They came in out of the blue. Literally. Shadowy and graceful. Not one or two, but 14 Manta Rays cruising past, in perfect formation like silent stealth bombers. As we watched mesmerized, three white tip sharks darted out to catch a closer look at us. The sea was alive! We were at Manta Point in Bangaram in the Lakshadweep Islands and could not have asked for a more perfect day to take a plunge into the turquoise blue wonderland that is the Arabian Sea.

I had been diving in the Lakshadweep for years, but my first dive at Bangaram- was truly magical. I woke up early to the sound of the surf, and without much ado walked to the dive center, inspected my dive gear, did the routine buddy check (Andreas, the blue-eyed, German dive instructor, who, eight years later was to hand the Bangaram dive center to my husband Prahlad!) and was off… finning down to paradise.

The descent into the crystal clear seas off Bangaram Island, Lakshdweep for the first time lived up to all my expectations - live corals, both hard and soft, of every conceivable hue, teeming with millions of reef fish, with the daily drama of predator and prey playing itself out before my very eyes...it’s was a veritable aquarium!

What makes Bangaram so special is the crystal clarity of the lagoon, which is relatively pristine, despite a constant stream of visitors. The island promotes low volume high-end tourism and, keeping its fragile ecology in mind, offers only very basic amenities. To my delight I discovered that those in search of room service, TVs, telephones, running hot water were politely advised to look elsewhere!

Thanks to this hands-off attitude, almost nothing comes between you and your sojourn on this isolated marine haven and the back-to-nature adventures it has on offer. My own ‘baggage’ comprised little more than a small bag pack, sun block, shorts, sarongs and swimwear. The dive gear, boats and instructors come with the island! So do stunning vistas, perfect sunsets, great food. And all this in an atmosphere so idyllic-u will never be the same again. And keep wanting more!

I have tracked the state of health in the marine ecosystems of the Lakshadweep for over a decade now. In fact when El Nino struck in 1998 few people, including us, really understood what the long-term consequences might be for the coral life. But when we saw the multi-coloured world in which we dived almost every day turn to grey and then bleached white our hearts sank. With every passing year, however, in ways that only nature knows and understands, a miraculous regeneration took place. “Dead’ corals slowly returned to life. Fish that had moved on returned. Marine ‘graveyards’ once again became bustling underwater ‘city centers’.

I have returned to Bangaram very often. Less than three months ago, as I ‘flew’ silently over the reefs, I saw again what a remarkable recovery most of my favourite sites had made. Relaxed and at peace, I cast my gaze on a spot we had christened: “Coming Back To Life”.

Just how magical the sea is, can best be appreciated when you consistently revisit the same spot and follow the rise and fall and rise of marine communities. Having experienced several dive destinations across the world I have to say that “Coming Back To Life” is one of the most awesome imaginable.

In silent testimony to nature’s amazing recuperative powers, tiny new polyps could be seen emerging out of corals we had written off as bleached or dead. Did these iridescent hues belong to the same areas that sported nothing but the depressing grey pallor of 1998? Those who advocate spending millions to ‘restore’ marine ecosystems would be advised to follow the “leave it alone” dictum that works so well. As divers we advocate a “rotational” system by which dive sites are given periodic “holidays”. This way even the most inadvertent impacts tend to be short lived, and the motto: leave nothing but bubbles and take nothing but memories” has a really good chance to come true.

In recent days, some degree of attention is (mercifully) being diverted from terrestrial ecosystems to the marine world. But I wish experts who have not experienced the sea by diving into its depths would contemplate their inexperience before expounding on “coral ecosystem management.” They believe, for instance, that merely keeping visitors out can protect corals. If this were true, India would have some of the finest coral formations in the world because we probably have the lowest number of scuba divers in the world. The real damage to corals comes from climate change[global warming etc],municipal sewage, oil from ships, toxins from factories, pesticides from plantations, silt from construction sites, the destruction of beaches, mudflats and mangroves, dropped anchors and nets left behind by fishing boats (that divers must cut loose). Add over fishing to this litany of destruction and you have a prescription for disaster that is already underway in varying stages in all Indian marine habitats. All of these problems have already been faced by other countries who have destroyed their natural marine wealth by myopic policies, practices and negligence. It is up to us to learn from this before it is too late to save our own environment. Time is running out.

Sitting out on the beach in Bangaram, such problems tend to be kept at arm’s length. A day in the life of Bangaram starts at a sane 7.30 a.m. And for late risers (that’s me!) you can still make it for the first dive if you roll out of bed as late as 8 a.m! I tend not to dive on a full stomach, but when you return ravenous from your exercise and invigourated by the salt and the sea, you can dig into a buffet breakfast that would put mainland facilities to shame. Life is so laid back here that most visitors do not even come here to dive!

But for those who do want to dive there are short courses available, including certification courses by highly qualified instructors. For the less adventurous there are snorkels and fins that combine nicely with beach combing, ayurvedic massages, glass bottom boats and canoes.

Bangaram’s pristine white sands and whispering palms invariably lull me into the perfect de stressing de-tox holiday of my life! My three boys and my husband also love this tropical paradise as much as I do and this is why we return each year to escape the grime, traffic, noise and trauma that is life in any urban city today.



The author is India’s only woman CMAS 3 Star Diving Instructor and Course Director, runs her own NGO – Reef Watch Marine Conservation and manages her own production house, Offspring