JARAWAS ON THE STROLL IN ANDAMAN

Jarawas on the Stroll

Oh, what a spellbinding experience it was to have run into a group of young Jarawa boys and girls the other day, barely a couple of weeks ago at Collinpur, South Andaman as they suddenly appeared strolling down the road on their way back to their thickly forested reserved habitat after the day’s hunting and gathering!

I was, providentially, shooting there for a short documentary film on conservation of forests, with the Doordarshan, Port Blair team. It was almost a hair-raising experience to sight them all of a sudden and hear them speak Hindi and their own tribal dialect and interact, so amicably, with the villagers.

Serene Green view on the way to Collinpur from Port Blair

A tranquil view of the fields by the road-side…

I simply loved capturing this cool view of the lone Velodrome for cycling (see the picture above), near the Netaji Stadium on the historic Gymkhana Maidaan (ground) at Port Blair, flanked by the Marina Park by the sea. Stealing a look, on the far right, is the historic Ross Island, the British capital of the Andaman Islands.

Aah…! God bless the Jarawas

And their fellow tribes!

God bless Andamans!!!