Ross Island - ANI

On day two Bosch had arranged two major activities - Visit to Ross Island in the forenoon and the Distrbutors meeting in the afternoon session.

Ross Island: After a sumptuous breakfast we left for the Phoenix Bay Jetty to board motorboats that ferried us to Ross Island. Ross Island is about 2 km east of Port Blair and can be reached by a short boat ride.The island is controlled by the Indian navy and presently houses the ruins of old buildings. Till a few decades ago, this island was the seat of "British power." Ross Island was the headquarters of the Indian Penal Settlement for nearly 80 years. It had everything — bazaar, bakery, stores, water treatment plant, church, tennis court, printing press, secretariat, hospital, cemetery and what have you. Today only the ruins of these dilapidated buildings remain. The Japanese too left their imprint on the island - they built bunkers which were used as watch points to safeguard the Island from any foreign invasion. About nine months before the Japanese take-over Ross Island witnessed an earthquake. There were rumors that the island was sinking. Gradually people left and it became a deserted area. What was called "Paris of East" at its peak became a haunted isle with widening cracks and crumbling masonry in the remains of the structures. In April 1979, the island was handed over to the Navy, which set up a small post, INS Jarawa, named after one of the indigenous tribes of the Andaman group of islands. A local tribal woman Anuradha Rao was our guide for the trip. She was extremely passionate and and a hard core fanatic Nationalist. She gave a wonderful tour of the Islands and shared a wealth of information. She had the audience spellbound with her mysterious tales about the happenings on the Island.

Some of the memorable moments included photography sessions, deer feeding, tender coconut water to quench our thirst, delicious kulfis, the lily pond with ducks and the ferry ride. Overall a great experience

A spellbinding view of the sea taken while departing Ross Island. To be continued......................