Tis’ the adventure of a lifetime

An enriching experience is what the contemporary world needs to realize the importance of life and its meaning to different people. Well, that’s precisely what the Asha volunteers and several other social workers felt on the morning of 3rd April 2004 when the people of Nemmelikuppam launched their new boats in the sea. Nemmelikuppam, a small village along the East Coast Road (ECR), after Kovalam, is about 35 kms away from Chennai city. The village has 131 families with a population of 466. Most of the village catamarans got destroyed during the Tsunami disaster. Asha has been working with this village since the Tsunami and has provided four boats and nets for fishing as community property in the name of the Village Panchayat. Two social workers Sandhya Sundar and Anoushka Ravishankar have been actively involved with getting this village back to business. Lakshmi Suryanarayanan and Radhika Radhakrishnan were amongst the other guests. 

The head of the village welcomed all the guests with a great smile. The entire village gathered to perform a small pooja in their village temple where goddess Kali resides. Tender coconut, kolam designs, aarthi, prasad, flowers for the ladies, garlands for the boats it was all there at the boat launch function in this small hamlet. A perfect day with fine weather was just the added impetus for the fishermen of this village to launch their boats into the sea. It is occasions such as these the outside world gets to see the true meaning of unity in diversity. The village is the perfect example of what mutual cooperation can do to the confidence of a village. Asha and the volunteers played the role of a facilitator; the village people did the rest. 

After a nice breakfast, it was time for a boating / fishing adventure with the fishermen in their new boats. All the fishermen got ready in a jiffy for the moment they have been waiting for quite sometime. This is what they have been doing all their lives, which of course was taken away from them for a brief period. The time had come for them to get back to brisk business. The fishermen old and young alike quickly fixed the huge motors of the newly painted boats. All volunteers accompanied them for a marvelous boat ride. It was a nice smooth ride to the middle of the sea where all the boats were stopped to get a feel of the sea. We even sang songs right in the middle of the sea surrounded by water for a change. As one of the fishermen rightly put it “We do not merely sing, it is with a purpose. Once we set out on a trip for fishing, we sing to make our tiredness vanish. At that time it comes naturally as one sings and the other also responds in song.” 

We also saw jellyfish, supposed to be the most expensive fish in the market today. One of the fishermen just jumped into the water and casually picked it up to show the rapt audience. The fishermen then zipped us back to the shore in a jiffy. Believe you me it was a great feeling. One must experience the sea to even fathom what the sea and fishing means to these fisher folk. These people have grown up watching the sea and playing alongside it for centuries together. The joy on their faces was proof enough. No Tsunami this time. 

Left to me, I would start fishing for a livelihood. It’s a good business. Why would anyone in his or her right mind think of alternative livelihood? Occupational hazards are a part and parcel of every profession, be it fishing or acting.