‘The Great Nicobar Journey’: A powerful children’s book questions the Great Nicobar Project
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At a recent dinner party, the conversation veered towards the Rs 91,000-crore Great Nicobar project and, much to the host’s discomfort, opinions flew thick and fast. “Development without destruction” and “ecologically sensitive zone’ were some of the buzzwords that were exchanged. It ended on a cogitative note when a guest innocently wondered what the animals in this dense, isolated ecosystem would say about the Great Nicobar project if they could talk.
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I would like to think Tansy Troy somehow overheard this conversation.
The Great Nicobar Journey, an eco-adventure novel written by educationalist, activist, and poet Tansy Troy, looks at the Great Nicobar project from the point of view of the thousands of animals and birds on the island. The project is set to roll out over the next 30 years to transform the island into a major strategic and economic outpost for India. But what does the diverse, often endemic fauna have to say about that?
Chalo sansad
The book opens with a conference attended by birds, animals, amphibians, and reptiles. The Nicobar Treeshrew presides, and everyone from the Long-tailed Macaque and Civet Cat to Omura’s Whale and Saltwater Crocodile gather to listen with an intent to save their homeland. This unlikely crew of creatures decides to take an arduous journey...