As Homi Adajania turns host for the show Journeys of a lifetime, he shares with Riya Sharma that these journeys are way beyond the physical as they help us discover ourselves
Many believe that it was a Japanese vessel carrying over 600 soldiers by a British submarine while others speculate that Sophie Marie was bombed during a time when the Japanese were strenge thing their possession of coastline around Bay of Bengal which posed a threat to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. But, the stories of these adventures actually exhilirate Homi Adajania, the director of Finding Fanny. He recenly undertook a journey in Andaman Islands to solve the myserty of a second world war shipwreck.
What was the idea behind going underwater to solve the mystery of a shipwreckIJ
Because it’s there I guess. It’s an extraordinary WWII warship that was blown up and sank during the war. I had dived on it several years ago and had always wanted to know what its story is. I’d met divers who had explored it as well. But you can’t spend much time on it and it’s a hard wreck to figure out because lying pretty deep underwater and the channel where it sank has strong currents. If you get pulled one-way you can land up in a salt-water crocodile estuary and the other way will be open ocean. But it’s reasons like these that make this kind of travel so exhilarating and I guess curiousity had me on this one.
Did you succeed in itIJ
In spite of us not finding the actual name plaque or inscription, I’m very sure that it is a WWII mine sweeper was called the Sophie Marie. The measurements and stuff on it pointed to this. But if you ask me a 100 per cent, I’m not. Maybe I want to leave it a mystery. Maybe I want a reason to return. What is lying buried under 73 years of silt is what her identity is. The “what ifs” make this wreck special. The gazillion fish that have made it their home. The surprises of what lie inside her twisted shell. The exhilarating uncertainties of life surface, as she rests with a sense of resigned certainty, deep below the ocean she once sailed.
How did it changed your lifeIJ
like all such journeys, you take back bits that become a part of you and redefine the person you are.
Did you experience an emotional breakthroughIJ
It was challenging and very exciting – I felt like a kid in a candy store – day by day unearthing pieces of the puzzle that pointed to the fate of this mysterious shipwreck and reveal her story after being under the sands of the ocean for over 70 years.
As you are also the host for the show, how do you wish to engage others to talk about the journey that changed their livesIJ
Each traveller has a story to tell. They all have had their own take which has taken away something and that has changed them. And these revelations are what have made each traveler’s journey unique and special.
What has been the most powerful moment in the show till nowIJ
I feel it’s gone way beyond the physical journey and is much more about personal journeys. About traveling on the outside to discover something deep within. The show is set to air on 27th December on COlORS INFINITY.