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‘You must be prepared,’ warned Leatherback Turtle, ‘for the way ahead is full of danger. As far as I have heard from turtle friends living in the waters off the Mainland, humans have made it practically impossible for every other species but themselves to navigate the land, water or skies. Proceed with utmost caution.’
Treeshrew nodded. She looked out over Galathea Bay and watched as the dexterous macaques pushed the sturdy raft they’d crafted into the shallows. Delighted by the new toy boat, baby macaques were busy trying to push each other into the sea.
‘Even where humans have made houses and shops on our island it’s hard to find a way to go about safely. Wherever there are people, there’s always so much noise and activity. But suppose we actually do reach the Sansad Bhavan, Turtle, what do you think? Should we shout and wave our arms about like Cat Snake says people do on that thing humans watch called The News? She says humans carry placards with messages written on them or simply sit outside big buildings in silent protest until someone takes some notice.’
Leatherback Turtle looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t know about silent protests, but I’ve heard about the placards,’ she agreed. ‘They sound like a good idea. They’ll be easy for the humans to read and will get our message across quickly. We can ask each animal to think up a good message and see if Macaque can write them out. She’s pretty quick at scribing humanspeak.’
‘I’ve got one to go, straight up,’ confessed Treeshrew. ‘We Belong on Sambelong!’
‘This is a great start. But since not all humans will know that Sambelong is the name our tribal islanders call Nicobar, we should have another declaring: We Are Nicobar.’
Nico P flew down from an endling palm to join the conversation. ‘I’m wondering, say we actually do reach the Sansad Bhavan and we actually get to meet the politicians themselves, what then? What does “to petition” even mean?’
‘I think the best thing would be to get everyone singing. How about an anthem? A shoutout from the wilderness?’
Tracing symbols in the wet sand with a stick she held in her soft mouth, Leatherback Turtle began to write.
‘Wow, Turtle. You scribe humanspeak as well as Macaque!’ cawed Nico P, impressed.
Turtle nodded, looking satisfied. ‘When your ancestors have been on Earth for over 110 million years, you learn to communicate in many, many ways,’ she chuckled. ‘Now do you both think this would work as a chorus?’
Treeshrew and Nico P leaned in to listen as Turtle read aloud her rhyme. When she had finished singing, Treeshrew and Parakeet grinned at each other. It was a great song and would definitely attract attention. Things seemed to be falling into place.
The raft was ready to set sail.
The Crew was prepared for the adventure of a lifetime.
Amidst whoops and yells and tearful goodbyes, the small, brave team from Sambelong—Treeshrew, Long-tailed Macaque, Civet Cat, and Cat Snake—clambered onto the raft. Nico P flew above, while Leatherback Turtle, Omura’s Whale and a few playful Spinner Dolphins, swam alongside. Saltie too had agreed to join the journey. The raft was too small to accommodate his size so he swam with the others, although in his heart, he was quite scared. He had never travelled such a long distance before and hoped he would stay the course.
‘Goodbye, Scops Owl! See you soon, Serpent Eagle,’ called out Long-tailed Macaque to her friends in the trees. ‘Make sure you send us any news via the Drongos.’
The Racket-tailed Drongos were the best messengers the Nicobar animals could ask for, adept at spreading news and stories to every part of the island in no time at all. A few of them had even promised to accompany the Great Nicobar Crew on their journey in order to fly back at top speed with any emergency information.
‘Take care of things here,’ called Civet Cat to the others who were staying behind.
‘See you soon, Mummy! Send us a postcard when you reach Delhi!’ cried all the little macaques, waving frantically as the raft sailed away through the shallows.
Seeing her mother floating out to sea, the youngest macaque burst into sudden wails.
Appointed the impromptu babysitter, Robber Crab snapped his pincers trying to distract the little one. But when that too failed, he offered her his coconut and a piece of gur that he had stolen from the market. That seemed to do the trick. With a sigh, he looked back at the quickly retreating raft. ‘Don’t worry!’ he called out. ‘The young ones are safe with us.’
All over the great island, birds and beasts alike cheeped and cawed and cheered as the Great Nicobar Crew unfurled their makeshift sail—a bit of old sari that False Killer Whale had got entangled in one day when he was diving. Cat Snake curled herself around the mast and looked out into the turquoise distance.
Treeshrew lifted her voice to the sky and began a full-throated rendition of Leatherback Turtle’s anthem:
We are NICOBAR,
(travelling far, travelling far)
And we belong to SAMBELONG,
(hear our song, hear our song)
An island rare as rare can be,
(like a diamond in the sea)
We’ll never let the sun go down
(let’s all hear you make some sound)
‘til Nicobar is FREE!
Excerpted with permission from The Great Nicobar Journey: How an Endangered Island Lifted its Voice to the Skies, written and illustrated by Tansy Troy. Published by Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger Books (2026, Rs 399)
