27. SAMUDRIKA, THE NAVAL MARINE MUSEUM, PORT BLAIR, ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS (INDIA)

This is the ninth of the ten blog series covering this fabulous trip. 

"Samudrika"

If you are in Port Blair, a visit to “Samudrika”, the Naval Marine Museum is absolutely essential and strongly recommended. This museum is a storehouse of information on the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands. 
It covers every aspect of life in this unique area.  

The entry tickets are available at the gate.

Very well maintained by the Indian Navy, the entry to “Samudrika” is paid. The entry tickets are available at the entrance itself. It was a meagre Rs 20 per person when I visited it in March 2012. Charges for camera are additional.  The museum has limited visiting timings and is closed on Mondays and Govt. holidays.

The skeleton of a blue whale

The entrance area has been tastefully landscaped. At the entry, one is greeted by a rare skeleton of a huge blue whale. There are also life-like tribals dotting the place, making it very inviting.

A tribal woman

The museum is divided into five major sections, (i) Geography of the Islands, (ii) History of the area, (iii) the details of the aborigines and their characteristics, (iv) the rich marine life of the islands including types of fish and sea-life alongwith display of shells & corals found here and (v) the archaeological background of this area.

Prototype of a tribal hut

As one moves from one section of the museum to the other, the ocean of knowledge and information keeps opening up. Even if you are an ordinary tourist and not interested in the in-depth knowledge usually provided by museums, you will not be able to walk away without reading all the interesting details of this beautiful group of islands.

One must factor in at least half a day for a meaningful visit to this amazing place. In my opinion, it should be the first port of call for any tourist as it will help one understand the relevance and importance of the area and will lay the foundation of basic knowledge of these islands. Armed with this knowledge and understanding, one can build up the rest of the trip on this and enjoy it much better.

A wall photo of local aborigines

*****