What coasts be these !

The coast here in the Mundra taluk of Kutch is entirely different from any coast I've seen in the south. Some rudimentary geography we've learnt informs us that the north western part of our coast has a much more gradual continental shelf, and hence, the sea is much more shallow than in the southern coasts. The unique geography also results in a highly variable sealine, as the sea has space to move in and out of land with ease. The result is a huge difference the high tide line and low tide line. Its almost 5 kilometers, according to some fishermen!

It was all well and good, for it made logical sense then. But none of that prepares you for actually witnessing the Kutch coast. One is aware of the facts that it is a shallow coast, but its difficult to express how weird the shallow coast actually looks and feels. The sea seems more a lagoon, as the shallow shelf gently caresses the sea to ease into the land. So, here I was accustomed to Marina beach type speedy waves… what you get is gentle, soft ones. Also missing is the rich noise of the waves, as they thud onto rocks, or grains of beach sand. That sweet sound of a sea, that we normally hear many miles away from the coastline, the sound that always awakens our childhood and stirs us… that is missing. The strangeness is almost disconcerting.

Dont let these apparent waves fool you. They're hardly waves!

 These are no sandy coasts, nor rocky ones, only mudflats dominate the landscape.  Fishermen have their temporary dwellings on the mudflats, on slightly raised, earthen platforms. These dwellings are just logs of wood for framework, with jute covers for walls. They're raised because the dwellings are within the high tide line. So, very often, the sea enters these mudflats. Why cant they just stay outside the mudflats you wonder? Well, cause the high tide line and low tide is so vast, one cant expect them to travel 5 kms just to reach the sea during low tide!

Mudflats in the tidal zone. Puddles are remnants of last weeks high tide. 

 Since such shallow waters don’t breed fish, the fishermen travel close to 15-20 kilometers into the sea where sufficient depth is reached. This automatically raises fuel costs for their boats. And as a result, a lot of the loans and minor advances(microloans) they take are for purchasing diesel. However, the loan taking practises of the fishermen need much more elaboration. It deserves a post in itself, and it shall have it. So, more on this and their spending habits in weeks to come!

The shallowness of the sea also results in many practices that are made possible due to this geography. Donkeys and horses are used by all fishermen to transport from dwelling to the boat. This is possible as the animals can walk many 100 meters inside the sea (as can be deciphered from the pic). These come in handy when loading equipment and unloading the catch. There's a local saying too, "Who fishes without a donkey!"…

Hard to spot donkeys here. But suffice to note that people are walking way into the sea.

 The only minus is that most nights are disturbed by braying donkeys.

To end with an inconsequential observation, a norm here is that men wear full pants or pyjamas. No one wears shorts or even lungis. Given the coastal setting, it seemed very odd at first. But as elaborated above, the tidal waves are hardly strong, plus its such a shallow coast. So, a quick 'wetting the feet' that is part of the southern beach experience is absent here. One can actually stand with your feet inside the water, with your pants not getting wet an all. Its like standing in stagnant water. There're hardly any waves as such. What I'm trying to say is that, shorts and lungis are not a necessity here.

Photo credits : Self