கடல்புரத்தில் - வண்ணநிலவன்

I have waited long time to get this book and I should say I was not disappointed. This is a story of fishermen from a particular community. This story has everything one can ask for romance, lust, faith, courage , hatred, jealousy etc.  The author beautifully captures the emotions of these people.

வல்லம் ஒரு ஜீவனுள்ள சாட்சியம் . அது பேசாது . எல்லா வல்லங்களுக்கும் எல்லாம் தெரிந்திருந்தது . அனால் ,தங்களுடைய எஜமானவர்களுடைய நன்மையைக் கருதி பேசாமலிருகின்றன .

The story can be read in any characters point of view : Cruz fernando - typical fisherman for who the sea / ocean is everything. His life is very simple but manly. He loves his family so much but never expressed openly - typical to our fathers.  The way he crumbles after losing his vallam was something no one can express. I have seen our grand parents talking very emotionally about losing a boat and losing the simple life of those good olden days. Cruz represents lots of our grandparents for whom old is gold and could not understand the way the new world works.

Philomi , the youngest daughter of Cruz and Mariyammai. I can say she is the real protagonist of this story. She is in love with Samydass ,she trust him whole heartedly. Though, they both had physical relationship , she was not angry with him.  In fact , she started to understand the whole situation with a help of her friend Ranchi.  Philomi almost hated her mother - she did not like her the way she do makeup  and was not happy with her relationship the teacher.  But everything changes once Mariyammai dies. She respect Samydass's decision to marry another girl and accept her life as it is and moves on.

Sebasti , the only son of Cruz fernando, is a teacher working in a nearby village and wants his father to sell the vallam and joins him. Though he was angry with his father , he never hated him and he continued to support Philomi even after his mother's death. Sebasti's situation is peculiar to many of today's fishermen's sons too. After education these sons settled down in cities and asking their parents to join them. It happens and will continue .

Mariyammai - the mother of Philomi and Sebasti, is another interesting character. She spends more time with the teacher than with Cruz. Cruz and family acknowledged their relationship and she continued the relationship even after the village started saying bad things . She found something which is missing in her life in teacher. Philomi understood it.  The reaction of Cruz after the death of Mariyammai is typical to that generation's husbands- very loving but never showed it. Very touching and cinematic( It was a sad sight).

Another very interesting character is Ranchi , Philomai's close friend. This character is a must in this story because of conflicting nature of all the main characters. Ranchi too experienced all the disappointments like Philomi but she moved on and lives happily with her husband.  Through Tharaganar (தரகனார் ) character the author beautifully portrays the relationship between the two communities.  My island Pamban never had any big religious riots or clashes as far as i remember. We always go well with other religious communities.

The clash between boat owners and vallam owners is still continuing in many villages. Issac , the boat owner loses his boat in a cruel way. Loosing boat is like loosing life for a boat owner.  Cruz and Issac both loses their mind and went on living child-like life - I don't know why these two characters keep coming to my mind.

The author brings a typical Christian fishing village alive . The details are perfect. The characters are real , the relationships are real and the story too. Along with "ஆழி சூழ் உலகு" , this novel brings the essence of the fishing communities.

A classic .