My first impression of the Harnai fish market is all the time chaos. The scent of fish, the sound of fisherwomen shouting and buffaloes lowing, and the sight of brightly colored nauvari saris, chunky gold jewelry, and heaps of freshly-caught fish. I by no means know which of my senses to observe first.
It’s additionally a chaos that I by no means tire of — ever since I first visited the city in Dapoli, within the south of Maharashtra, in 2012. Every go to is a discovery. But what I maintain coming again to {photograph} are the fisherwomen, below whose robust management the market thrives.
Starting work, their nauvari sari tied firmly
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Theirs is an enchanting mix of traits: from their distinctive apparel, the yards of brilliant oranges, deep greens and brilliant yellows tucked functionally tight round their legs, to the recent gajras of mogra, roses and champa of their hair.
The girls sport handmade gajras with flowers picked from their backyards
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Their jewelry displays the ocean, with motifs of fish and different creatures. The girls’s model is their very own distinctive kind of advertising; it helps them appeal to clients and stand out within the bustling market to their regulars.
Their jewelry displays the ocean
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Intricate gold jewelry is a favorite
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Fights are regular, laughter follows quickly after, and it’s a standard sight to see them get pleasure from a well-deserved ice cream on the finish of a protracted day.
Ice cream break
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
A fast breather through the day
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
What is most fascinating, nevertheless, is how they proceed traditions which can be quick dying out elsewhere. Especially bartering. Fishing communities usually stay near the ocean, and their homes are clustered collectively, leaving restricted area for cultivating.
So, they barter with girls from neighbouring villages, who go to with heaping baskets of seasonal greens and fruits similar to tendli (ivy gourd), aubergines, mangoes, cashewnuts, and jamun.
Many of the fisherwomen who put on the nauvari right now are of their 50s and 60s
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Daily life on the fish market is full of power, exhausting work, and pleasure. But change is coming. The youthful era not favours nauvari saris; so, the well-dressed girls I see right now are all of their 50s and 60s. A jetty can also be being constructed, which implies I’ll miss seeing buffaloes ready patiently knee deep in water, as males load fish into the bullock carts.
Skilled and adaptable
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
A snapshot from their day
| Photo Credit:
Indrajit Khambe
Change isn’t all the time unhealthy; it is going to make life on the market simpler for its denizens. It may even make for much less fascinating photographs.
The documentary photographer relies in Sindhudurg, close to the Goa-Maharashtra border.
