Have you ever heard of Indira Point? If you're Indian you might have, in your geography classes in school. Basically, it's the southernmost point of the Indian subcontinent. When the northernmost part of the nation is high up the mountains of Karakoram Range in Jammu and Kashmir most of you would probably think that this particular point will be somewhere out there in any islets near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. However, things must not be trivialized so, as they are more than what you think about them.
This important point also known as Parsons Point is actually situated in Great Nicobar in the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands at its southernmost tip with few distances from Campbell Bay. These landmasses are surrounded by the beautiful stretch of Bay of Bengal from all sides, which is the same oceanic side that you find in the metropolitan of Chennai. Therefore reaching these points all by you without any dependence of any tour packages will turn out to be challenging for those who are on any recreational tour. Furthermore, you would be surprised to know that the point and the island which it is situated on is barely 163 km from the northernmost island of Rhondo Island in Indonesia and 20 km distances away from the Talaimannar island of Sri Lanka!!
Moreover, they are not just bare land, but the southernmost point does posses a landmark old lighthouse that brings about a true sense of an 'endpoint' at this beachside that is painted brightly in the rounded stripes of white and red. Commissioned way back in 1972, at present, the lighthouse directs the ships sailing via the sea-routes of India and heading to the foreign nations such as Malaysia. Apart from that, the presence of such a structure at the point is also crucial for the locals dwelling in the islands, who are depended on catching fish for their livelihood. Even then the location population inhabiting in the island is fairly low and most of them are the descendants of the Tamil settlers who had migrated to the place years back.
Yet another striking fact about the point is that it was known as Pygmalion point until 1984, Rajiv Gandhi who was the prime minister of India then renamed them. He named them under the name of his mother Indira Gandhi. It is believed that such a decision was taken by the ex-prime minister of the nation on the advice given by an MP of the Union Territory. Later in 1985, the naming of this geographically important spot was done. Unfortunately, by that time, his loving mother and the most talked-about prime minister of India was killed in the same year. Furthermore, certain local facts also claim that the Indira Point was also visited by the noted social reformer and philosopher Swami Vivekanda in search of enlightenment. Now you might be wondering how the reformer had managed to swim an entire 1800 km all the way from Kanyakumari and that too in the year 1892 just for the sake of meditating in the most serene atmosphere!! They are just some myths related to the point that has got no shreds of evidence to prove them.
One such myth in connection with these parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the ocean surrounding them is that of Lord Ram calming certain parts of the Andaman to build the Ramsethu. The deity was on the venture of saving his dear wife Goddess Sita from captivity in Lanka. So when he was constructing the massive stone bridge along with his army of monkeys, he found the Bay of Mannar, which a part of the Andaman sea as very rough. It was remaining as a barrier to pursue his task. Therefore, out of great rage, he took his bow and made the ocean parched for which it got frightened and ever since then, the Andaman Sea is found to be calmer and serene.
Eventually, in the early years of second millennia, the coastal stretches of South-East nations were met with a catastrophe of a fatal natural disaster. You might already know that the Eastern coasts of the Indian mainland were drastically affected in the same Tsunami that hit the shores in 2004 December. Obviously, the isolated islands of Andaman and Nicobar were the evident hot spots to be impacted severely. As predicted, many innocent lives were lost and places were damaged. In that very same natural disaster, the seashore surrounding the lighthouse was submerged under the sea. In the waves, around 4.25 meters of the crucial land was subsided. Now the base of the lighthouse stands on the ocean water rather than on the land. You may compare the drastic alteration of this noteworthy location before and after the hitting of these mighty waves.
Just like this geographically significant point, the islands of Andaman and Nicobar are blessed with various marvels of nature. There are the white sandy beaches, turquoise blue ocean waters, evergreen rainforests, mud volcanoes, exhilarating water sports activity, endemic population of flora and fauna, active volcanoes, mangrove forests and historical monuments all spread under the same archipelago. For a hot travel destination to flourish, these exciting features are more than enough to grab the meaningful attention of potential tourists from the mainland to the exotic islands and plan for an exciting tour here at the spectacular expanse of the Andaman landmass.
If you wish to be one among those lucky ones, just dial up the tour consultants of Andaman Tour Travel and talk to them about your travel preferences, on the basis of which they would suggest for you with numerous exciting tour packages. If still, you are not satisfied with their travel deals, they could offer you the provision for customizing them. Also, their packages are made available from all the prominent cities of the country such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Vishakapatnam, Bangalore, Chennai, Madurai and Kochi. You could avail their services at most affordable prices by getting in touch with them as mentioned earlier or chat online.
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