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We were touring southern India for three weeks, sandwiched between a visit to the Gulf of Arabia and the wedding blessing of our son and daughter-in-law, which was to be held in Goa at Easter. Our journey in India commenced with a surreal touchdown at Mumbai, as we flew into the airport over tightly packed shanties and tenements. This contrast between poverty and affluence was to remain with us throughout our visit. Clearly, we were witnessing , from the very start, the enormous gulf between the advantaged and disadvantaged.
Children Fishinhg in the Lake
Having said that and whilst recognizing the nature of grinding poverty, as contrasted so vividly against great wealth and affluence, one thing was borne home to us on a short trip from the airport to our luxury hotel. Poverty there may be in India, but what an energetic hive of industry the country is!
The first few of our many, many miles driving in an Ambassador – surely the traveller’s “car of choice” took us, in the early evening darkness, through a tangle of tiny shops and go-downs. Litter everywhere. Fruit, vegetables piled high and sari silks tumbling in mountains and cascades of colour. Bright lights streaming from doorways. Squatting men welding, cutting and hammering by the roadside, fashioning who knows what, from scrap junk. Sparks from grinders spraying upwards and outwards in fire fountains. But work, working with cessation. Yet all comes to a stop within a matter of feet as we descend from the car to find ourselves being saluted by the Sikh doorman on the marble steps of our hotel. To be ushered in to a cool, quite and immaculately clean lobby………………it is called “culture shock”. But it is not really such a shock. Like everything else, we adapt quickly. Dodging Mumbai traffic is a skill soon learned. The main criterion is an appreciation of the function and purpose of the horn. India’s drivers are, without doubt, the most skilled we have ever encountered. To quote one driver “the problem here is that there are no rules, only………..judgement………..” Tell that to a western traffic cop! We explore the delights and minor horrors of Crawford market; we browse street-side bookstalls; we attempt escape from insistent shop-owners bent on selling us wonderful Kashmiri carpets. We visit Elephanta and Gateway to India and the Taj Hotel and watch cargo under sail – now so rare a sight – in the harbour. All that past and seen so briefly, we flew down to Madurai, from whose spectacular Hindu temples our trusted driver and guide, Shaji took us to the cool and quiet of the tea plantations, then to natural splendour of Periyar lake and, following two nights on a riceboat in the Kerala Backwaters, finally on to cochin.
Former Rice boats presenly houseboats of kerala
Now since he was old enough to toddle off and topple into the brook at the end of the lane, Rodney has been an enthusiastic catcher of fish. Somehow, he has managed combine his love of fish and angling with his career as a University Professor. Researching and teaching the exotic subject of Underwater Acoustics, he knows that many fish, not just whales and dolphins, communicate by sound. This they do to call alarm, to attract a mate or defend territory. Calling fish in fact, do much the same thing and for the same reasons, as singing birds. Rodney also knows that as people develop their shores and waterways, man-made sound can disturb and influence the behaviour of its natural inhabitants.
Whilst on the riceboat, Rodney did at last manage, briefly, to use our carefully transported travel rod. He was, however thoroughly out-fished by the skipper, who, using only a palm frond, nylon line and hook, managed to catch five fish for every one that Rodney managed to land. Indeed, he was even introduced to two brand new fishing methods well known to Indian palm-frond fishers but as yet undiscovered by Europeans. The first: fish collect at the back of the boat where the galley scraps get thrown out. The second method was to thrash the water with your rod tip to attract the fish. Through out our tour, Rodney had been plaintively asking ‘Where can I fish?’ Whenever we posed this question to our Indian hosta, it was at first treated with incomprehension, followed by amusement but then, after an explanation, with the beginnings of interest. As Rodney explained, what he wanted to do, with a rod and line, was to catch Indian native fish just to see what the waters, whether fresh or sea contained. He would not kill or eat the fish, it was just the pleasure of, for want of a better word, ‘outwitting’ the fish and recording that success by photography. At which point the fish would be returned to the water.
Rodney with a fishing crossbow commonly used in kerala
In Cochin we met Anna from the ‘Transindus’ office, who immediately understood what Rodney wanted to do. A day later she phoned us to say that she had called ahead to our next stop: Coconut Lagoon. She had been told that they had three naturalists, one of whom was very knowledgeable on the fish living in the backwaters and in the Lake Vembanad.
So, having enjoyed the sights of Fort Cochin we moved on expectantly to Coconut Lagoon. We were not disappointed. From the moment we were ‘piped’ ashore from the boat, like admirals, into the reception area we knew that we had arrived in ‘our kind of place’ . following the formalities, we were introduced to Shibu, the naturalist fishing guru. As we were to discover later, he was also a skilled photographer, snake handler and bird expert.
Shibu Bhaskar with a Snake Headed Fish that he caught |
Rodney fishing along with his friends at the Coconut Lagoon
It was agreed that we would meet up with shibu the following morning and he would show us the best fishing spots of catfish and snakeheads, types of fish often found in the drainage ditches of rice paddies. Rodney was particularly interested in these two fish. The catfish is known to vocalize, so he was hoping that he could possibly hear and record it using an underwater microphone or hydrophone. If he caught some, he might hear them vocalize, as he landed them. The snakehead was a little different. It is known not known if it vocalizes, but in appearance and habitat it resembles the bowfin, a fish found many thousands of miles away in florida. The bowfin, as part of its mating ritual, produces an underwater sound similar to that of a Hindu Temple bell. If Rodney could show that the snakehead produces such a sound, this would be a remarkable example of convergent evolution.
However, science was put on the sidelines for a few hours as we began to sample the delights of the Coconut Lagoon resort, such as our wonderful wooden heritage mansion, with its open to the skies ‘en suite’ facilities. Our enormous double bed that each day was decorated with scarlet hibiscus flowers. The cuisine served in the restaurants always delightfully varied. Each day, the warm greetings by the staff, their smiles outshining the sun. And of course, there was the Ayurvedic centre where Dr. Susan regarded the treatment of Rodney’s arthritic knees as a personal challenge.
Rodney giving a presentation to scientists at RARS
On our first day, Shibu took us to his office. Here, we saw photographs taken by him and the other naturalists of the variety of wildlife that can be found at Coconut Lagoon. As we admired the photography done to the highest professional standard. At this point, he unlocked a cupboard in his desk and produced a large, beautiful, non venomous water snake. We duly took the opportunity for photos, but then we spotted a large jar at his desk. Curiosity impelled us to look more closely. As the jar was removed and placed on the desk by Shibu, we realized that it contained a young and somewhat annoyed cobra! Shibu intended to photograph both snakes before releasing them well away from the resort and village. A little later we were introduced to David, another naturalist, who is one of India’s experts on dragonflies and damselflies. Coconut Lagoon has some 54 species of these often-dramatic insects and a similar number of incredibly beautiful butterflies.
But of course, we still had to go fishing. Initially, shibu suggested that Rodney start fishing in front of the reception area. Before long, David and some guests joined Rodney, and palm-frond fishing rods multiplied. Pearl Spot were caught and one catfish, which complained briefly, but then stubbornly refused to talk. However, this was not the area for snakeheads, nor was chappati dough the appropriate bait.
Snakeheads prefer to like in the murkier environment, so guided by Shibu we sought suitable waters. Shibu demonstrated the local method for catching these fish. This involved the collection of cockroaches, by his neighbour’s small daughter, to use as bait. Ultimately, Shibu’s traditional hand-lining method of fishing was successful over rod and line angling and a small snakehead was caught.
Pearl Spot fish found in the lakes of kerala
Shortly after our arrival at Coconut Lagoon, the General Manager, Subrahmaninan P, contacted Dr Padmakumar, head of the Regional Agricultural Research Station at Kumarakom and arranged for us to visit him, accompanied by Shibu, Dr Padmakumar and his team have developed methods for breeding catfish. After a very interesting meeting, it was agreed that we would return a few days later to try and record the sounds made by catfish that the college had in tanks. This we duly did.
Whilst, by now, we had become used to being driven in India, the journey to the college laboratories had a charm of its own. Sharing the college Land Rover with Dr Padmakumar, his three assistants and Shibu, we arrived at the field station. We both noted that there was a narrow cement bridge over a dyke, which went up at an agnle of 45degrees flattened and then went down at an angle of 45 degrees. This we thought, is where we get out to walk, but no. with great skill the driver guided the vehicle over the bridge. The journey then continued for some 2km navigating further bridges and narrow tracts before we arrive at the laboratory. Here, at last we were rewarded with the viewing of three rear snakeheads and three catfish. Unfortunately, although the catfish talked, the snakehead would not.
Yellow Cat Fish found in the lakes of kerala
And so regrettably our time at Coconut Lagoon was drawing to a close, but our adventures with a fishing rod had become a talking point for staff and guests alike. On our final evening, Rodney’s last attempt to catch a snakehead failed. Our disappointment, however, was ameliorated by a delightful meal in the ‘Fort Cochin’ Seafood Restaurant of the resort, with Subrahmanian.
Rodney’s fishing rods opened doors too numerous to describe here, during our trip to India. We also came to realize that well-managed angling could be developed as a tourist benefit for India. There are many, equally obsessive, anglers walking the streets of Europe and America.
In the short term, we hope that we can use e-mail to maintain contact with the friends we have made at Coconut Lagoon. In the slightly longer term, we very much with to return with, of course, our magic wands in hand.
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