History	By Sea
General Information	Fairs, Festivals in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
The People	The Island Tourism Festival
Andaman Today	Bazaar & Shopping
Getting There	Places of worship
By Air

There is a reference in the Hindu epic Ramayana, to the monkey-god Hanuman making a stopover in the Andaman while he was en route to Lanka in search of Sita. Aboriginals have inhabited the Islands for thousands of years – but their xenophobia and their belligerence resulted in the area remaining unexplored. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ fame described the islanders in his book, ‘The Sign of Four’, as “perhaps the smallest race upon this earth – fierce, morose and intractable”. Lying on the ancient trade route between Burma and India, the islands were delineated on Ptolemy’s second century a.d. map. The Chinese traveller, I-Tsing who visited India in the seventh century gave a rivetting account of these isles, as did the Venetian explorer Marco Polo (1254-1324).

The place became the naval base of the great Maratha admiral, Kanhoji Angre in the early 18th century. He frequently crossed swords with the Europeans – the British, the Dutch and the Portugese. In 1713, he captured the yacht of the British governor of Bombay, releasing it only after obtaining a hefty ransom. Though attacked later by a combined British/Portugese naval task force, Angre remained undefeated until his death in 1729. The first westerners to set foot on these isles were the Danes in the mid-18 th century.

However, these offshore islands had not escaped the eagle eyes of the British. In 1789, they established a penal colony on South Andaman Island, but had to abandon it seven years later because of the unhygienic living conditions. Finally in 1872, they annexed both groups of islands. However, the only point of settlement developed by the British was Port Blair, which was converted into a prison for convicts serving life terms. For the next 70 years, the atolls remained untouched by time until the Japanese occupied them in World War II. In December 1943, the Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, who was working in tandem with the Japanese, unfurled the Indian tricolour at Port Blair. However, the territory reverted to the British after the defeat of the Japanese in World War II. Come August 1947, and the English left our shores to go back to their island-nation, while Andaman and Nicobar became part of the dominion of India.

The aborigines can be classified into two main groups. The tribes of Andamans of Negrito origin and the tribes of Nicobar of Mongoloid stock. Great Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas, and Sentinalese reside in the Andamans while only two tribes the Nicobarese and Shompes live in Nicobar. Due to the interaction of some of these tribes with the mainlanders, and the ensuing diseases contracted, they are at a risk of being exterminated. To save these tribes, the government of India has set up protected areas where they can live their original life styles. A couple of tribal groups, especially the Sentinelese (in North Sentinel Island) are even now hostile towards outsiders! However their numbers do not exceed even a few hundreds and they live in protected areas where no one would ever volunteer taking you to.

Today, most of the 400,000 people on the Andamans are mainlanders or their descendants and live in South Andaman. They have come from all across India, especially Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in South Andaman has a truly cosmopolitan texture with people of all religions, castes and cultures, living in peaceful coexistence. And for this reason, the Andamans and Nicobar Islands are also called mini India.

The island has a lot to offer to an avid tourist. Out of the total area nearly 50% comprises Tribal Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park exhibits a variety of corals, coloured fish, sea turtles and other sea animals. Site seeing tours, scuba diving, snorkelling, trekking, island camping and relaxing are some of the other activities one can indulge in.

The Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands are in the Bay of Bengal and Port Blair, is almost equidistant from Chennai and Calcutta.

The only airstrip in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is at Port Blair. There are regular flights for Port Blair from Calcutta and Chennai. The flight takes about 2 hours from either of these two cities.

Indian Airlines and a couple of private airlines fly on these routes a couple of times each week.

Calcutta , Chennai, and Visakhapatnam are the entry points by sea. Ships set sail about 4 times every month from Chennai and Calcutta and once every month from Visakhapatnam. The journey takes 60 hours from Chennai, 66 hours from Calcutta, and 56 hours from Visakhapatnam.

Bookings begin one month in advance and the tickets are issued 3 days before sailing. The ships are organised and managed by the shipping corporation of India.

Though the people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have evolved a culture unique to them, their fairs and festivals are those that are celebrated in the mainland. True to the multi-cultural nature of India, the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands or ‘mini India’ celebrate these fairs and festivals with great zeal.

While the people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands welcome and worship the Goddess Durga in the Durga Puja, they usher in the festival of lights – Diwali – with equal cheer and dive into the play of colors on Holi with as much thrill. Among the other fairs and festivals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Onam, Pongal, Christmas and the Janmashtami Festival.

Besides these, the festival which attracts a lot of foreign interest is the fortnight-long Island Tourism Festival. This festival is a gateway to the heart of the culture of the Islands. This festival, which is held tentatively in the months of December and January, draws the Islands’ Govt. agencies and entrepreneurs. It is a gala event of cultural performances by artistes of local and international fame; various exhibitions like the Dog Show, Puppet Show, and the Baby Show; and other aquatic festivities like the Floating Restaurant, the Canoe Race and scuba diving.

The Janmashtami Festival is the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna. Devotional songs and hymns are sung in veneration of Lord Krishna. The houses of devotes are painted and decorated beautifully with lights and flowers. Raas Leelas or plays enacting the life of Lord Krishna are organized along with hymns.

It is a tradition that devotees fast till midnight after which the special food that is cooked is offered to the deity and shared among the devotees. It is a completely vegetarian cuisine that is served. The poor and the needy are offered alms on this auspicious day.

Janmashtami Festival in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands takes place between the months of July and August. This time of the year is the ideal season to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Island Tourism Festival is organized every year in the month of December or January. The venue of the festival is Port Blair. A fortnight long festival, the Island Tourism Festival aims to promote tourism and highlight the developmental aspects of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It also makes an endeavor to project the islands as an eco-friendly tourist destination. The main attractions of the Island Tourism Festival in Port Blair include cultural programs, an exhibition, numerous competitions, etc.

The festival invites private entrepreneurs and government agencies from the islands and the plains of India. The festival showcases the flora and fauna as well as marine life of Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Parasailing, aqua sports, and tele-games are also a part of the Island Tourism Festival. Magic shows, Puppet shows, Floating restaurant, Baby show, Dog show, Canoe Race, Scuba Diving etc, make the festival more enjoyable for the visitors. Renowned artists from India and abroad also perform during this festival.

Port Blair is spread out over several hills, so it is difficult to walk around. Most of the hotels, boat docks, and bus stations are in the main bazaar area called Aberdeen Bazaar. The closest beach is Corbyn’s Cove, 8km south of the center of town. The airport is 3km south of Aberdeen Bazaar.

Shell crafts and wooden handicrafts are the main items that can be bought from here as souvenirs and are a specialty of the region. Aberseen Bazaar at Port Blair is the main shopping and commercial centre while the other notable places to go on a shopping spree are Clock Tower, Goalghar, Junglighat, Prem Nagar and Delanipur.

Sri Vetrimalai Murugan Temple is situated behind the governor’s palace. The Rajasthan Temple is on a hillock which is opposite to postal colony. This is a grand temple which consists of many statues of gods and seems to be a common point for both the North and South Indians. Hastinabad, a small village in Port Blair, Sri Shirdi Sai Baba temple is located where people come to worship on Thursdays. Apart from Temples, there are Churches and Mosques. A Historical and famous Mosque is near the Aberdeen Bazaar. Other Mosques and Churches are spread all over the islands.

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