Fishermen of the Bay of Bengal | Nagapattinam coast,Tamil Nadu, India
I braved into the Bay of Bengal off the Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu, India with four local fishermen who lost everything during the Tsunami (Dec 24/ 2004). Though nearing five years any mention of the word 'tsunami' or related events brings tears to their eyes. It is a dreaded word in these parts of the country and even today any sort of tsunami ?forecast by the weather department makes them nervous - ?even they do not venture into the sea for days long past the warning timings.
This being the season for sardines (September 2009 - I saw organized fishing trawlers bringing in boat loads of catch) I thought of going out with them (it took a while to convince them as well ; I
managed to befriend Shekhar, Satya Raja, Ravi Chandran and Bamaswami) in their locally hand built boat. During the five hour trip into the deep sea they could only catch a handful of sardines ( max 3 to 4 kilograms
) in contrast to the huge haul of the trawlers. This they take everyday to the market and the money is shared to run their respective families. Night after night risking their lives they do this for a living and I came back with some unforgettable moments.
Photo documentary by Ananda Banerjee , environmental communicator/travel & conservation
journalist currently based in New Delhi, India. (Hits: 237934)
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