Lonely Planet – Tourist guide on South India

It is worth stopping by the Bay Island Driftwood Museum, not least for owner Raji Punnoose’s animated explanations of her life’s work. Inside is a motley collection of driftwood from the Andaman Sea which has been cleaned up and arranged to resemble in all manner of shapes and wildlife. Some pieces have striking resemblances to real life objects, while others take a lot more imagination and prompting from the convincing Ms.Punnoose.

(Published by Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi)

“This unique museum displays ‘the art of the sea’ – chiseled driftwood gathered from the beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, hence the name. The driftwood pieces were chiseled by curator Raji Punoose, a retired teacher, into shapes that vary from a crocodile found off Port Blair’s Wandoor beach to a sculpture of Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose addressing an audience from wood collected off Mayabunder beach in middle Andaman.’’

(Published by Rough Guides, New York, London, and Delhi, written and researched by David Abram)

“Birds or representation of them, feature prominently in the areas most bizarre visitor attractions, the Bay Island Driftwood museum just off the main road on the outskirt of Kumarakom. While out on rambles along the shoreline of the distant Andaman Islands, school teacher Raji Punnoose used to collect lumps of drift woods, twisted and worn in to shaper resembling animals, birds, fish and people ………. Raji guides visitors through the highlights with a breathless commentary that is as idiosyncratic and entertaining as the pieces themselves. Allow at least an hour for the full tour.”

(Published by Stark World)

This museum is the brain child of Raji Punoose, a teacher who worked in the Andaman & Nichobar Islands for 25 years. She started collecting pieces of drift woods washed ashore and spent hours pruning and giving shape to what had already been shaped by the sea. Located at Chakranpadi, the museum has a stunning array of elegant drift wood sculptures. In its “ferocity” a crocodile looks almost real. The flowers and buds collection is also worth a peek.”

Sunday Supplement, Malayalam Manorama- 9th Dec 2001

“Raji’s each work has its own individuality. She finds potential for sculptures in the bends and slopes of’ raw driftwood pieces. The Sculptor in her renders perfection, without tampering with the naturality of the sculptures already shaped by the sea in a vivid manner. A typical example of this may be noticed in her work ‘The Handicapped Family’. She has a good collection of flowers-buds and those bloomed partly or fully. Her proficiency lies in identifying the most appropriate possible shape or design in the driftwood pieces she collects and then transforming them to the idea she has in mind with talented efforts”

Friday Review, The Hindu, 15th Feb 2002

“Raji Punnoose’s works have a novelty about them. Here is a collection from the beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where she has spent 25 years as a school teacher. During her strolls along the beaches, she used to come across wood pieces washed ashore.

Noticing there blurred shapes she chiselled them to perfection. She has never been trained in any form art and this adds charm to her endeavour. Raji says, she has spent long hours pruning and giving shape to driftwood. Apart from the tribal Jarawa woman, Handicapped Family, Monkey, Lion and Elephant, there are also pieces focusing on the Kargil War and Subash Chandra Bose’s Chalo Dilli Campaign. The Crocodile with all its ‘ferocity’ looks almost real…

The sea continues to fascinate her and she feels it as the greatest sculpture. However, it is in her hands that these dead pieces get a fresh lease of life”

Must-visit spot is the Bay Island driftwood museum. This largest driftwood and fossil museum run by Raji Punnoose has a huge collection of root sculptures of various designs and shapes. The pieces are the deposits picked up from the Andaman seashores.