Gained in Translation: Children of the sea goddess
The novel Korkai has shown that the consequence for those who do not move with the times to make changes in their lives, mindsets, approach to profession and way of life is their downfall.
The reason, because a life that has not been documented is no life at all.
When I began to write, it was not with the absolute aim of becoming a writer or to receive awards. The pain and worries of the seaside communities I knew of from the very beginning had taken root inside me.
Who are these children of the sea? As Malayalam writer Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai beautifully said, “Children of the sea goddess are the owners of unlimited wealth”. However, the reality today is different. Why are the lives of these people so different from those of others? Why do others not understand their self-reliant economic functioning or the way they guard the nation’s coastline? These were questions that came to me. The contributions that seaside communities have made from pre-colonial times till today in the defence of the nation, in the production of seafood and in maritime trade have not been understood by the rulers from the plains.
The reason, because a life that has not been documented is no life at all.
These people, who proved their bravery and character on the unstable seas, could not attain economic benefits and positions of power on land because of that same character. The sea they toil on is their livelihood space, but land is their space of celebration. Be it death, birth or marriage, the life they lead on land is a celebration for them. They have no thoughts about how their sacrificial work is looted from them on land. These people who live each day in the moment did not move towards political representation or positions of power. This is the truth that has caused great turmoil within me.
I wanted to write about these people who, at the peak of natural disasters such as tsunamis and storms, did not just prop themselves up with their own hand, but also offered it reflexively to anyone in distress. It is my understanding that literature alone must act as the voice of the voiceless.
The greatest problems for the seaside communities is that the authorities don’t have even a fundamental understanding of their lives. It is normal, for seaside tribes, to live their lives by overcoming natural disasters. However, the disasters brought about by schemes implemented by dominant powers in the name of growth are unknown to them and because of this, they cannot face them.
It is the final leg of the protest in Chennai’s Marina Beach over the Jallikattu issue, and to subdue the protesters, the police have stopped the flow of food and water. Despite this, it was the denizens of that coastline who provided food and water to the protesters. When in a show of fury the protesters walked into the sea, it was because these people went with them as protection that suffering was averted. The reason, because it is in their nature to protect those facing trouble. When floods hit Kerala, the seaside communities were the first to step in. For their sacrifice, their reward was the praise from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the never-ending praise of the people they rescued. However, if it takes a natural disaster to shine light upon a great ethnic group, that is a failing of democracy.
The novel Korkai has shown that the consequence for those who do not move with the times to make changes in their lives, mindsets, approach to profession and way of life is their downfall. Rising income due to fishing in the Indian peninsula brought about by imported technology created many job opportunities along the coastline. But, at the same time, it also sowed seeds of discrimination between traditional fishermen, mechanised fishermen and fishermen-traders. The supply of fish is dwindling due to the havoc wrought by fishermen-traders and the lack of oversight by government authorities.
None of the schemes implemented in seaside communities with great fanfare by the government is for those communities. When asked by people to protect the coast against schemes that disrupt nature and sand theft, the government, in the name of building walls, does all but fling loose boulders at their faces.
It is possible for the government to transform seaside territories into prosperous economic zones and kendras of job opportunities. It is possible to use future schemes to carefully foster inshore, offshore and deep-sea fishing; to create and progress with such mechanisms like conservation, re-population and market creation at ports. It is possible to generate job opportunities and economic growth by transforming uninhabited islands near the mainland into fishing farms and transport sites.
Throughout the peninsula, there are communities that have plied sailboats for generations and the knowledge they gained through the experience is priceless. It is possible to transform them with the present day technologies into owners of coast to coast-moving small vessel and make them carry cargo from small ports to main ports. Thus the much-touted Sagar Mala scheme would become a real and successful garland if only the fishermen community is used as the social thread for linking all the ports in the western and eastern shores.
I have worries about the community of the children of the sea goddess, who live throughout the country. Instead of posing the question of why other land-linked communities don’t understand the lives of the seaside communities, today, I ask myself what I have done to foster that understanding. Even while criticising the centres of authority, I firmly believe that the mandate of our time is the elimination of community-related and faith-related problems. For this, the continued literary work of those like me will most definitely act as support.
D’Cruz grew up in Uvari, a fishing hamlet in southern Tamil Nadu. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for Korkai, a novel set in the ancient port town, in 2013. Translated from Tamil by Ram Sarangan
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