“Oh I enjoy listening to the (Kadal Osai) FM the most! I think it is my bad luck when I’m unable to do so. Often, you may hear the TV set blaring from within houses, but when I listen to the FM, I make sure to listen to it in loud volume so at least people in the neighbouring houses can listen to it too and benefit from it,” 40-year-old Mandlin, who runs a small ornamental fishes farm in Thangachimadam in Ramanathapuram district, says.
Mandlin is eager to talk about why the Kadal Osai (sound of the sea) FM radio station is most useful to her.
“After all, aren’t the ears the only part of the body that aren’t covered naturally? And god intended it that way. That is the reason why we have to listen to both good and bad and be able to make sense of it. It is up to people to take what they want and make the most of it,” she explains and adds, “I have the habit of paying attention to faraway sounds and picking up on bits and pieces of music that is carried to me by the wind. Shall I tell you the story of a child and her bulging money purse? I heard it when the loudspeaker was playing it at some Hindu festival. I am like that, I don’t think it is a Hindu fable or a Muslim story and close my ears to them. I like listening to it a lot…”
Like Mandlin, Kadal Osai FM has scores of devoted listeners who depend on it not just for entertainment but also for their livelihood. Kadal Osai FM 90.4 is the first community radio station in India that is exclusively for fisher folk, founded by fisherman Armstrong Fernando with help from Nesakarangal Charitable Trust, an NGO. The station entered its fifth year this Independence Day, and is run by a small team of 12, including its station head Gayathri Usman.
“We’re now a 24x7 channel and have a variety of programmes aimed at the fishing community. The station covers Mandapam, Pamban and Rameswaram islands. All our programmes are focussed on their livelihood and on how to make things better here,” Gayathri, also a sound engineer, explains.
The station gained recognition about a year ago, especially for the programmes it features, all of which are aimed at educating and informing the fishing communities of the Rameswaram islands. Their morning routine begins with a round of daily updates, from weather to power supply to fish rates. “On 'Kadal Osai Thandora' that plays between 7.00 and 9.00 am we give weather updates that are crucial for fishermen, power supply details that are important for those who run ice factories, diesel rates and so on. When the fishermen return, they conduct auctions of their catch, so we share the rates of fishes at such auctions, then the market rate of the fishes for women… We also tell them about potential fishing zones. These are some of the updates we dole out three to four times a day,” Gayathri tells TNM.
Most interestingly, the station has recently begun a new show that might turn out to be beneficial for the youngsters listening to it. “We are calling it Kalangarai Vilakkam, meaning the Lighthouse, and the show is on the college courses available for youngsters from fishing communities. There is a specific quota under which they can apply when choosing Fisheries courses. For instance, there is a quota for those whose fathers have died in the hands of the Sri Lankan navy or have been injured by them, those fathers who have gone missing, those without mothers… Many may not even know that such reservations exist,” Gayathri says.
So far, Minister D Jayakumar, District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute’s (CMFRI) Principal Scientist at Mandapam Camp Dr Rengarajan Jayakumar, have shared messages on the opportunities available.
“Many of those from the fishing communities who pursue college education and secure jobs in IT companies have returned home, unable to cope in strange environments. For them, the coast is home. Once back, they’ve not been able to take up fishing either, because it is not something that they prepared for. Therefore they end up unemployed, and in a way disjointed from the community as well. It is a unique predicament to be in and inadvertently the blame is shifted to education...which is highly detrimental,” Gayathri explains.
“This is where we want to intervene,” she continues. “We want to tell them that the fault is not in gaining education but in not being able to choose a field that will be beneficial to them. They are people of the coast and so a career closer to the coast is the most opportune choice.”
“We open them up to career choices such as coastal scientists or professorship at a Fisheries college, or a government posting at Fisheries Department, or in the Navy or as a coast guard. These are fields that they would feel most comfortable in,” she says.
Gayathri also adds that the Nesakarangal Charitable Trust has scholarship programmes that support the education of those from the fishing communities. “Before the lockdown began, we intended to take this to all fishing communities across the state but unfortunately we have not been able to do so. But we do hope the programme gains a good reach organically. Even if it were to reach 1,000 students, it will be a success,” she says.
By partnering with UNICEF and UNESCO, the station has been able to bring in a variety of shows with beneficial content. “We also have programmes for children called 'Kutti Chutties' where, before the lockdown, we invited one child to host the show. They discuss their homework, and we make them share their dreams, encouraging them to stay inspired,” adds Gayathri.
Mandlin’s most favourite program is the listener’s choice programme called 'Neengal Kettavai' (your request) that plays music but she shares with TNM that she looks forward to the beneficial tips shared on other programmes like 'Samudhiram Pazhagu' too.
“The 'Samudhiram Pazhagu' (get to know the ocean) programme that plays at noon every day can be called the apple of our eye. We discuss a variety of topics on the show, ranging from climate change to good practices that need to be adopted by fishermen,” Gayathri shares.
The content for 'Samudhiram Pazhagu' is provided by CMFRI and on this show, the RJs, who are from the community, break down complex topics such as coral reef conservation and the impact of climate change. “It helps that even youngsters have been able to observe that certain landscapes have changed within a period of 20 to 30 years. They tell us that some streets have now become part of sandy beaches and in some areas where they previously used to play, the sea has entered. Therefore, explaining climate change is easier. We mainly tell them why it is important for them to conserve the ocean. Why they need to stop exploiting it and what they can do for conservation,” says Gayathri.
In the seas adjoining the islands, fishermen are prohibited from fishing for more than one day at a time. They will have to return in 24 hours, unlike in the other seas where they are allowed to stay for 20 days or longer. The waters here too have more potential fishing zones and because of this families from Thoothukudi have migrated to this area at least two decades ago. “That is why it is important to protect this area. We explain the food chain, and the passing of information has been very slow and organic that they are responding to it well.”
According to her, through this programme, the team has been able to see major changes in fishermen’s habits. “We’ve been repeatedly telling them why it is important to save turtles. Earlier, based on a myth, fishermen were in the habit of bringing back the turtles that got entangled in their nets, believing that consuming the meat would give them better health. Now they don’t do so and they share the stories with us personally,” she adds.
Fishermen are also becoming more conscious of the plastic they throw into the ocean. Another positive change is in the reducing practice of open defecation. “We have been able to explain to them why it is to their disadvantage. How it reduces the export quality of their catch. Ramanathapuram brings in the biggest haul of fishes in the state, therefore, they understand how it might affect business.”
But the most satisfying change will be when every fisherman carries a life jacket on the boat. “Just last year, we witnessed 10 fishermen deaths. Now would a lifejacket on board have prevented it? It may have not. But it would have helped retrieve their bodies. Otherwise, it would just be lost in the ocean. This is something that we have been insisting upon now. That every fisherman carries a life jacket when entering the seas,” says Gayathri.
Another interesting change that the radio station has been bringing about is by acting as a mediator between the people and the government. “We take their messages to those in power. We’ve requested for sea ambulances that could jump into action in case of mishaps,” she adds. As Gayathri puts it, Kadal Osai sure is the voice of the sea.
55-year-old fisherman ‘Captain’ Raj’s voice is carried away by the blowing wind and is heard in fragments over the mobile phone. The experienced fisherman, Sesuraj, whose name took up the ‘Captain’ prefix for many reasons — his ability to deliver speeches one among them — chuckles in between his sentences while he explains to us why the station has become an integral part of his life now. “We don't have much use for TV programmes but the FM is something that I can listen to while I’m at work. Ketukite thozhil seiyalam, veetla, naatla…, (One can listen to it and continue with one’s work, at home and in the country…),” he says.
(All photographs courtesy Kadal Osai FM)
Also watch how local children from a small sea-side town in Tamil Nadu are made to clean their beach and in exchange for getting trained in water sport activities of their choice.