Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov. 22: The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri Keshav Chandra, IAS today unveiled a book penned by him titled ‘When Turquoise Waters Turned Dark’. At a brief function held in the conference hall of the Secretariat, the Chief Secretary unveiled the Book in the presence of Shri Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, IPS, DGP, A&N Islands, senior Officers of A&N Administration and members from media fraternity.
Briefing the gathering about the content of the book, the Chief Secretary said, the book focuses on Isles mesmerizing beauty & the imperial history of A&N Islands with lots of research. The foreword of the book has been written by Shri Raghu Rai, a world famous Photographer and Journalist. He disclosed that Penguin is the publisher of the book and it contains 6 chapters. He mentioned that when the imperial phase started, this place was called ‘Kaalapani’ (dark waters) and that’s why the book has been aptly titled as ‘When Turquoise Waters Turned Dark’. This is the story of Kaalapani, which starts with the advent of Archibald Blair, Naval Surveyor and how it all started, then the story of Ross Island (now Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island), two iconic structures i.e Cellular Jail & Viper Jail and also about Nicobars-about the tribal life and their anthropological aspects, the difficulties faced by Islands during Japanese period and also some other activities which took place. The book ends with history about the aboriginal tribes of this place.
The Chief Secretary further remarked that the main idea to pen down a book is not only to capture the history of these Islands but also to make aware the treasure trove of beauty it posses. The book contains lot of photographs highlighting the beauty of the Islands, the Chief Secretary said. Those who are interested to know about A&N Islands will find the book very interesting and useful.
Earlier, in her welcome address, Ms Purva Garg, IAS, Secretary (Shipping/APWD) congratulated the Chief Secretary on the official unveiling of the Book titled ‘When Turquoise Waters Turned Dark’ which is about the beauty & history of A&N Islands with beautiful photographs. This book will be a real treasure for the people of A&N Islands as well as the visitors from mainland to know more about the A&N Islands, she said. The blend of visual splendour and historical insights makes this book an essential addition to the bookshelves collections of history enthusiasts, photographers and anyone interested in India’s colonial history.