M. Palani Kumar

Vishaka George

Text Editor

large_Edited2-PAL_8613.jpg

medium_Edited2-PAL_8613.jpg

small_Edited2-PAL_8613.jpg

thumbnail_Edited2-PAL_8613.jpg

Edited2-PAL_8613.jpg

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 <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/govindamma-i-have-been-in-water-all-my-life/">here</a>.

Govindamma Velu: still catching prawns at 77

بڑھاپے میں بھی جھینگا پکڑنے کو مجبور گووندمّا

డెబ్భయ్యేడేళ్ళ వయసులోనూ రొయ్యలను పడుతున్న గోవిందమ్మ వేలు

77 ਦੀ ਉਮਰੇ ਵੀ ਝੀਂਗੇ ਫੜ੍ਹਨ ਨੂੰ ਮਜ਼ਬੂਰ ਹੋਈ ਗੋਵਿੰਦੱਮਾ ਵੇਲੂ

ଗୋବିନ୍ଦାମ୍ମା ଭେଲୁ: ୭୭ ବର୍ଷ ବୟସରେ ସୁଦ୍ଧା ମାଛ ଧରୁଛନ୍ତି

सत्तरी पार तरी कोळंबी पकडणाऱ्या गोविंदम्मा वेलु

77-ആം വയസ്സിലും കൊഞ്ച് പിടിക്കുന്ന ഗോവിന്ദമ്മ വേലു

ಗೋವಿಂದಮ್ಮ ವೇಲು: 77ನೇ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಸೀಗಡಿ ಬೇಟೆ

सतहत्तर की उम्र में भी झींगा पकड़तीं गोविंदम्मा वेलु

ગોવિંદમ્મા વેલુ: હજી 77 વર્ષની ઉંમરે પણ ઝીંગા પકડે છે

गोविंदम्मा वेलु: 77 के उमर मं अभू घलो चिंगरी धरत हवंय

৭৭ পার করে আজও চিংড়ি ধরছেন গোভিন্দাম্মা ভেলু

গোবিন্দাম্মা ভেলু: ৭৭ বছৰ বয়সতো মাছ ধৰি জীৱিকা নিৰ্বাহ

கோவிந்தம்மா வேலு: 77 வயதிலும் இறால் பிடித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்

Buckingham Canal

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Govindamma Velu: still catching prawns at 77

In Chennai’s Buckingham Canal, Govindamma Velu swims and dives for a living. It's the only job she says she can do

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit