On the ferry to Ross Island, don’t sit in the front, and don’t wear cotton shorts. That’s what I was wearing when we hit a particularly angry wave, and got drenched. I spent the rest of the 15 minute ride perched on the edge of the boat, in a kind of malasana, thankful to my yoga practice.
Ross Island
Ross Island is an important part of most tourist itineraries to the Andamans. What makes this island interesting is that the ruins of the British cantonment are now engulfed in the humongous roots of trees growing across the island.
The overgrown roots that now overrun the British ruins at Ross Island.
Although it was scorching in the Andamans, I was about to explore Ross Island, one of the most fascinating historical sites there. I was excited because I was also finally going to do the kind of thing book dreams are made out of – I was going to explore a location I had read about in a book I had loved. A book that had all the ingredients of a thriller – an isolated island bathed in fog, a few murders, good looking officers and intelligent women.
Death in the Andamans
My copy of “Death in the Andamans”
“Death in the Andamans” is a book by MM Kaye, written in 1960. Since I’d read and loved this book, a visit to Ross Island was the most anticipated part of the trip for me. As MM Kaye wrote, “It was a disturbingly creepy place. What my Scottish grandfather would have termed ‘unchancy.'” I had to see for myself….
In her Author’s Note MM Kaye talks about the events that inspired the book. She got the idea for the book on a visit to the Andaman Islands to visit a friend whose father was posted as Chief Commissioner there. She writes that a little steamer called the S.S. Maharaja took her from Calcutta to Port Blair and then on to Ross. Here’s an image of the S. S. Maharaja :
The SS Maharaja was a turbine steamship primarily serving the Andaman mail run from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Port Blair, with stops including Madras (Chennai) and sometimes Ross Island. It transported convicts, political prisoners, mail, passengers, and provisions often from Calcutta.
The main character, Copper, also arrives to Ross Island on this ship.
In the book, the characters attend a sad, somewhat eerie Christmas Eve service at the only church on the island. Here’s a picture of the church:
The interiors of the sole church at Ross Island.
What the church looks like today.
Here are a few pictures of Government House, which was the Chief Commissioner’s residence. A lot of the book was set here, including dinners, a murder and even supernatural events. MM Kaye herself stayed in this house, and there’s a floor plan of the house in the book!
The sitting room where I imagine the last scene happened. Copper may have been sitting on a chair facing the doorway, hoping Nick would come in to save her and Valerie from becoming the next victims.
The dining hall where one of the most fraught scenes in the book happened – where everyone was jumpy and on edge.
The floor plan of Government House as depicted in ‘Death in the Andamans’.
I found all the black and white photos in an exhibit at the Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
In the introduction to the book MM Kaye writes
“Sadly, Ross had long since predeceased it; falling a victim to Japanese bombing that demolished Government House and its ghosts, together with every other building on the island – including the little club-house where this story began.”
In addition to the Japanese invasion, Ross also experienced an earthquake and then the tsunami which ‘wiped out’ a lot of the island. I took a picture of this big stone lying on the beach, it looked like it belonged to one of British-era buildings.
The book ends with a marriage proposal and three couples enjoying the seclusion afforded by Corbyn’s Cove – a beach described as quiet, dark and full of palm trees.
Ross Island Today
MM Kaye ends her introduction by writing, “I am told that the jungle has taken over Ross and that no one goes there any more. But that nowadays there is a modern hotel for tourists at Corbyn’s Cover. Time and the Tourist march on!”
Yes Time and Tourist certainly march on. There is indeed a modern hotel at Corbyn’s Cove today. Next time I intend to sit for a leisurely coffee there, imagining what it was like decades ago when MM Kaye journeyed through these islands, writing a masterpiece…
Shopping for souvenirs at Corbyn’s Cove.
If you like reading about books, I have some more blogs on books here. If you liked my take on Ross Island you may want to read more of my travel blogs, I’m forever after a good adventure. If you have any to suggest, leave me a comment!
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