Nature study

Of course, we all know all there is to about air pollution and the depleting ozone layer. We talk about it, read about it and then shake our heads disapprovingly. Some of us go ahead and form organisations, use eco-friendly products, shun plastic bags and become vegetarians. But our concern for the environment ends there, with short-term solutions that make us feel less guilty about the role we played in ruining things in the first place.

But in Tamshibunder, a fishing village in the Raighad district of Maharashtra, environment is more about sustenance than about journals and press conferences. For the fisherfolk, environment is about livelihood, it is about survival and it is a very basic thing they deal with everyday.

Twenty-year-old Mahatre took it upon himself to educate and explain why the fisherfolk spent so much of their time fighting big companies and development plans along the coast. In effect they were talking about the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) rules. And they made more sense than the rules themselves. Mahatre’s first lesson was simple.

Environment mattered more to him than to me because it directly affected his livelihood. For eight days, Mahatre is out at sea. He lives in his little boat, which he insists is bigger than most others, roughs the elements and then trudges back home with a cartload of fish. The next four days are spent at home or visiting the big bad world of Mumbai. After the brief reprieve it is back to the sea.

Survival of the Mahatre family depends on fishing and yet they know when not to disturb the calm of the sea. "Breeding season is important," he says. "We don’t cast our nets during that period. Instead we fish along the coast. It’s common sense. If we scoop up the eggs in our nets the fish population will decrease." Elementary! Yet, it took Mahatre and all the other fishing villages in this area years to convince the government that allowing barges to operate in the creek was destroying their livelihood.

In this case, the fisherfolk won. In many other cases, they are fighting a losing battle.

Lesson number two. Because it mattered to Mahatre more, he ca-red more and actually did something about it. On the other hand, for people like me, it was just a "fashionable thing" to talk about. There was contempt in his voice, and I had no defence. In a mellower tone he added that while their fight was really about protecting their livelihoods, in doing so they also saved the environment and did everyone a big favour.

We took a break at this point. Mahatre said he didn’t want to talk about it any more because it was upsetting. So he told me about his dreams instead. "I studied till class X, you know," he says proudly. "And then feeding the family became the priority. But I don’t regret it. The sea has taught me things no school could ever have. It has taught me to respect nature, to co-exist with it and be happy." Mahatre finally smiled.