THE

DANCE OF THE

SEA

THE

DANCE OF THE

SEA

SOOSAIYA ANTHREAS

Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 Published in India by Notion Press 2016 First Published in USA by Gatekeeper Press, Ohio, USA Copyright © Soosaiya Anthreas 2015 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-93-5206-946-0 This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, and events in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons living or dead, history, places, timeline, and organizations, is coincidental and not intended by the author, although the episodes could be seen running in the tracks of history and geography. Soosaiya Anthreas asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

M

y gratitude goes to everyone associ-

ated in this work. Mr. V. Viswanathan for his encouragement in penning the novel from the start to the finish and for his meticulous reading and review, Mrs. A. Shunmugavelu, Miss. K. Monica , and Miss. S. Jzacksline Andreela, for their review, my wife, Mrs. Danee Joycee for her care and support, Editors of Gatekeeper Press, Ms. Suzanne Bowen and Ms. Kelly Branchal for their dedicated and passionate approach in handling the editorial work, and Mr. Robert Price, President of Gatekeeper Press, for his guidance with his honest and unassuming approach, towards the publication. I dedicate this book to my parents—mother Mrs. Nisdas Anthreas and my father late Mr. Anthreas Anthony Cruz—who set me into the path of education.

GLOSSARY

aana-varuthupoona-varuthu

one who makes a big promise, but doesn’t keep it

amavasai / raghu kalam

some sections of society of Tamil cultural belief that this is inauspicious time, an unlucky time of day

aththaan

brother-in-law

anni

(pronounced as ANNi) sister-in-law

ailasaa, ailasaa

“ailasaa, ailasaa” were the words of incantation bawled out as commands repeated numerous times, en masse, in a crude rhythm to spirit up the labour and bring up the co-ordination while hauling karamadi (shore seine net) or where concerted effort among all fisherfolk would be required to sum up individual forces into producing a mighty one.

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chatti

utensils that can serve as a cauldron; often refers to clay cauldron to cook fish curry, rasam, sambar, etcetera; intermediate containers used to transfer food from the cauldron to plates or plantain leaf

cheettoo

revolving chit fund

cholavu

winnow

chootu aduppu

brick/clay stove with a mouth through which exocarp is inserted as tinder to light the stove followed by fronds and leaves of coconut tree as fuel

chillai tree

local name for Albizia stipulata, a tree widely found in India and China

chudukaadu

cremation ground where condemned souls are believed to be loitering about and lounging as evil spirits

crore

ten million

eval

sorcery

ilaiyaram

cash gifts given to the bride by guests at the wedding

karupatti

unrefined sugar made from palm sap usually supplied in hemispherical blocks in dark or light brown, also called jaggery

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kadiyaals

brackets or horns at fore and aft ends of kattumaram

kalli pal

milk from a poisonous cactus plant found in India

kanjchi

the remains of cooked boiled rice soaked in water in a mud pot overnight.

karamadi

shore seine net

kathambakundu

ditch where coconut husks are submerged in water until they have pullulated with the assistance from a variety of microorganisms before the fiber is separated from the mesocarp to make coir

kodavi

(pronounced as KOdaavi) a carpenter who specializes in making kattumarams

kudam

pitcher

lakh

a hundred thousand

langottu

loin cloth

machchaan

brother-in-law

marunthu

arishtam, an alcoholic beverage manufactured under the label of ayurvedic medicine, normally consumed by village folks

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Soosaiya Anthreas

Marunthuval Malai

a mountain part at southern tip of Western Ghats, considered a holy site

maruveedu paraphernalia

paraphernalia such as utensils, furniture, kitchenware, silverware, and other household items that the bride takes along with her, especially on the third day of marriage, to begin independently a married life in her mother-in-law’s house

manthiravatham exorcism manthiravathi

exorcist

meen or meenu

Tamil word for fish

mundani

tail end of the sari that serves to cover the breasts of women and extends beyond the shoulder to hang behind, wind around waist, or to veil the head

nethili

stolephorus devisi and Encrashicholina waitei

nerchai

pronounced as “nErchchai”supplication to tutelary god or saint

nethili karuvadu dried nethili olakai

manual rice pounder made of wooden shaft measuring up to five feet in height and two inches diameter.

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oppaari

wailing and deploring the death at a funeral, which may include recalling the deceased’s past good deeds and slinging curses on those who were rivals of the dead. This is interspersed with the formal eulogy.

palagai

wooden plank approximately five feet long that passes through a slit in the deck of a kattumaram into the sea, to function as a keel when the kattumaram is propelled by sail. Sometimes, boys use this for surfing

panna

a tent (in the form of inverted “V”) made from coconut thatch, to protect the kattumarams from the weather.

petti

a basket with a square bottom and round top, made from coconut or palm thatch, often used by fisherwomen to carry fish

poovalan

flower-tailed pink shrimp (metapenaeus dobsoni)

raghu kalam

inauspicious time

silyeduppu

surfing with palagai, on which the participant lies flat along its axis to be carried along the surf as the waves break into the surf, while his fastening to the board is accomplished by his two hands stretched forward with the palms holding the head of the palagai

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thadi

mast or spars

thagadu

ensorcelled cylinder; very thin copper metal sheet, rolled to look like a body after inscribing symbols or words of evil intent (as part of sorcery)

thali

wedding necklace made of gold as in Christian community

thali arruppu

thali removal done at the death of a woman’s husband before his body is taken for burial.

thoduvolanka... thoduvolanka

(pronounced as “thoduVOlanka . . . thoduVOlanka”) words of incantation bawled out repeatedly by a bevy of men standing along the shore to command the fishermen to row their kattumaram out seaward.

tholawa

(pronounced as thoLawa) oars made from bamboo, which are split into halves lengthwise. Each half is an oar or tholawa.

vaanga vaanga

come . . . come (polite form): invitation

vallams

skiff in bigger size, suitable for two to five men on board, together with nets and lines

vannathi

a laundrywoman

1

I

attempted honestly to brush aside the

caution from Stella about the inauspicious hour, but I could not. Deep inside me, I felt an unpleasant stir of Satan. It had features of the human torso with a chimpanzee’s hairy bush, human’s head with hyena’s fangs, robust wings, and giant scorpion’s tail with a sting ready to strike. It had the power to yank and uproot a full-grown Palmyra tree easily. Long ago, my grandma threatened to invite this Satan if I failed to eat the morsel I disliked—Satan who conducted a Temptation Test on Jesus. Our Parish Priest, attired in his white flowing surplice, would stand arched over the podium on Sundays giving a graphic description of this Satan. This Satan, as had been crowned with the rank and title of The Antichrist and entrusted with the task of playing its opposition leader role, seemed to be more powerful and charismatic. Therefore, she switched allegiance to this Satan on some occasions from its counterpart

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Soosaiya Anthreas

to the world that comprised Earth, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. “Bullshit” was the answer I had given Stella—my wife—a few minutes ago to brush aside her word of caution about the inauspicious hour that I was to pass through soon in a scooter. She would never fail to consult the almanac provided by the daily calendar that stood nailed to the wall in the veranda. Amavasai and Raghu Kalam were dreaded as inauspicious time as ghosts and demons would waylay lone and gullible travellers—it was Stella’s conviction. Her brother tossed himself over the pillion seat and sat astride. The scooter wobbled violently. With a kick imparted, the scooter growled and rumbled down into the lane. We reached the main road. The sun was in the west, preparing its magnificent fall at the end of the scorching journey that it started each morning with a rightful vengeance. Its angry rays hit our backs like sharp needles, and we perspired. To my immediate south, a polluted lagoon stretched itself all along, abutting the road and beyond. Over the roofs of the hutment, I could see the Arabian Sea and its breakers with their unceasing roar. The hutment— roofed with coconut thatch or clay tiles—ran along the littoral tract close to the sea. To my left, a series of Kathambakundu appeared intermittently, where coconut husks in a mass stayed afloat, intent on sending out a generous stench as they retted. “Stop  .  .  .  stop  .  .  .  someone’s calling,” said Stella’s brother. “What, John?”

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I stopped the scooter and moved to the verge of the road where the man who had called out to us stood. I recognized him. “Oh . . . You! Why are you here?” “I came to see you today,” said the man. He had a rustic form and a muscular body. His arms were strong enough to hold any wild bull by its horns and thwart effortlessly its tearing into a fleeing crowd in the street. “Look  .  .  .  But  .  .  .  I am on the way to collect my license.” “Okay  .  .  .  John, why don’t you go home? I will go with Jose.” John ejected himself with a jerk and disappeared from my sight. Young fellow. He was just out of school. “Okay, come on Jose. Join me; we can talk on the way.” As Jose cocked his right leg to mount the pillion seat, his flowing dhoti became entangled in the metal frame. Grrrrik! I turned back in awe as I heard the dhoti rip, but he was unmindful and casual. The tear did not seem to degrade his country regalia, as there were a few more tatters from before. “What is the matter?” “Oh, now that fellow is not giving us wages. For the last six months he is not paying.” “Which fellow?” “He is the owner of the fishing trawler in Cochin. If we demand payment, he may terminate our services. We are afraid,” Jose revealed. “How many of you?” “We are a five member crew. I am the captain and the driver. I don’t know what the use of working like this is.”

This story is so moving that I had to stop reading to catch my breath several times and share tidbits aloud with my family and colleagues. - Suzanne Bowen, editor I love how Soosaiya has caught the vulnerability of each character, no matter how strong or weak they are meant to be. This should be a movie! Anyone who enjoyed the Life of Pi like we all we did…would love this story. - Kelly Branchal, editor

T

his is a tale of fisher-folk that lives in an obscure-coastal-slum-village situated in the southernmost tip of Indian Subcontinent, from where Sebastian rises to become an engineer among the illiterate ruffian mass who have nerves of steel and proclivity for ethnocentric violence. Sebastian deserts Gloria after his long trysts climax in a passionate lovemaking in the moonlit coconut grove where both lose their virginity. Gloria lives independent and becomes a rare and multi-faceted personality—a successful painter, an entrepreneur, and a social worker—riding well past Sebastian in fame and wealth. Torn between warring in-laws and his povertystricken-sister Rebecca, Sebastian takes sides with in-laws leaving his sister in financial predicament. Gloria supports Rebecca in the latter’s financial crisis. The Nature is unkind to them. Tsunami in 2004 wreaks devastating destruction: thousands of fisherfolk die like flies; their properties return to the depth of the sea. The rivalry between mechanised fishing and traditional vallam fishing escalates as arsonists set the fishing trawlers afire including the one owned by Rebecca. Will Sebastian recue his sister Rebecca from the aftermath of misfortunes? Will the karma of deserting Gloria haunt Sebastian? What is that secret which Gloria has kept undisclosed to Sebastian all along? What does shape the psyche of these catholic fisherfolk-the faith in religion or the sorcery? The reader can find the answers after passing through the dark tunnels of suspense and awe-inspiring unique lifestyles of humanity unknown to the world.

Soosaiya Anthreas was born in Azhikkal, Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu in the year 1959 to illiterate-fisher folk-parents. He graduated from CIT (Coimbatore) in the year 1982 in Mechanical Engineering, but his passion has been somewhere in the writing. He dreamt of becoming a Novelist one day. Influenced by R.K. Narayanan and Jane Austen in literature; Freud, Wilhelm Reich and Jung in Psychology; Nietzsche, Sartre, Russell in philosophy; and Swamy Vivekananda in spirituality. He lives in Chennai with his wife Danee Joycee, daughter Jzacksline Andreela, and son Andrei Crichton. [email protected]

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