NEIL in Nutshell

My eyes adjust slowly to the blue haze. Sunbeams refracting underwater have lit up pockets of the ocean floor. From there, branching acropora corals stretch their arms, as if trying to embrace me. However, I know better -- corals are not to be touched. I pull gentle turtle strokes in the water wearing a snorkel. I am floating somewhere in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Neil Island (now known as Shaheed Dweep).

- Tania Banerjee

Neil Island is a part of Andaman and Nicobar union territory of India. It is a tiny island 18.9 square kilometres wide and lies 40 kilometres northeast of Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 95 families who arrived in India as refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan were given shelter in Neil Island. This is how a tiny speck of wild land existing mid ocean became inhabited. The inhabitants brought with them their culture, knowledge, cuisine, and language.

As a Bengali speaker in the predominantly Bengali speaking island, I am having my way very easily. "I am a very responsible swimmer. Can I please take the unused snorkel mask and go into the water just by myself without the floaters?" This was all it took to have my moment with the corals. First the guides gave me the usual guided tour where I was wrapped in a floater that was tied to a rope. Then at my request I am allowed a grace period of 15 minutes to float in the lagoon on my own.