Monday, December 19 2005 14:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Port Blair: Slowly but steadily, islanders in the emerald green Andaman and Nicobar cluster have reconstructed life devastated by the tsunami which all but destroyed the self-sustaining economy of the islands, changed geographical contours and skewed the tribal demography just about a year back.

In the group of 573 islands - many of them now marooned or reduced to just tiny specks of green on the blue waters of the Indian Ocean - tribals and non-tribals have demonstrated raw survival instinct on a land that skeptics had written off as wasted forever.

In capital Port Blair, home to the only scientific study in the region confirming a landmass shift of over a meter from the mainland, the fury of the tsunami is just a bad dream that nobody wants to remember anymore.

"Talk of hope, eternal hope and hard work. Not of the tsunami", is the refrain that its acting Lt Governor M M Lakhera has these days for hordes of journalists descending here to take stock of rehabilitation efforts a year after the 'nightmare of our lifetimes' that left around 10,000 dead.

In the worst-hit Car Ncobar, a Tsunami Memorial is getting last minute touches before it is unveiled on December 26 with the three heads of armed forces in attendance. The memorial, paying homage to 119 brave air force men and teachers and civilians,is a grim reminder of those who kept a steady vigil on India's coastline till end came.

Just in its neighborhood, the Indian Air Force base, completely wiped out by the unruly waves last year, is a photographer's delight even today, though for a different reason. The spot that exhibited the worst of tsunami ruin last year makes for an unbelievable 'before-after' montage with its prim airstrip and defence readiness.