A view from the inside

A peek at life in a gillnet boat, a fisherman’s second home

November 30, 2014 08:29 pm | Updated 08:29 pm IST

Sukumar at the wheel

Sukumar at the wheel

Something is not right at Kasimedu fishing harbour. Most boats are moored during the day when they are supposed to be at sea. Those at anchor by the wharf seem to have an air of resignation; men bustle about the decks. “We’re calling a strike on December 3,” a fisherman informs us. There is a conflict between owners of smaller boats and the bigger ones, he says. “The bigger boats have engines powerful enough to take them to deep sea. But they infringe on waters closer to the shore — this is where the smaller boatmen make a living. Isn’t it unfair?” The strike implies that no one will venture into the sea. Boats are hence being dusted and cleaned; gaps in the nets are being stitched and knots are being eased out. The situation presents an opportunity for us to take a peek inside a boat, a fisherman’s second home.

Driver Antony Raj and his crew lounge about their gillnet boat, among the most commonly used for fishing at the harbour. At the heart of the 55 feet-long boat, is the wheel room. This room decides the boat’s destiny — it’s from here that the driver operates the wheel. “My job is to ensure that I take the boat to where a good catch is most likely,” explains Antony. The cabin is sparse except for the wooden wheel and garlanded pictures of gods and goddesses. Most fishermen are religious — Antony says that the crew gathers in the cabin to pray at the beginning of every voyage. “This is also where the men take cover if there’s rain,” he adds.

A little beyond the stern, is the ice box where the catch is stored. The box is below the surface of the deck. “It has around 18 compartments, all of which are filled with ice, except one,” says Antony. “We start filling the one without ice with the catch — ice from its neighbouring compartment is piled onto the fish. We move from one compartment to another till each of them is filled.” Then, the men return to shore.

Sukumar, the driver of a 72-feet-long gillnet boat, started as a marathukaaran at the wharf when he was nine years old. “I was a lascar for a few years and then got promoted as driver,” he smiles. Life-threatening storms, howling winds, mammoth tides…Sukumar has navigated his boat through all kinds of situations. “But it’s the lascars who do all the work,” he feels. “They lower the nets into the water, heave them out hours later with the catch. Sometimes it rains sheets in the sea, but they cannot afford to rest. It can take upto five or eight hours to haul up the nets.”

The deck is holy; here, alcohol is a strict no-no. But there’s plenty to eat. The kitchen, stocked with vegetables, masalas, a mixer, and more, is right behind the wheel room. “We take turns to cook,” explains Antony. “Some times, we have pazhaya soru (the previous night’s rice soaked in water), but it's hot rice on most occasions. And we make a lot of meen kozhambu ; the first fish we catch ends up on our plate,” he smiles. “The boat-owner spends up to Rs. 15,000 on food for the crew,” he adds. Food is most important; the crew has to eat well to put in a lot of physical labour. “We hence ensure that there is an excess of food and water before we start,” says Antony.

The driver gets five per cent of the profit, while the crew, which consists of seven to eight men, divides 20 per cent among themselves. Antony says that it’s in the dead of night that fish come out. “So the men set up the nets and wait,” he says. In the meantime, they take turns to sleep, play cards, listen to music, or watch a movie — there is even an LCD TV with a DVD player inside the wheel room. “There’s everything here a home has,” smiles Sukumar. “Except our family.”

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