COVELONG: The boat was a speck in the vast expanse of the Bay of Bengal. A couple of friends bound by common threads of vocation and expectations were trying to make a living in these hard times of Covid-19 when money is hard to come by. Born and brought up in the fishing village of Covelong, a salubrious getaway for Chennaiites during good old times, the friends were unlike others in the village. Before the lockdown, they were pursuing a profession different from their peers – surfing and yoga.
Dharani Selvakumar has won a few national and international surfing awards while his friend Anand Dandhapani is a surfing enthusiast with a penchant for yoga. They were afloat a paddleboat searching the waters of the cove for livelihood – fish. Devoid of their usual jobs as surfing instructors for the numerous watersport buffs arriving from the city, the two, like a dozen others, have gone back to the profession of their forefathers. “Fishing is in our blood and comes to us naturally,” said Dharani.
“During surfing days they could earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month,” said Murthy M, who co-founded Covelong Point, a surfing school in this village. “Since the lockdown, everything has been shut — no surfing school and no training.” The surfing instructors, around 15, in the village have turned into fishermen now. They paddle boats in the shallow waters or go deep into the sea on motorboats. Murthy said that the catches are good enough to survive well.
Ananth used to make Rs 18,000-20,000 a month before the lockdown, enough to lead a good life. But now, he relies more on fishing and a few online yoga classes. Dharani’s income would have been around Rs 20,000 a month as an instructor. But they are not complaining. Their catch fetches them Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000. “On Tuesday, we caught fish that fetched us Rs 8000 and that way, we don’t have to struggle for a living,” Dharani said, hoping the number of those seeking surfing training would increase once the lockdown is lifted. “I love and miss surfing. “Sometimes we go out fishing at night around 9 pm and come back in the morning,” he said. At times the catch is not good as well. Today (Wednesday) was not good,” he said pointing to the meagre fish in the boat.
Because of the surfing school, even the fishermen had a brisk business or two. But now it’s only fishing. “We can go out fishing only three days a week and sometimes we are lucky to return with good catch and sometimes like today, very little,” he said pointing towards the boat with hardly any fish after spending hours under the scorching sun close to the shores.
Murthy, whose surfing school changed the village and gave youngsters a chance to take up the sport as a profession, felt it would take a bit more time for them to reopen the school. “Until and unless people feel safe to come here and the government allows them, we will not start the school,” said Murthy. “Since we can fish and are enjoying that too, I think we will survive the crisis well.” Murthy just hoped times would get back to normal. “It will be good for the people here and once the school starts all our surfers will be back for training,” he said.