Kavaratti
— — a lagoon the open sea forgets about.
Not only on a wall.
“The administrative capital of Lakshadweep, set on a narrow coral island in the Arabian Sea. A turquoise lagoon on the western side, the open ocean on the east. The Ujra Mosque, carved from coral stone, holds a wooden ceiling locals say came from driftwood. Reached only by ship or by a short flight from Kochi, and only with a Union Territory permit. Coconut palms run the length of the island.
Kavaratti, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Kavaratti is the administrative capital of the Lakshadweep Union Territory of India, a chain of thirty-six coral atolls in the Arabian Sea about 400 kilometres west of the Kerala coast. The island itself is roughly 5.8 kilometres long and barely 1.6 kilometres at its widest, ringed by a turquoise lagoon on the western side and the open ocean on the east. The resident population is approximately 11,000. Access is by passenger ship from Kochi or by a short flight to nearby Agatti, then by boat. A Union Territory entry permit is required for non-residents.
The lagoon on the western side of Kavaratti is roughly four square kilometres of shallow, sheltered water held by a fringing coral reef. Depth rarely exceeds three metres inside the reef, and visibility on a calm day can run to twenty metres. Marine life includes parrotfish, sergeant majors, reef sharks at the channel mouths, and occasional manta in the deeper water beyond. Coral cover has held up better here than at most Indian Ocean sites, partly because commercial fishing is restricted by the Lakshadweep administration. Swimming and snorkelling are permitted only in designated lagoon areas.
Lakshadweep is a restricted-entry territory; non-residents must hold a permit from the Lakshadweep administration before travelling. Permits are issued through registered tour operators and through the Society for Promotion of Recreational Tourism and Sports in Lakshadweep (SPORTS). The dry season runs October through May; the southwest monsoon closes most inter-island connections between June and September. The Ujra Mosque, a fifteenth-century coral-stone structure, is the principal cultural landmark and is open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer hours. Alcohol restrictions apply; the local economy runs on coconut, tuna fishing, and small-scale tourism.