May 1. Labourer’s day. It is definitely on the holiday list of your office. A time to hit the beach.

Friends. Laughter. Ritual mud baths.

But, Deviah has just come back from his second “field” trip of the day. An anxious crowd gathers around him.

For the moment, Deviah has the freshest fish in town.

Famous last thoughts: “Isnt it a holiday for humans today? I could venture around.” Gasp.

Earlier, Deviah had taken a three hour trip alone into the sea. No motor. No communication. No emergency support. It is a trip fraught with dangers.

His village periodically plunges into despair – when another friend doesnt return from the sea. One of them smashed into a motor boat. Another got caught in the net. Some were caught in the eye of a cyclone. And others just disappeared. But life moves on in their beachfront homes.

With his second trip to the sea earning him Rs. 350, it is time for Deviah to go back home. The commute is short – just a kilometer of rowing along the oceanfront to his village.

At home, Deviah gives a knowing nod to his wife. It is time to mend the nets. For, the next trip is at daybreak.

More well to do fishermen test their motors – their lifeline in deep sea.

Now, it is time for a game. “Let me win some today”.

Now, it is time to think of the kids’ future. “Hope they go to a big office”.

Or it is just time to sit in a sordid stupor. Just the Old Man. And the Sea.

1st May 2014: Just another day at work for Deviah!