“YES – pulling – like that pulling – come! come!” cries the fisherman. It is an invitation to the tourist(s) to hop aboard the Chinese Fishing Net (that) he toils on. And experience the process. Seldom is he turned down.

And once on the platform:

“This is Chinese technology fishing net – the framework weighs eight hundred kilos – pulling then net comes up – release it then goes back down in the water – it is hard work: and at this time of the year, very little fish…”

Almost all of the fishermen that toil on the dozen odd Chinese Fishing Nets (that are) installed along the shores of Fort Cochin are Catholic and speak English. The state of Kerala boasts of cent percent literacy wherein every adult and juvenile can read and write in the state language, Malayalam if not in English.

“It costs about five lakh rupees to build. And thirty percent of our profits go to the owner. And the other seventy percent must feed five to six other families. And we don’t catch a lot of fish at this time of the year. So please give us a donation!”

The principle is simple — like that of a seesaw: but it is hard work under the beaming hot sun.

All of ‘em fishermen came across as humble and decent individuals. And yes, the catch wasn’t substantial. So I gave them a decent ‘donation’.

FIN

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Almost every fisherman at Fort Cochin is Christian. And this man wears his Rosary around his neck. It is hard work on the Chinese Fishing Nets. The fish caught using the Chinese Fishing Nets or otherwise is sold at the stalls nearby. One can buy fish at these stalls and have it made to order at the many restaurants around.

FIN

Yashica Mat, f/5.6, 1/125, Fuji Neopan 100 ISO – 120mm film.

I shot this portrait during my visit to Goa in the November of 2009. At about 6 ‘o clock in the evening, he was on his way home after a hard day in the seas, fishing. He reminds me of a gentleman I’d shot in Maharashtra, half a decade ago. I see many similarities in indigenous people from the west coast of India.

Canon AE-1P, f/1.8, 1/60, Kodak T400CN – 35mm film.