To see the sea: Waves of challenges in a day of a fisherman
The fishermen who brave the seas to earn their livelihoods face numerous problems each and every day. The challenges, dangers and anxious moments that await them across the bounding waves build a world where the elements of nature reign supreme and man turns into a mere toy in their hands. The fishing boats which go about their business swaying in the surging waves, struggle in the wake of speeding cargo vessels, face checks and enquiries of the Coast Guard, and sometimes encounter terrific occurrences and fall into strange predicaments.
The waves that welcome you below!!
The trouble of a fisherman begins at the estuary, gateway to the sea, which creates a hindrance to boats sometimes due to the silt deposited. There are numerous instances where a fellow fisherman was thrown overboard, never to resurface, without the awareness of his comrades in a rough sea. Such unfortunate souls drown silently into the depths of an all welcoming sea. A few fortunate individuals receive help immediately or other boats which happened to notice them rush to rescue, all depending upon favourable conditions. Every time a fisherman enters the sea, he is never sure if he will make it home.
The Unwanted Guests
Fishing is never a sail across a smooth sea. One of the great woes of the fishermen is those fish which can’t be sold due to lack of demand and also due to their inedibility. Puffer fish, puche meen, coral snakes and jelly fish belong to this category. This marine life not only harms the valuable fishing net but also is hazardous due to its venom.
Whale-Dolphin Connection
Whales, the kings of the deep ocean, sometimes rise above water and teach the philosophy of life to the fishermen. These gargantuan sea creatures make the punitive men in sea realize how small their existence is. Every fisherman who has seen a whale in the sea remembers its dignified demeanor. Similarly, one of the happiest moments in a fisherman’s life is witnessing the antics of dolphins. Called suyimpe, kheeri and panji meen in Tulu, dolphins are considered man’s best friends. Their hops, leaps and stunts at very close quarters are really mesmerizing. There is no doubt that the close association of these intelligent creatures with human beings is a cause of envy among all marine life.
A Cry that Melts Hearts
The fishing nets sometimes catch sea turtles and dolphins too. When the turtles bite and destroy the nets in a bid to escape, dolphins exhibit a heard rending behavior on realizing their proximity to death. As the fishermen retract the net, it starts wriggling to indicate that it isn’t ready to be taken away. Many fishermen report hearing a baby-like weeping sound that emanates from these marine creatures. Dolphins literally shed tears and make a fervent plea with their eyes if pulled to surface. A fisherman fishes only to feed his family, he is not a cruel hearted beast. When he sees the crying dolphin, he clears the net out of its path, pats it head as if it was his own child and sends the bag of joy on its path to freedom.
Robbers in the middle of sea!!
Yes, you heard it right. Our coastal line is witnessing a new phenomenon of robbers in the middle of the sea. In last January, a fishing boat in the deep seas near Kapu in Udupi district was raided by a band of robbers who arrived on a boat. They assaulted the 6 fishermen and snatched away 12 boxes of catch worth lakhs, along with 4 smart phones. In the present times of extreme fish scarcity, such crimes hit the fishermen, who are mere daily wagers, much harder. Administrators need to look into these issues to ease the lives of these poor folk.
Shipwrecks of the depths
Wrecks of large modern cargo ships, timber-built sailing ships called manjis and the remains of fishing trawlers stay waiting in the depths to trouble the fishing boats. Called kolpu in Tulu, these wrecks spell trouble to the fishing nets, completely destroying them. Sometimes the rocks in seabed also destroy the nets. Occasionally, ropes and nets get entangled in the propellers of their own boats. This is really lethal for the divers who will have to swim under the boats in shark infested waters and untangle them.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
