Watch video:  This is the only work we have till we die

I first noticed her while travelling in the Buckingham Canal area in 2019. Like a grebe bird, her dexterity to dive and swim underwater in the canal caught my attention. She swiftly ran her hands through the coarse sand of the riverbed and picked prawns faster than anyone else there.

Govindamma Velu is a member of the Irular community, listed as a Scheduled Tribe in Tamil Nadu. She has been wading through the Kosasthalaiyar river near Chennai ever since she was a little girl to catch prawns. Now in her late 70s, her family’s dire financial circumstances force her to continue doing this work, even as she struggles with poor vision and bruises.

I shot this video of her at work in the Buckingham Canal, next to the Kosasthalaiyar river in the northern part of Chennai. In between diving to catch prawns, she talks about her life, and how this is the only job she knows.

You can read more about Govindamma’s life here .

M. Palani Kumar

एम. पलनी कुमार २०१९ सालचे पारी फेलो आणि वंचितांचं जिणं टिपणारे छायाचित्रकार आहेत. तमिळ नाडूतील हाताने मैला साफ करणाऱ्या कामगारांवरील 'काकूस' या दिव्या भारती दिग्दर्शित चित्रपटाचं छायांकन त्यांनी केलं आहे.

यांचे इतर लिखाण M. Palani Kumar
Text Editor : Vishaka George

विशाखा जॉर्ज बंगळुरुस्थित पत्रकार आहे, तिने रॉयटर्ससोबत व्यापार प्रतिनिधी म्हणून काम केलं आहे. तिने एशियन कॉलेज ऑफ जर्नलिझममधून पदवी प्राप्त केली आहे. ग्रामीण भारताचं, त्यातही स्त्रिया आणि मुलांवर केंद्रित वार्तांकन करण्याची तिची इच्छा आहे.

यांचे इतर लिखाण विशाखा जॉर्ज