Maharashtra village strives to preserve ancestral fishing practices

The fisherwomen of Thal village in the coastal expanse of Raigad district in Maharashtra are engaged in a daily struggle to uphold the dwindling fishing business, standing as one of the last bastions of traditional fishing in the region.

While the neighbouring villages have embraced diversified businesses and revenue streams, Thal grapples with challenges unique to its distant location and a lack of modern infrastructure. The landscape, desolate in comparison to its flourishing counterparts, serves as a backdrop to the villagers’ determined effort to retain age-old customs.

“In this part of Raigad, people in most villages earn from tourism-related practices such as running homestays and wellness getaways, but Thal has no such prospects,” said Sameer Mahakal, a local shopkeeper. “Its distant location makes it less lucrative for potential investors.”

Thal, predominantly inhabited by the Koli community, the indigenous fisherfolk of the region, clings to ancestral economic activities despite facing challenges like the absence of modern machinery and transport vehicles. 

“Offloading the fresh catch from the sea using bullock carts and manual processing by women persist even today. Almost all the other steps are done by women with their bare hands in the absence of modern equipment and machines,” Mahakal said.

Fishing business: Fighting the odds

Thal’s fisherwomen are the ones trying to sustain the dwindling fishing business of the village. Pranita Bhagat, a resident, explained that the migration trend makes men seek jobs elsewhere, leaving women to champion the ancestral fishing trade. 

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“There aren’t any other job avenues in the village, so most of the men work in Alibaug and even at nearby ports. Some still go fishing, but that’s mainly for personal consumption and sometimes to sell in the local market,” Bhagat said. 

The women toil with pride on the village beach day and night, their children keeping them company. The ruins of an old fort stand close to the beach, and the women use the historical structure to process fish — scale, clean, fillet and sun-dry the day’s catch.

“It’s a challenging task to run fishing activities in the village with little or no facilities. The women have to work very hard to make ends meet and to keep the small fishing business afloat,” octogenarian Kamal Koli said. 

Bharati Londe, an active member of the Koli community, said that the work involves offloading, cleaning, segregating and drying fish.

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“Most of the time, the catch is a mix of jawla, jhinga, bombil, vakti, rambad, chimbori, etc. Drying the fish is an arduous task. If the sun is strong, the catch dries up in two hours and is ready for the next step of packaging. It takes longer on cloudy days,” Londe said.

While most fish varieties are sun-dried before they are eaten, bombil or Bombay duck, a specialty of the region and mostly caught during the rainy season, is consumed in both dry and wet forms. 

“Bombil is preferred wet as it tastes better than the dried version. Children also like it that way,” Londe said.

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According to Bhagat, the jawla fish is the top-seller as most Koli households eat it as a curry. “One basket of 10kg of jawla is sold for about Rs 800,” she said.

Overcoming challenges

Thal faces numerous challenges, including a lack of infrastructure, water and electricity issues, old boats, outdated tools and limited transport facilities to sustain the fishing business. Moreover, larger fish markets located in close proximity, like those in Alibaug and Varsoli, are favoured by buyers due to their accessibility and diverse selection.

“The obstacles for Thal’s women are aplenty. There is no infrastructure in the village. Water and electricity are still a problem. The other challenge is lack of transport facilities and accessibility that makes conducting the fishing business very difficult,” Koli said.

Yet, amidst these challenges, Thal’s fisherwomen persist. 

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“It’s primarily the village women who are working and handling all aspects of the fishing business here,” Londe said. “We face a lot of challenges that we overcome with a smile. After all, that’s the only way we know to tackle our problems.”

The lead image at the top shows the coastal area of Thal village in Maharashtra (Photo by Gajanan Khergamker)

Gajanan Khergamker is a Mumbai-based independent writer, solicitor and filmmaker.