PERCHED ON TOP of a cracking wall, Godson, 48, looked silently at the dark sea. He is a security guard at the Madre De Deus Church, Vettucaud. Standing almost in the shadow of the great church, he looked like a statue. When pilgrims tried to cross the rope cordon in front of the wall, he shouted: “Do not cross it; there are no steps, there is no beach....”
To those who were sceptical, he added: “Everything has been swallowed by the sea. This wall could fall at any time.”
Some stepped back after hearing it. Others, who were still suspicious, tried to get a good look at the darkness beyond the walls. “When we came to the church last year, I had seen kids playing football on the beach. The beach was so wide and long,” Gomez Eliaz from Kollam said in disbelief.
Godson did not respond and looked blankly at the sea. “Everything has changed…” he mumbled.
A native of Periyathura, Godson had been an active fisherman till a few years ago. “Ockhi changed my life,” he said. He was talking about the “very severe cyclonic storm” that hit the Indian coast in November 2017, killing 365 persons. “The coast is being eaten up by the sea. There are not enough fish anymore. How long can one see kids go hungry to their beds? So, I stopped going to the sea and took up this job,” said Godson, adjusting his cap. “At times, I miss going to the sea.” He glanced at the lights of the fishing boats in the distance.
Denne historien er fra June 19, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra June 19, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
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RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
