THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s mid-day and the small group of fishermen lounges outside the house nearest to the sea. One of the older men is intent on stringing rosary beads on a fishing line. ‘’We plan to go by three in the afternoon. But if the announcement comes, we will not go,’’ says Antony Varghese, a thickset man sporting a multi-coloured lungi and round-neck T-shirt. Antony says the fishermen would rather go than stay at home.
‘’Everyone’s raring to go. It’s the season for ‘Vaala’,’’ he explains. At Poonthura, one of the bigger fishing villages on the Thiruvananthapuram coast, the cyclone warning issued by the IMD has left the fishermen apprehensive. It’s only 11 months since the Ockhi cyclone disaster claimed the lives of over 30 fishermen from this region. And the wounds are still raw. At mid-day Thursday, they were awaiting further weather updates from the district administration before deciding whether to go or not.
‘’Earlier, the older men could predict the weather just by studying the clouds. However, it is hard nowadays. The climate has changed drastically. Now we also depend on weather bulletins and newspapers,’’ said Thomas, who was one of the lucky ones in November 2017, having made it to land just before Ockhi struck. ‘’You see, those racing white clouds usually indicate strong winds,’’ he points.
His arm has his name tattooed in Malayalam. The IMD has warned of a cyclone build-up in the south-east Arabian Sea from a low-pressure formation that is expected to form by Friday. Coastal communities have been warned to be alert and fishermen instructed not to go out for fishing after Friday. Fishermen on extended fishing trips have been urged to make for the nearest coast.
At Poonthura, a few metres away from where the small group relaxes in the mid-day sun, looms the tall facade of the St Thomas Church. Last year, it was outside this church where Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had addressed a gathering of grieving mothers and wives and anxious relatives even as a frantic search was ordered for the missing fishermen. On Thursday noon, the church bells were ringing merrily, announcing a wedding.
Half a kilometre to the south, at Cheriyamuttom, what greets you is the sight of scores of beached fishing boats, many with their pennants beating briskly in the wind. Only a few boats can be seen out at sea which wears a deserted look. In one of the boats that was hastily beached following the cyclone alert, Brijin (Kuttan) is bailing out the dirty water. ‘’Fishermen who went in the morning said they encountered strong winds,’’ he says.