Upon exiting the Chennai airport in India, it became apparent that this leg of our expedition would be different. It was the first time in six months that we were seeing such densely concentrated human activity all around us, even compared to previous expedition stops like the thriving Hong Kong or Tokyo.
It was the first time where a place felt genuinely foreign to us—where we felt firmly out of place and frankly a little overwhelmed as to how to navigate this new, chaotic landscape. And for the first time, it seemed our plans to explore consciously would be a daunting challenge when it came to tackling the world’s most populated country.
Taking red eye flights with significant layovers and moving through several airports, we finally exited under the bright sun at Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman Islands. We had arrived at the gateway to India’s ocean mecca, a place where divers come from all corners of the globe to experience what lies beneath the surface. And it was the exact opposite of what any of us could have imagined.
We typically think of diver’s paradise being remote, untouched and far away from civilization. However in India, it doesn’t seem to matter where exactly you travel to, the one certainty is that you will, for the most part, be sharing your time with someone else.
With an estimated population of approximately 148,000, Port Blair is the first stop you must make in order to get to the rest of the Andaman Islands. It’s not far off what the Indian mainland is like, with lots of traffic, plenty of beeping autos (as they are called), disorderly queues, and enough speedy foot traffic that gets you in the Indian spirit quickly.
En route to our first night on the islands, we were still bug-eyed and digesting our newfound surroundings—the sounds, the smells, the people. We were enchanted, and beyond curious to get in these waters to see how it compared. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by our guide, the one-and-only Seemant Saxena, the Service Center Manager at Scuba Schools International (SSI) India.
Even in this densely populated country, we were sure there was no one else really quite like him. And fortunately we were afforded the opportunity to spend the next 10 days with this charismatic diving legend. Seemant’s knowledge of his home country was unlike anything we’d witnessed before on expedition. Yes, a lot of people possess a deep love for their home, culture and customs, and in Seemant’s case: a great insight into the surrounding dive sites. But Seemant seemed to have a different level of knowledge—as if he’d been closely studying every single facet of India with laser focus since the day he started processing things logically.
Before we even got to the diving, he was verbally transporting us on a cultural pilgrimage, creating colorful imagery of the ins-and-outs of Indian life—from the north to the south and everywhere in between. If we thought we were hooked on India upon first glance, Seemant took things to an entirely new level. We had fallen in love. And for this group, it started and ended with the food.
Navigating Port Blair on foot while avoiding cleverly skirting around one of the many autos, we went from small eateries, restaurants and hole in the walls, learning and sampling the most delicious food. From the North Indian flat bread and stuffed Paratha to the South Indian fluffy and fermented Idli, we were nothing short of obsessed with this heavy, flavor filled indulgence.
Listening to Seemant describe each food item in vivid detail was, at this early stage, our favorite thing about India. He had his own rating system for things like the fluffiness level of the famed Idli or the quality of the Paratha consistency. We were loving hearing how our meals stacked up to his best recalled experiences in the culinary scene over the years.
But that wasn’t the only journey Seemant was taking us on. He walked us through the deep history of how the Andaman Islands came to be India’s diving mecca. This left us curious, with minds wandering to the first explorers of these wild islands and what they must have seen diving these waters for the first time—before human infiltration. Fortunately, our next stop was out to the island of Swaraj Dweep, also known as Havelock, to meet the oldest dive center in the Andaman Islands—DIVEIndia. It was here that local pioneering scuba and freedivers started to unlock the Andaman’s underwater secrets, site by site.
But before all of that, we were getting a play-by-play education from Seemant on what he liked to call “line culture.” This included purchasing behaviors, family structures and societal norms in India, all of which he explained to us as we watched patrons at the dock make their way onto the ferry that would cross us from Port Blair to Havelock islands. Describing the behaviors of the patrons on our ferry voyage from Port Blair to Havelock, he seemed somewhat self-removed from the norms of his home country, taking a helicopter view as a keen and deep observer of people and surroundings.
Situated about 40 kilometers northeast of Port Blair, it is the largest island of the archipelago and is renowned for its world-class beaches, untamed jungles and dive site variety beyond what words can describe. Seemant seemed to yet again, know everything and everyone in Havelock, which made sense since the entire island felt like it revolved around diving.
Introducing us to Devatva Raj (Dev) and Naw Ruth, our two dive guides for the week, we got a first-hand look into the ocean wonders of the Andamans. Devatva explained via dive briefings that most of the sites we were exploring were found by the original DIVEIndia team of ocean pioneers. The most seasoned members of this team were the three Poayasay brothers from a local Karen tribe from North Andaman Island, a place called Mayabunder.
The Karen people in the Andaman Islands, originally from Burma (now Myanmar), settled in Mayabunder in Middle Andaman Island in 1925. The Karens historically lived off the land developing traditional methods of farming, hunting and fishing. They adapted to the changing times by embracing tourism, which helps preserve their culture in a way that works for them and is on their terms, keeping their community deeply attached to nature. Karens are renowned for their diving skills and have over time contributed significantly to the local diving industry, especially these three brothers—Dickson, Jackson and Johnny Poayasay.
Yet, it still remains that so much of the archipelago is unexplored. Dev told us that through DIVEIndia, the current active team gets a chance to map new sites, explore new locations and push past what they know on a regular basis. Whenever possible, the team is constantly devising new expeditions to take them a little bit further to place a little bit more raw. They have a few exciting missions upcoming that should be complete within the year to chart undiscovered locations—all top secret of course!
And of course, there’s complexities when tackling efforts such as this. They see some unruly weather and ocean conditions that are changing rapidly year over year. Diksha Dikshit, Dive India's marine biologist, divemaster and naturalist in residence, explained that over the last three years, she’s personally seen a major change in her home’s ecosystems due to unpredictable weather and changing patterns.
On our dives with Devatva, we thought the conditions were rough, throwing us around as if we possessed no strength in our bodies. But to Devatva, this was far from the worst they’ve encountered recently. At times, the current is known to rip so hard that it’s nearly impossible to get in the water. So, when it comes to navigating and exploring the Andaman’s, accompaniment by the local experts is not only preferable, but rather a necessity. Especially those who have been studying these changes happening all around them.
The Karen community, as well as DIVEIndia, recognize that there is a balance that must be struck between active, safe and continuous discovery as well as preserving this natural wonderland. Ruth, another local Karen diver, explained that the sport is a gateway to appreciating nature while also tapping into conscious and sustainable exploration. It’s her goal to not only bring outsiders into the world of Indian diving, but also members of her tribe. As the first woman diver from her community, Ruth stands as a beacon of progress alongside the likes of Diksha.
Diksha has been working tirelessly to stand up DIVEIndia’s conservation efforts, which is called the Island Adventurer Program. This takes divers beyond just getting in the water and on an educational journey regarding how to protect the places we visit and explore. From land to sea, Diksha takes the more curious divers around the island, explaining its significance, the threats it faces today and what we can do as citizen scientists and divers to counteract the damages being done.
To Seemant, it all comes down to blending adventure, discovery and conservation effectively. To do this, India must establish best practices and set gold standards, adhering to them and enforcing them through the dive operators that he works with. If the archipelago is to remain this world-class dive destination for generations to come, then these are simply practices that must be embedded into dive culture.
Our time in the Andaman Islands was more than a series of dives. It was an exploration into India’s complexities. The ones that we were hooked on and fell in love with—its diverse landscape, rich cultures, delicious foods, unrivaled environments and deep history. The Andamans offered us an invaluable view in conscious exploration and the importance of balancing the constant need for discovery with long-term preservation.
When reflecting back on our time in India, it’s actually not the food or the diving that stand out most, but rather the incredible people. If we had it our way, we would have recruited Seemant to join our expedition, as he truly is one of the most valuable players we’ve met on tour. For now though, we’ll just reminisce on the witty dive boat banter and daily observational comedy routines and keep the lessons learned from the edges of India firmly in our minds. Until next time, wild and wonderous India and the one-and-only Seemant, we will be back.
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