On the shores of Bay of Bengal, in the dim morning light; I heard fishermen signing aloud as they pulled the heavy net with the help of a 200ft rope attached to it. They formed human chains on the either ends of the rope while pulling a net weighing more than a ton including the weight of fish, the stones, floats tied on the net and the junk entangled in the net. By 7 in the morning the sun was harsh, bodies covered with sand they sang even louder.
Fishermen call Bay of Bengal- Penn Kadal, which means a ‘feminine sea’ as it is calmer than Indian Ocean, which always is choppy. However the Bay of Bengal chooses forgo it's calmness once in while and causes destruction. It did so in1964. A massive cyclone changed the fate of this place forever. It destroyed Dhanushkodi, killed nearly 1800 people , swept away a train called Boat Mail Express, which was carrying a lot of students who used to travel from Dhanushkodi to Rameswaram everyday.