I was young and reckless then. Inexperienced too. I had heard that one must never step into the sea in the month of Aadi when the kodai kaathu hits. But I decided to go anyway that day. I was 18 and my father was not alive to warn me against it. It was around 8 am and I set my catamaran into unruly waves.
Some distance in, I spotted a few fishermen from my kuppam and they called out to me over the howling winds saying they were heading back and that I should, too. But I didn’t listen to them. I stayed on, opened the lunch box and finished my pazhaya sadham and decided to go further in to try my luck. It was the worst decision I ever took.
The wind and the waves that foamed at my catamaran made my feet burn; it was as though the skin would peel off. I almost blacked out. That moment, I thought I would never go back home. But I eventually did. It’s only when I saw my mother waiting on the shore for me, did it strike me that I was extremely lucky that day.
Fisherman VS Palayam from Urur Olcott Kuppam will never forget the day the sea gave him the fright of his life. The 55-year-old who practises hook and line fishing for most part of the year, will talk about his craft at the first edition of the Poromboke Lec-Fest that is happening as part of the Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha.
“Much like the fishermen of Neelankarai, our kuppam people too go fishing using the thoondil mul ,” says Palayam. “It helps us catch big fish such as seela (barracuda), paarai (bluefin trevally), and vanjiram (seer).” The fisherfolk of Urur Olcott Kuppam still follow techniques that have been in practice for over four generations. For instance, they use wood from the poosa tree, that grows in every household in the region, and an arrangement of palm leaves, rope, and rocks, to create an artificial reef. “We set this up at certain points in the sea. Small fish come to feed on the dirt that accumulates in this and we catch them to use as bait for the bigger fish,” he explains.
At the talk, Palayam will share fascinating stories from his days at sea — he started when he was in Class VIII. “Those days, I went alone on a catamaran,” he says. “We have all switched to fibreboats now, but if you ask me, wood was safer and helped us manoeuvre better,” he adds. What is the home turf of little fish? What do paarai fish eat? Which part of the boat does a fisherman consider his god? Palayam has the answers.
Palayam will be in conversation with J Prasanth in Science of the Seas that is at 7.30 pm on October 13. The Poromboke Lec-Fest will take place at CurioPlay, Alwarpet, on October 12 and 13.
