Indira Point - At the confluence of Indian Ocean

At the confluence of the Indian Ocean

S. BALAKRISHNAN

Indira Point is the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island.

Photo: Reuters

LAND'S END: Beautiful, and as yet unspoiled.

"From Kashmir to Kanyakumari" — is how India is described to symbolise unity and integration. But, from the geographical point of view, Kanyakumari is not the real southernmost point of the Indian land mass. It is Indira Point, or Parson's Pygmalion Point

Indira Point is the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island, the biggest island in the Nicobar group.

The place was earlier called Parson's Pygmalion Point. After a visit to the place by the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, it was renamed Indira Point. Campbell Bay is the main and only town of Great Nicobar Island, and is also the port town. The North-South Trunk-road from the town leads to the Point. The Galathia flows across. It is one of the few perennial rivers found only in the Great Nicobar Island. The Nicobar Islands were once the domain of Rajendra Chola I of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu (ruled from 1014 to 1044 A.D.). The islands find a mention as "Nakkavaram", which could have given the island the name Nicobar. The Galathia was then known as Kalathi.

Shy Shompens

The island of Great Nicobar is the home of the Shompen tribal group. They belong to the Mongoloid race, they are very shy by nature and shun contact with outsiders; hence they are known as "Shy Shompens".

This island is also the home for the Megapod bird. Only a few families of people working at the Lighthouse live at the South Bay. The lighthouse rises to a height of 100 ft. Compared to Kanyakumari, the commercialised southern tip of India, Indira Point is beautiful, as yet un-spoilt.

The tsunami of December 26, 2004, has left not even a trace of former landmarks. Being so close to the epicentre, the Point has subsided by about 4.5 m. (15 ft.). It has cost the lives of people living there, including a group of international scientists who were there on a research project.

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