Our married life has just started with its sweet, sour and witty moments. Everyone says to enjoy this flying time. We also enjoyed; not with the fact of not having these happy moments again in our lives but with the blooming hope to have a lot more.

However to witness the fairy mist of love we made our honeymoon trip to Lakshadweep and also visited Munnar. My husband arranged this tour with all his efforts and courage to make it ethereal and memorable.

By then my luggage packing was almost complete. Subhra arrived from Bhadrak on 20th and packing his luggage we attended Debjit da’s marriage ceremony. It was 11o’clock in the morning (21st January, 2023) when we started our journey from Fazirbazar with the blessings of our family members (Mamoni, Bapi, Ma, Baba, Dada, Didi and others).

Leaving behind the city’s despair, the cab headed towards Kolkata International airport; from where we would board the flight to Bangalore. After security check in we had to wait for a long time. Then our flight took off at about 1.45pm. Through connecting flight we reached (9.15pm) the Cochin airport which added beautiful traditional flavour in its architecture. Here I learnt that Language can’t be a barrier to travel. For shelter at night, we stayed at Thomson regency. Fried rice and chicken butter masala from Zomato filled our stomach and freshened our mind from the day’s exhaustion.

The dada of Thomson regency whose name I couldn’t remember, arranged an auto for us and we left for Agatti. Agatti is a small, regional airport which is situated on the serene Agatti Island which showcases the beauty of pure aqua-blue waves of the sea. The waxy leaves of a plant named ‘kanni’ in the local language(Pali, a mix of Urdu and Malayalam) adorn the whole area. The permit to Lakshadweep was arranged by tour agency GoL.

Through the midway among the coconut trees we went by car to catch the speed boat which will take us to our coveted dream island- Bangaram. I have never experienced the vigorous blue waves of the deep sea before. So, my vomiting tendency is pricked unknowingly. However this journey of two hours was very thrilling and magnificent.

Just think of a few handful people, isolated small islands, and only the blue beauty of the Arabian sea in front! How peaceful it is!

The corals under the crystal clear sea water were spread here and there. The skipper tried to follow the path where corals were not present because they don’t want to harm the special and precious corals. While we reached Bangaram Island we were welcomed by the staff of Bangaram resort with a refreshment drink, they introduced themselves and their services also.

The resort is exactly on the sea beach and it comprises small huts decorated with coconut trees and cane-chairs. The best place to calm and free our hearts was these cane-chairs where we spent quality time, we shared our happy and sad moments spontaneously. The testimonies of our happiness were the shining stars of the dark night and the roaring sea. Now in this scrolling era we usually forget to look up into the night sky and find peace in the little twinkling stars. But sometimes life can be simply happy if we know to cherish our mother nature and the calming environment.

Being isolated from the business of life we could feel us and cherish us, and taste the waves of life mimicking the forgiving sea rhythmically.

However, the silence of the island, twinkling stars in the sky, grey sea beach with orderly organized white chairs and tables for candle light dinner created an ideal cozy ambience for romance. This luxurious arrangement is probably desired by all couples on their honeymoon. Beside this, there were numerous dishes to cater to our hunger and the buffet system was cool enough. Having our dinner we came back to our room (room no. 106) and slept a winsome night.

The next day(23.01.23) began with the anticipation of witnessing the sun rise. We woke up early in the morning and started walking along the beach. Small plover birds were very restless to find food beneath the white sand. Subhra clicked nice photos of the flock of cute plovers. However, after a long time the sun winked above the aqua-blue water spreading its orange aura. Then we went to bangaram lake which is in the back of the resort. The path to bangaram lake is covered by kanni trees, coconut trees and many others. We followed the straight path to reach the shallow backwater of the sea. This place is truly awesome. Our eyes got stuck with the beauty of simplicity and richness. We stayed here for about 20 minutes and then came back.

Then we visited Parali Island which is a fine, tiny island; near this island many turtles were playing with gusto. We became very excited to see them through the clean and clear water from the speed boat. However, in this tiny island people live for a few days, just to earn their livelihood and then they go back to Agatti when the weather starts to get unfavorable in the months of monsoon. We bought jaggery made from coconut at a cost of three hundred rupees.

The next island visit was Thinakkara. It is the same in appearance like the Parali but here we saw the local people who catch fish and the fishes are dried and hung from the bamboo sticks. That is how they earn a little. Yes, life is so basic and simple there. To cross the island from one end to the other we became thirsty and bought a couple of coconuts from the local people which cost 50 rupees each.

Returning back we had our lunch. Then in the afternoon we went to Sand bank where the white sand is deposited forming a mound of sand and to reach there we had to cross shallow water during the low tide. It caused me to have a pastime to play with water and it brought back my childhood days once again. The amiable sunset added extra beauty to this heavenly white landscape. The blue of the sea was more prominent to behold the memories of Sand bank. Many colourful small fishes, crabs, and birds were visible; this view mellowed our hearts. We had a great time there indeed. So that is how our second day on the island was spent with lots of banter. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t have a candle light dinner for the rest of the days on the island due to unfavorable weather. However, we know we want more if we have more; so no regrets now.

It was 24.01.2023. Subhra was very keen to do the watersports and he firstly thought to do scuba diving to explore the corals. But unfortunately I can’t swim and I am very afraid of water. But I had a dormant wish for watching the living corals. So, he had chosen snorkeling instead of scuba diving. The guides took us somewhere in the deep sea water and told us to wear the masks and life jackets and then to go down by the steel-stair which connected the speed boat. My heart was throbbing as Subhra started first with his guide. Then I started with holding my guide and the rest is history. Plenty of colourful corals -brain corals, sea cucumbers and many other aquatic animals were clearly visible. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I just read them in my classical zoology book but never thought to have their glimpses in this Arabian sea. Shoals of fishes of different colours were roaming and I touched them with my own hands. My guide gave them food and they cherished it willingly. The deep blue water beside the corals frightened me and I gripped the shoulder of my guide tightly but he took care of me, told me to be relaxed and helped me to have safe watching of the corals. Many many thanks to him and my husband. We had no waterproof camera to catch this snorkeling experience but we can cherish the flashes of that moment now and then whenever we want.

After returning back we had a shower bath of the sulfated water and then had our lunch; with the drops of rain-water we waited for the evening to see the grey beauty of the sea. However, our hearts became overwhelming as we had to leave this beautiful bangaram island the next day. The white cat became very naughty and it was playing with us that night near the cane-chair. But we had to go because life is dynamic and random.

25th January’s morning started with heavy rain and black clouds in the sky. We became worried as the waves might be bigger. However, after a long time the weather was better and we started for Agatti to return to Cochin.