Pamban Village: Walls of a fisherman's hut.
That's the photograph of Sebastian, named after one of the favourite saints of fishermen in this part of the Indian coast. He was shot dead in 1994 by the Sri Lankan Navy. Those were the days of the civil war in Sri Lanka and most fishermen killed were listed under smugglers or weapon-traffickers. But Sebastian was a fisherman and is survived by his wife Ravina Rani who is now a tailor, working from home. You can see her foot-pedal sewing machine in the picture above.
The belongings of this home are all strung up from the poles that hold the thatch together. The clothes Ravina Rani stitches, the clothes the family wears, hay mats, everything.
The reason why everything is hung, is because the floor is pure East Coast Sand.
To know more about the story of Fishermen of South Eastern Tamil Nadu, read Rohini Mohan's report called The Bold Men and The Sea in Tehelka.
