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Isle be there

Look beyond Mauritius’ sensational scenery to delve deep into its poignant history.

Isle be there

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Mauritius this week, I reminisced about my own recent sojourn to the island nation about which Mark Twain famously said that “Mauritius was created first and then Heaven copied after it!”

Located on the east coast of Africa, 702 miles east of Madagascar, mesmerising Mauritius is much more than its storied beaches, reefs and lagoons. The world’s best hotels? Check. World class gastronomy? Check. Adventure sports, museums, wildlife? Check, check.

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And so in between attending an international conference, and ticking off other official engagements, I also squeezed in time to visit some of its most important sites. Mauritius and India have a strong historical and ethnic connection. And nothing showcases this better than Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO heritage site located on the picturesque bay of Trou Fanfaron in the capital city Port Louis. This former immigration depot – also known as ‘Coolie Depot’ — is where almost half a million Indian indentured labourers disembarked to work on the island’s expansive sugar plantations between 1834 and 1920.

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The thriving sugar industry in Mauritius demanded great labour input- and the Indians were brought in by shiploads from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the southern provinces of colonial India. They came, clutching their belongings, travelling for days on rough seas to toil in a strange land and make it rich. The Ghat relives their poignant story in great detail.

I began by nipping up the flight of 14 steps which the first batch of 36 Indians took to after landing here on 2 November, 1834. The partial remains of three stone buildings from the original Aapravasi Ghat which still remain, although a bit dilapidated now. There’s also a museum showcasing documentation related to the labourers’ history and some artefacts.

“Passing through Aapravasi Ghat, the labourers would either stay on in Mauritius to work as indentured labour in the sugar plantations or sail onward to destinations, such as Guyana, Suriname and Reunion Island for similar work,” the guide informed me as I jotted notes and clicked the site’s photos. “The Indian immigrants’ journey across the Indian Ocean took eight to ten weeks. Once they landed here, the depot dealt with around 600 immigrants at a time.”

The museum also records Mahatma Gandhi’s work on the abolition of slavery and his visit to Mauritius in 1901 on his way back to India from South Africa. A 10-minute film featuring the testimonials of the workers’ descendants makes for an engrossing watch. I next survey what remains of the sheds for housing of the immigrants, kitchens, lavatories, a building used as a hospital block.

Interestingly, Mauritius is the only country that has two UNESCO sites, one dedicated to resistance to slavery, Le Morne, and the other to indentured labour, the Aapravasi Ghat, the guide explained. The Ghat, she added, is the most important symbol of Indian identity in Mauritius as the ancestry of over 70 per cent of its population of 1.3 million can be traced back to India. Dominated by the Arabs, Dutch, English and French, the island was discovered by the Arabs and Malays in 1507. And today, all these nationalities make up the warp and weft of the rainbow nation.

Inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites in 2006, the Ghat “represents, in the most sublime way, the triumph of the human spirit in the face of all odds. It stands as a monument to the memory of these valiant men and women. Their immense courage, will and perseverance have shaped the Mauritius of today,” reads the Ministry of External Affairs website.

Indeed if more proof were needed of an inclusive and proud nation, at both the beautiful hotels I stayed at – Ravenala Attitude Hotel located on Turtle Bay and Shandrani Beachcomber Resort and Spa that nestles on a private peninsula near Blue Bay Marine Park– I was serviced by a warm and welcoming multicultural and multilingual staff. Their ancestors hailed from countries as diverse as India, Mozambique, Madagascar, Surinam, Kenya, Tanzania and more, they told me.

What such diversity and multiculturalism bring to the table – in a world roiled by class divides and inequity — is priceless. It made me realise what makes Mauritius so special. Of course, it was also waking up to a soundscape of ocean waves and birdsong; the healthy juice shots at breakfasts, delicious meals curated by talented chefs; the whiff of lemongrass from icy cold towels, fresh coconuts brought by smiling waiters, expertly sliced open and delicately carved to hold a bamboo straw. Mauritius was all this and more!

The writer is a Delhi-based editor and journalist 

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