Business Description
When I was very young, going just to Carbyn's Cove Beach(approximately 10 km from where I stay) used to be a big issue. You know the islands were much more remote like in 1995. Even then I walked or cycled(which came pretty late the Hercules Ranger Cycle, if you remember) my way to reach Carbyns Cove beach to enjoy the calm, cool environment and to swim with my friends. We were thrilled when it came to go out to swim, who knew we could find a Secret Japanese bunker or a trunk full of gold coins, which the Japanese left in the Islands in 1945 (This rumor of the Japanese bunker is still present in the islands). Our Adrenalin used to be at its peak when we traveled from Port Blair to Rangat(South Andaman to Middle Andaman) to our aunt's house. The only land route now, and then was the one which passes through the Jarawa Tribe reserve. We used to hear stories about how Jarawa used to throw arrows on the vehicles, which passes through Jarawa area. We expected, such instances during our visit, however, we were lucky not to have witnessed one.
Our history goes back before 1942 when India was struggling for Independence. The last known contact, is a letter from an uncle from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh(A state in India). Since, 1946 we have no traces about where our family is. Some say they were killed in riots during partition, some say they live in Pakistan and many more stories. In fact, no one has any information as to where they are. Though "One day I will find the roots of my family."
The Decision and Experience Andamans
Deep within I had a feeling to go back and do something better for the islands. One day, in the year 2010 I took the courage to leave my lucrative job and come back to the islands to start Island Financial Services, which today provides financial solutions to many Private and Government agencies in the Andaman Islands. The firm has also become a Government recognized Common Service Centre for the locals in the islands and I feel very proud of this.
I am a travel freak and I used to plan all tours whenever we had a plan to visit any destination during my college days. This was somewhere there in me I believe. My friends and colleagues used to take suggestions from me regarding their travel plan to the Andaman Islands since my college days. I used to get excited after knowing about their visit, I made efforts to help them with their travel plan and used to refer them to people who organized trips. This used to happen when in many instances I encountered my friends saying "Andaman has nothing different and their travel experience was not as they expected." I didn't believe what they actually said. Some even went to the extent that you have ruined my vacation. I knew something big was missing because we knew the islands otherwise. It's highly unlikely that such an amazing destination be so hugely underrated.
The true experience of the islands is not catered to the travelers and this is when the founding principles of Experience Andamans was formed . Where not just the hotel, not just the vehicle, not just one particular instance of a trip is exciting but the trip as a whole is an experience where people write their own stories.
I just wanted to address one question, How to help and make people aware of such experiences? Browsed over the internet and everything pretty much was not making much sense. Many things, though amazing was not mentioned and was not catered to. Just the mainstream packages with very basic itinerary were sold to travelers. Azhar, a Computer Science Engineer from NIT Durgapur who is an avid traveler again joined me in this initiative after returning back from the United States.
We want everyone to know that in the 21st century there exist a place, which has approximately 92% forest land, around 570 Islands, rich marine life, breathtaking virgin beaches, active Volcanoes and a place not lead by caste/religion differences. Where you come Enjoy, Explore and Experience.
