A Tonga far away in the middle of Pacific now covered by ashes of a volcano

The sparsely populated Polynesian nation of Tonga recently shot to the limelight on January 5, when satellites caught dramatic visuals of a huge underwater volcanic explosion taking place near the tiny island kingdom in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The word 'tonga' would normally evoke rather romantic images of a horse-drawn double-wheeled carriage, bobbing to the clickety-clack beat of equine footsteps along the old-world streets of Lucknow. However, on January 15, a volcano, deep in the belly of the Pacific Ocean, erupting in a massive display of nature’s raw power, conjured up a rather different image — it was the Tonga of the South Pacific; the Tonga of volcanoes; the Tonga of the Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai islands; and also the Tonga that supports India at world forums.

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