Andaman, Jarawas and a strange love....

It was 2018 month of August, it was when he was going though loads of stress due to court hearing and failure in his competitive exam to enter government service. He needed a break and recuperate himself to normalcy.

He decided to travel alone to andaman and nicobhar islands, he never knew why he decided to corner down to those islands.

The day he reached Portblair he visited some beaches and kaala paani jail. He was a photography enthusiast, a mirrorless camera was new gear to him. He was trying to figure out the  possibilities in his new camera. What ever is the art, the outcome is more astounding when the creator is more depressed. He always wondered if there is a thread which spins between art and stress. It is as though you dip the brush in the paint which is a cocktail of stress hormones.

The day was bit ho-hum, the weather fickled and was unpredictable, it was a dry day and  he was unable to identify a watering hole. He was desprate to drink, he managed to get a bottle of Shrimnoff vodka. He gulped four large,  he got inebriated, got lost and ended up hanging out in some weird places with some odd characters. Some how he found a auto rickshaw who knew where circuit house was in portbair.

Next day he planned to visit the lime stone caves and sand volcano. The caves were  around 100+ kms away in Baratang island. 

He got up at 2.30 am and started his  journey by 3 am in a private tourist car, the driver was a young guy, he spoke fluent hindi and he was chewing pan constantly. By 4.56 am there was sunrise, it was pretty early than south india. He reached the convoy check post by 5 am. There were many cars already waiting before  and many car and buses  joined later. There was  an anouncement in public address system. It anounced the do's and don'ts during the convoy through the Andaman Trunk Road.

Check post had some steaming hot tea & coffee shops, he walked into one. It started raining, the rain was making loud noise when it fell over the rusted and corroded metal roof of the small eat out where he sat. The intensity of rain decreased and it started to drizzle. As he was listening to the soft  and continuous falling of the raindrops on the  roof, all his memories were coming back to him, but they were  not discrete and separated from each other. Instead all of his memories seem to have formed a patchwork by becoming entwined with one another.

He had to submit some Govt identity proofs to pass through the reserve forest. Cars weren't permitted to stop along the 50km drive as it passed through the  restricted Jarawa reserve tribal belt. 

Between hustle bustle he found a young girl all alone, her eyes potrayed anxiety and confusion. She was late and she was trying to find a vehicle in the convoy. He was least interested in what happened to her. He sat in his car and was waiting for the convoy to start. Suddenly he saw her running to towards his car and started to plead the car driver in hindi. She requested for a hitch hike, the driver dismissed her request, the car started moving, he asked the driver to allow her to accompany them.

She thanked him a lot and sat next to the driver. It was sharp 6.30 am the convoy started moving in a slow pace, 30 to 40 km was the speed limit. It was as though we were entering into a paradise of pitch silence the reserve forest was inhabitated by Jarawa tribe. Most people come to get a sighting of these jarawa tribe, it was marketed like a human zoo. 

All that was heard in the silence was motor engine sound and birds chirping. Her headphones were so audible that he was able hear the song, it was an old latha mangeshkar song. Though the sound was bothering he was in no mood of paying attention to it. She turned towards him and tried to start a conversation, he never responded. He was drenched in the thoughts of past, he even lacked those social gestures. She was the exact opposite, she was full of zest, she enjoyed every moment. He was able to see her through the rear veiw mirror in the car, 

All of a sudden her zest vanished and was invaded by glimpse of pain, her mood fluctauted like andhaman weather.

She was beautiful her starightened soft black hair with streaks of burgundy added beauty and was very attractive. He saw her eyes it was almond shaped, it was fabulous, her left eye was deviated slightly and even that added beauty to it.

She on and off looked down her black full sleeve T-shirt, it was as though she glanced her feminine pride for any oddity. She had a small pimple on her fore head, she was seemingly beautiful.

 

After a long bumpy ride we reached baratang, he was eagerly waiting to visit the limestone caves, to his dismay there was a strike by localites in operating the speed boats. He had to visit the sand volcanoes which was near by, even she accompanied him. They saw some jarawas in near by rehabilitation camp. He started clicking photos of  the blue sea and some rusted ferries. He waited a chance to click her potarit candidly without her knowledge. Her beauty was so mesmerising and irresistable that anyone would like to befriend.

Slowly she started conversing while they were ferrying, she felt he was hard to crack.

Over the  time he started responding slowly, after few common questions he came to know she was a post graduate in psychology. She said her name was Erina , it sounded like a muslim name but she wasn't wearing a burkha. Their conversation extented, she was from Kolkata, she confirmed that she was a muslim and she said that it suffocates underneath the burkha. She was engaged and was getting married in couple of months. She wasn't inclined towards the  marriage she wanted to break free. She wanted to flap her wings and fly free.

It was already 6pm when they reached Portblair, the ferry sail was nauseating and she was almost sea sick.

Her mobile phone alerted message notification, it was from her airlines company, her flight was postponed due to bad weather, she had no plans to spend the night at portblair. She did not know what to do and she was not in a state to afford a hotel room. He asked her what was the problem, he said she can stay in his room if she felt he was  trust worthy. She always liked taking risks, she pretended to decline the offer, after a  bit of persuasion she accepted.

It was almost 10pm when they reached the room, he asked her to feel comfortable. The room was cluttered,  half bottle of vodka was lying on the table with shattered junk food and peanuts. She washed her face and tied up her hair and sat over bed and started flipping the tv channels.

He asked her do you drink?  She said no.  Can I see the snaps which you clicked today she asked, he was bit hesitant since it had one of her potrait. He did hand over his camera, she said if you want you can have your drink i dont mind.

Time elapsed there was some music channel playing contionously in back ground. She saw her potrait in the camera she didn't react, but she felt no one else could have shot her bettter,  she was admiring  herself in the snap and she zoomed in and out. He bowed down his head as though he commited a crime. She asked when did you click this, its flabbergasting she said. His feel good hormones peaked up. 

He asked have you ever tasted a drink .. she said yep, once, it was breezer. Later I did not get a reliable crime partner to share a drink. Do you want try now? She hesitated. Do you want me to? she asked. Why not ? Give it a try he said. He mixed the drink meticulously like a bar tender.

She was intoxicated slightly, started sharing pleasantaries. All of a sudden she turned towards him and asked can i kiss you, he was shocked, he was blunt. He asked her why, though he wanted to go physical with her. She said she always fantasized having sex with a stranger. He felt as though it was a blank cheque. 

He said if you feel so we can.

She pulled his head towards him and smooched mouth to mouth, it was a extended long kiss, he has never ever felt  such a kiss. She threw herself on the bed and pulled her black T- shirt up. Her bosom were so full it was struggling inside her black brasiers, she extended her arms and invited him to come over her. His left hand crawled behind her back and unbuckled her straps. He just felt dizzy, her bosoms were firm,  when he came over her, his sweat from forehead fell on her bosoms, it shattered and disappeared in her firmness.

Her body odour was strong, he dipped his face into her axilla, his toungue wandered the surface of her bosom and started guzzling her teats. He asked should I really go further, she said don't talk do it. He pulled her denim jeans down and greedily entered her breaking her virginity, she started bleeding I am sorry he said. Don't say that she said. It was a memorable night for him. He never knew when he dozed off, after several years he had slept peacefully.

Next day he woke up around 8 am. He was feeling bit sluggish. The doors were open he was not able to find Erina she dissapeared, it was like a pleasant dream, his heart ached, but there was no use in it.

One year passed he was waiting in airport to board the flight, he saw a muslim women sitting straight opposite to him her eyes were very familiar to him, he gathered all courage to talk to her. The moment he stood up there was a call for boarding the flight he didn't want to miss that chance, he went near her, he heard a male voice calling "Erina lets move" in urudu, he stood still.

He felt "Nothing makes a room feel emptier than wanting someone in it"