One sunny morning six years ago, Selvaprakash Lakshmanan arrived in Rameswaram armed with his camera. He had little idea then that it was going to be his calling and not just another trip in his photography journey. Soon after, he returned to the island not once but several times because the fishermen by the shore had captured his fancy and Selva had made up his mind -- to document the travails of a community that had seen nothing but struggle.
“The life of the fishermen is as stormy and turbulent as the sea,” says Selva. “Just because they live on the fringes of the mainland, their issues can’t be overlooked.” Starting from Chennai to Gokarna, Selva has so far covered over 1,500 kilometres documenting the socio-cultural, economic and environmental conditions along the Southern coastline. His photo story titled ‘Life in troubled waters’ has several poignant frames of vanishing beaches, environmental degradation and the melancholy surrounding the fishing community.
Photos in the series show tall chimneys of factories and chemical plants spewing smoke in the background and the enormous amount of domestic and industrial waste drained into the sea. “The sea is not a trash-bin. It is home to the fish and birds and the fisher folk see it as their god. But then, we have a tendency to dump our waste in other’s backyard,” he rues.
Selva’s idea initially was to throw light on the social issues and the sub-human living conditions of fisher folks. But he was gradually drawn into the environmental aspect of it and the huge destruction meted out to the coastal ecosystem. He points to the picture of a sea fan, a protected coral species washed ashore at Punnakayal. Another photo shows wilted mangroves against the backdrop of an oil refinery at the Kochi beach. According to Selva, women collecting empty clams standing neck-deep in the polluted river mouth for hours at Tadadi in Karnataka, impacted him the most.
Few of Selva’s pictures capture the destruction live. “I witnessed a whole house getting eroded and sinking into the sand at Ennore in Chennai,” he says. “Soil erosion is a major issue caused by the mindless construction along the coast. Building sea walls is not a solution as we lose our beaches,” he points out.
Though increasing high tides and soil erosion are also attributed to climate change, Selva feels creation of seawalls is an equal reason because as a consequence, several fishing villages have disappeared. He is also concerned about the fall out of the boulders that are used for building sea walls and could sink into the sea over a period of time. “In case of a tsunami in future, we don’t know how the sunken boulders may react,” he wonders.
‘Life in troubled waters’ also touches upon another sensitive issue, the Kudankulam Nuclear power reactor and the agitation against it. The uprising of the fishermen inspired Selva to capture the emotions of the community more graphically. “I had the most touching moment at Kudankalam,” he recalls.
“A fisherman I met said, ‘All of us are going to die anyway -- either killed by the radiation or by the police for protesting against the nuclear plant. I chose the latter as I wanted to put up a fight before I die.” Selva was offered fellowship by the National Foundation of India for the project.
Prior to that Selva had also taken part in the Fojo Institute’s Coastal Management program at Tuticorin and that helped him in understanding the complex issues of the sea. “I am basically a people photographer. My stories are mostly about cultures and places,” says Selva, who has also done photo stories on the vanishing tribes of South India and the mass exodus of the farming community from drought-prone villages to the cities as migrant labourers. Based in Bangalore, Selva has made another photo story on the rampant tree-felling in the garden city.
A picture showing a cut tree from the photo story 'stump vision'.
Selva plans to continue the story of ‘Life in troubled waters’ and is looking for crowdfunding. “I would like to cover the remaining coastline of the country as well,” he says. “Photography is not just an art form but a powerful medium to tell gripping stories.”
