The Fishermen of Valiathura

This morning we woke up earlier than I’d like to remember to go down to the beaches of Trivandrum. As we arrived, the sun was just coming up, and the fishermen were just coming in with their catches.

The fishermen of Kerala work extremely hard, and they do that work in the dark. Some go out in the evening, to return in the morning. Some simply wake up while it is really still night and only come in when the sun rises. Some do not go out into the water at all, but stay on the beach to pull in the nets full of the morning’s catch. These men are strong and intelligent. Their wives are patient and proud. Their children are playful and happy. Their lives are difficult and, at the same time, so simple.

An incredible number of India’s people receive their livelihood from the sea. And these fish workers and their families live right along the coasts, in tiny shacks often made of wood and palm leaves. The size of some of these shacks is comparable to the room I currently stay in, and I am supposed to be living simply. At least I have lights and a fan. Many of these tiny shacks exist without electricity. That means that many of these shacks exist without the necessities known to us as TVs and refrigerators.

This experience, like so many others I’ve had, is a lesson in the difference between necessities and desires. And it is a lesson in the beauty of simplicity.

These people’s lives are hard, yes, but their lives are happy too. As the sun came up and the boats came into shore, the fishermen were jumping out of them for an early morning swim. They were splashing around and making lots of noise. No one sleeps in in Valiathura! The children of the fishermen, wide awake now for quite some time, were running down to the water to see what their brave daddies had brought in their boats. And their wives were looking on, smiling, while preparing the morning tea.

As we waved goodbye to our fishermen friends, I couldn’t help but ponder the vast differences between my life and theirs. I can barely imagine an existence without a fast, broadband Internet connection, to say nothing of an existence without a refrigerator! These people exist without things that I often think of as necessities. These people are living. And these people are happy.