to Guru Shikhar, which is the highest point on the Aravallis near Mt Abu, but instead we were here.  

The colourful elephants at the entrance did not raise my enthusiasm to go in.

I peered through the covered tunnel passage to see this.  Still not enthused enough to remove shoes and go in, I hung around outside initially until Arjun hurried back out and said that we were being given a history talk of the place by Mr Daivat Singh of Sirohi!  

And so in I went and was so glad I did, as we were enthralled with some great storytelling  of legend and history of the Achaleswar temple, told with humour, personality and objectivity.

The previous night at dinner, Nino,  had shared some legends of Mount Abu - Arbuda the serpent who saved Nandi over here, and another one about how Devi Parvati's lips (arbuda) fell here, and hence Arbuda, became Abu....

And now, we heard of the legends related to this temple.  The region was prone to tremors and instability and the local chieftains prayed to Kashi Vishwanath, who stabilised the hills by placing one toe...and so it moved from chal  to achal or stability.  (The deity within is not a typical lingam but a toe like protrusion in a hollow. The hollow is the hole caused by the toe if I got it right, and goes all the way to naraka)

The legendary bees of Mount Abu

Another Alauddin Khilji story.  As he was making his way from Ahmedadabd, his henchmen mentioned about the riches of  the temples of Mount Abu, and so up he came with his 1200 plus horsemen, looted Delawara temples and set his sight on Achaleswar.  The local warriors were only 100 strong, and decided that rather than dying and causing bloodshed at the temple, to go and meet the incoming troops head on, and so off they went, fighting ferociously - and miraculously the angry bees of Abu came buzzing along and attacked and stung the Khilji forces, and only them...making them turn tail, surrender arms and basically leave the place.

I mulled and pondered and decided those must have been those rock bees - Apis dorsata - the "rajput" bees - aggressive defenders of their territory!

The surrendered arms and other weapons were melted into a Trishul and offered at the temple, the account goes.  

The bees of the rocks of Mount Abu also caused another hair raising adventure, which I read here.

Re-discovering the beautiful marble carvings

These marble carvings seen below were hidden behind chunaam and plaster and revealed only in 1979 by accident!  Mr Daivat and even Priya remember the chunaam pillars and facades.  Some "damage" accidentally displaying what was under.  Since then, they have been slowly and carefully cleaned and the beauty revealed.

Whether this was done to protect the pillars from harm or it was an act of careless beautification was unclear.  It's quite astonishing how there is so little documentation at institutional level...everything is word of mouth.  Quite contrary to the British obsession with classifying and documenting?

I admired the delicate filigree-like rosettes, monkeys, Devis, apsaras and assorted figures around the doorway.  Marble slabs, whittled away with perfect artistry.

There are two new restored figurines - find them.

And these delicate drawings, with bricks underneath

I was fascinated with this lovely couple - welcoming smiles - a Very Greek beard (according to me).  Is this Agni, and is that a lightning bolt in his hand, I wondered... hmm but no potbelly of Agni, the ears look like that of a Learned man...so anyways I do not know who he or the beautiful lady are.

I loved the aesthetics of this.  The arms of the dancers bring a movement, and made my eye travel upwards.

OK, now this waist is unreal.

There was a crooked house...In today's context...Koteswar would be appropriate.

Achalgarh fort..way up there.

And so we emerged out from the 13th century again, back to 21st century India, greeted by a different kind of Nandi, 

and Lucky's Wax Museum! 

Anyways, the moral of this story for me was never judge a temple by the well meaning beautifications outside.

We wound our way up some beautiful Aravali landscapes - scrubby, with small lakes in the valleys.

We shared a ride with Arjun and Gapi in their little chariot that Arjun hustled around the hill curves with skill and casual ease (while I kind of hung on) - we were now up on our way to Guru Shikar - the highest point in the vicinity, where we encountered further 21st century Indian architecture and garbage (lack of) management.

It was advisable to keep one's eyes on the distant vistas and admire the spectacular views.

In averting my gaze from the foreground muck, I almost missed the Brown Rock Chat sitting on the rock and posing this way and that.  She cheered me up, but also made me feel so shameful...how we spoil things for every creature on this planet, uff!

The delightful Wordsworth Lodge was where we headed for lunch.  The website has the Wordsworth story in a nutshell.  Some lovely pictures too.

There is a romantic history behind this lovely Boutique Hotel, hidden on a forested foothill of Gurushikar, the tallest mountain in the Aravali Range. In 1965, an English woman named Diana Wordsworth, a collateral descendant of the poet William Wordsworth, travelled to India to work on a film about the Ganga and fell in love with the country and with a colonel in the Indian Army, Buddha Sen. The couple resolved to retire together and began a search for a likely spot in one hill station or another. At a chance meeting with Fateh Singh Rathore, who would one day become India’s best-known defender of the tiger but was then a young game ranger stationed at Mount Abu, he suggested they consider Rajasthan’s best-known hill station, instead.

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​He helped them find the perfect spot on which to build their home. It was designed to complement the unique landscape by a rising young Mumbai architect named Rumy Shroff, but Fateh helped with every aspect of its construction. Sadly, the colonel passed away before the house was finished and when Diana Wordsworth died in 1984 she left it to Fateh whom she had come to see as her surrogate son.​

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Now, Fateh’s son, Dr. Goverdhan Singh Rathore, has lovingly restored and renovated Wordsworth Lodge so that visitors can experience for themselves the spectacular views and serene natural surroundings just as they were more than half a century ago.

I sunk into a chair on the verandah surrounded by trees, breathed the foresty air and watched.

I was also being watched.  A grey langur mother and baby stared, alert to danger.

A Treepie watched, hoping for some morsels.

And it was on to lunch - and then much confusion about walking or driving to Trevor Tal, or back to the hotel etc etc.

 

The history of Mount Abu as told by Mr Daivat Singh Deora

I wondered how Mount Abu had all those princely houses clustered together, and I discovered this video with an explanation.

We met Mr Daivat Singh and his lovely wife Kirti, and enjoyed their gracious hospitality and tremendous food on our visit to Kesar Bhawan as well.  What an enchanting evening that was - a gracious setting that is Kesar Bhawan.

Pictures of the Bhawan here.

"Kesar Bhawan Palace was built in the year 1868 A.D. by His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharao Umed Singhji of Sirohi. It has been converted into an eco-friendly heritage hotel by Maharaj Daivat Singh of Sirohi whose ancestor Maharao Lumbha conquered the hill of Abu in the year 1311 A.D. and brought the area in the domain of the princely State of Sirohi, which was founded in the year 1206 A.D. by Rao Manning Rai."

I was so busy savouring the delicious fare that I did not photograph the evidence of those lovely fresh green puris whose name I don't remember, the unique smoky khadi, hot missi rotis....and the large array of desserts not eaten.

 

Visiting the RIWATCH museum at Roing - Day 5

5th October 2022

RIWATCH - Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions Cultures and Heritage - is a not for profit, community-based cultural organisation trying to empower local ethnic communities and involve them in sustainable development.

One rainy evening, several of us (following the earlier visit of Yuvan) headed to this museum, around closing time, located in the village of Khinjili, 10 kms from Roing.  It was a charming little place, opened in 2009, with artefacts from the community.

To me, it felt a bit like Dakshinchitra, preserving some not-so-old but vanishing cultural artefacts and ways of living of the local communities. 

The following is text that was up on the walls of the museum - converted to text by the scan function on the 'phone. 

“ Bhismak Nagar
A Major Archaeological Site
Archaelogical artifacts throw interesting insights into our past, life style of our ancestors and traditions. It helps us to peep into their living times and the historical, social, political and cultural conditions of the people. The descriptions & motifs found on artifacts have often helped historians to make valuable discoveries about the lives of societies. They also link us to various aspects of oral history, myths and descriptions in tolklores that have come down to us from generations. 

Using carbon dating techniques, scientists are today in a position to determine the age of an artefact and thus help fix the timeline of events and communities. These are from the fort of the Chutia kings and his people who lived during 8' to 10' century at Bhismaknagar and near the river Kundil, between Roing & Tezu. These were obtained during excavations done in 1950 to 80s.


The household items, displayed belong to Amunad tribes. They highlight the wide use of bamboo plant-products and expertise by the communities, to make utensils and household articles. The versatility of bamboo, cane and herbal gums is beautifully visible in the 'Yakhana bamboo basket made waterproof for holding rice ber Mud pots, even when used are cleverly fitted into bamboo structures, to prevent breakage. The use of metal utensils is of a later times, i.e, early decades of 20th century indicating increasing acceptance of household items from the plains of Assam. It also marks the shift in trade-link from Tibetan markets to those of British Indian market: like Sadiya in Eastern Arunachal and Chaiduar in Kameng of artistic and aesthetic sense of the people, even while using bamboo to make artefacts. The butter-tea vessel by Monpas, a community living in high mountains, is not found among any other tribes living across foothills and indicate their instristic skill and need based approach.

"ORNAMENTS
In any society, the ornaments reflect the artisitic advancement attained by its members. eg., the Wancho ornaments are marked by crisp designs with brilliant red and black beads, while blue beads occur prominently in Idu Mishmi and Apatani necklaces. The embellishments and sophistication reflected in the ornaments also enable us to understand the social and trade links developed by that society with the world outside, a valuable clue in historical research. (eg., the presence of a variety of rare stones in
Arunachali ornaments could be traced to their procurement from Tibet during the past centuries.) Unlike in the plains, gold is wholly absent, with silver appearing only from the early decades of 20th century as threading wire and medallions. Metal coins are a prominent item in Digaru & Miju Mishmi necklaces. At an individual level, an onament its features and size, could indicate the rank of a wearer, or his/her status in the society. In the pre-independent days, bracelets and ear rings were huge and heavy, but over the decades, they have shrunk to a shape, currently seen across India.  The once common large colourful waist bands too have vanished from daily use, with the arrival of modern education and changes in life style.”

The mural in the outer space

What lovely baskets!  Sadly, I did not find anything like this in the markets. 

Those are teeth of tiger and wild board

It was Ayudha Pooja/Durga Pooja day

"HEADGEAR
Originally evolved as a cover for head against sun and cold, the headgear for many communities also served as an important shield against enemy attack (Idu Mishmi Hat). This resulted in the discovery and use of a variety of very durable bamboo, cane, plant varieties and herbal dyes, and in turn their conservation by each community. 

These hats also demonstrate different seasoning techniques of these plant parts, a traditional knowledge, which is under threat of vanishing from the people's memories today. Over centuries, the headgears have emerged into unique entities, with characteristic artistic designs distinct for each tribe. The head gears foundoften decorated with colorful beads (Wagchoos and Notes) and wild boar teeth."

Before leaving the place, we chatted with girls from various ethnic tribes of the region - Mishmi, Add, Nishi and Apatani, who were studying there.  

Gapi and I each bought one of these baskets, which came safely back, and I loved the weave of it, and in a few minutes with borrowed material, created this (what I thought) was a joyful exuberance of wild countryside.

 On my return to Chennai, I mulled over what this museum meant, what the loss of these cultures meant. Left to themselves, communities should be allowed to move on, choose what to keep and what to leave behind isn't it?