The Speaking Tree

I always felt that a tree will have many stories to tell (if it could speak) Here is one tree who has witnessed an important part of the Indian history even though being 1200 kms away from the Indian mainland. 

I am talking about the lone Peepal tree standing in the courtyard of the Cellular jail

It was uprooted in the storm of June 1998, replanted, nurtured and survived to tell the tale of life in the cellular jail.
 There is a light and sound show held every evening, and most of the story is said by this tree (actor Om Puri has lend his voice) You can hear him in the video.

Two wings of the jail is lighted up which transforms it from this

To this 

The sound system is good and the show could improve by cutting out the patriotic songs and giving more emphasis on history. Maybe some sort of visual projection would enhance the show.

The jail had seven wings. Here is a model of how it used to look 

663 cells in the jail were specially built for solitary confinement. Each cell was sealed off by iron grill door and a grilled ventilator. 

Among the exhibits, there are two photographs showing the progress of the construction.

A unique feature of the jail was the total absence of communication between the prisoners of two wings since the front of one wing faced the back of the other.

A single guard on duty could supervise all the seven wings from his vantage point from the central tower. 

   

A view of the open sea from the terrace

Among the inmates was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (the Port Blair Airport is named after him) In March 1868, 238 prisoners tried to escape. Within a month all were caught and 87 of them were ordered to be hanged.

One of the three nooses and the actual trap door marked in white.

Also noticed that about 70% of the inmates incarcerated there were from Bengal. This is just one of the slabs put up there.

Incidentally only three wings of the seven stands as of now. It would have been only one, had it not been for a letter written by Mrs Indira Gandhi to the Home Minister in Sep 1968 (I saw this entry in the visitor’s book)

The Japanese occupied the islands for three years during World War II 

One of the tower bolts in the exhibit room (typically from the British era) 

And some of the exhibits 

A final view of the entrance