In the coastal village of Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu , faith takes on an earthly form during Kulasai Dussera . Here, gods and goddesses descend to dwell among men—not through idols, but through devotees who embody the divine in a spectacle of trance, transformation, and devotion unlike any other festival in India. As India celebrates Dussehra with fireworks and effigies of Ravana, over eight lakh devotees converge at the 300-year-old Arulmigu Mutharamman Temple , where the air hums with chants, drums, and the sound of transformation itself. A Festival of Transformation The Kulasai Dussera, observed during Navaratri , spans ten days and culminates in the dramatic Soorasamharam , the slaying of the demon Mahishasura by Goddess Lalithambigai—an incarnation of Mutharamman , the fierce guardian deity of the town. Unlike Dussehra elsewhere, where the focus is on the Ramayana, the myth here centers on female divinity and creation’s power to restore mo...
PROJECT: LIFE AT
GHORAMARA - THE SINKING ISLAND
Some information from the author
This project is one of my individual projects that are done on the basis of my interest as a photojournalist and contribution towards society as a one way information exchange. This is not a sponsorship based or employment based work for or under any specific company or organisation. Most of my works are covered on climate change and its effect on West Bengal, rural festivals of West Bengal and lifestyle of backward and rural communities. As I am involved with freelance photojournalism I find several issues that need to be focused and worked on and I feel that I have a responsibility to make this contribution to society by my Photography skills and knowledge. Most of these projects are long term and will be updated with time. As I am the only member of these projects it is difficult to update these work every week or month.
Introduction
Background of this work
Ghoramara island located in Sundarban delta complex in India and 92 kilometres south from Kolkata. The only way to Ghoramara is through a single vessel from Lot 8 ferry point of Kakdwip, that runs on an average of 4 times in between Ghoramara and Lot 8 ferry point (as in 2022). As per several reports this land has been eroding for decades and several research claims that this island is expected to vanish by 2050. Increase of soil erosion, cyclonic effect in this area in the last decades made a direct impact on their lifestyle. This project will help to understand the recent and ongoing lifestyle of Ghoramara habitat.
Aim
Daily life of Ghoramara habitat with extreme weather obligations such as rising sea levels, soil erosions.
Objective
Impact on lifestyle due to frequent cyclones, rise of water level and soil erosion
Occupations and dependencies on work for life
Transportations dependencies
Find out whether there are climate refugees are there or not
Rational Information
According to the South China Morning Post (2021), within a few decades this island is expected to completely vanish. Around 40,000 people have fled and only about 3000 people call Ghoramara their home. These numbers are changing every day as there are no proper track of in and out of each individual. This Island has lost around 75% of its total area in the last 30 years as mentioned in the research of Mukherjee (2019). She also mentioned that a new island called Nayachar has been showing continuous growth since around 1970. This island plays an important role to protect north-western part of Ghoramara island from the tidal force of the Haldi river. In the year of 1990, Kolkata Port Trust was constructed to divert the main flow of the river towards western channel of the hooghly river. However, due to sediment deposition at the western bank of the Nayachar, the main flow touches the North Eastern slope of the Ghoramara island. Apart from that, heavy rain, rising sea level and frequent cyclones made life difficult for the people of Ghoramara (Kapoor, 2018).
Methodologies
This work has been conducted with the help of a direct present of myself and documented and making conversations with local peoples. This study took place by continuous journey to that island by numbers of times since mid-December 2022. This is one of the long term projects that will be updated with my journey to the island in the future.
Most of the secondary sources of information are journals and online published news. All information before December 2022 is collected from secondary sources. As this is a long term project, collection of secondary as well as primary information will be updated with time. Most of this project is photo based and separated by date. Therefore, we will try to work on our objectives based on these images and words from the people of Ghoramara.
Project work
Date: 11 December 2022
South-East part of Ghoramara Island, where Ghoramara to Lot 8 ferry service available
A boy carrying goods to the trawler
Several bank side trees are cut as they are going to fall on the river
A man getting on a boat by a wooden floor
Mud house at Ghoramara Island with a pond
A boy with his grandfather on a road to play
A family near notun bazar area, Ghoramara
Newly made mud homes near Ghorabazar notun bazar area after cyclone "Yaas"
Mud house structure at Ghoramara island
Two women are making conversations
At winter time riverside pond has been dried
Due to erosion Ghoramara island lost its land everyday
A temporary home made of mud, wood and plastic are made after "Yaas"
Khasimara nimnabuniyadi primary school affected by erosion
Khasimara nimnabuniyadi primary school affected by erosion
Every 3-6 hours land are disappearing from Ghoramara Island
A man waiting for a sand caring boat
A boy walking towards the riverside for morning play
A boy working bringing fishes from the boat that has been returned recently
A family staying at the temporary house made of plastic and wood structure as their mud house washed way and waiting for the complition of their new house a kilometre distance
Inside bedroom of the temporary plastic house
Attached temporary kitchen with the plastic made house and stored with cooking items
A women sitting in front of her temporary home that has been made after the cyclone "Yaas"
Western part of Ghoramara Island
passengers from island getting on the trawler by a wooden ramp as their are no proper ferry point construction can be made due to erosion
Preparing for the last ferry service to the Lot 8 ferry point
Returning from the island
Date: 28 May 2023
Betel leaf sack unloading in Lot 8 ferry point from trawler comes from Ghoramara
Towards the Ghoramara by trawler
People of Ghoramara are waiting to catch the ferry that are coming as this is the only trawler carries passengers 4 times a day
People are getting into the trawler before stating the journey
A local man catching fish from waterbody for preparation of lunch. The waterbody are connected with river Hoogly during the high tide and located Eastern part of Ghoramara Island, which is highly prone to soil erosion.
Two small boys fishing with local net at eroded bank of Ghoramara.
A villager from Ghoramara, Kanai Khanra fishing at morning
According to Kanai Khanra, "during high tide most of the riverside land goes under water and water bodies are connected with the river and fishes comes in to that water body that time. However, we do not know how many days we can have these land as they are eroded every day. We have also large amount of land for farming. But most of the land are gone due to erosion. After 'Yaas', water rises on Ghoramara island and whole farm land effected by salt water. Last two years the these salt land can not produe good amount of grain. Only this year a good amount of rice grain are produced."
Date: 21 Jun 2023
Reference
Scmp.com, 2021, As India’s Ghoramara island shrinks, so do residents’ hope for the future, Viewed on: 27/05/2023, from: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3134368/indias-ghoramara-island-shrinks-so-do-residents-hope
Mukherjee, D., 2019, Environmental Appraisal of an Eroded Island, the Ghoramara: Hugli Estuary, West Bengal, IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 24(04), pp. 58-65
Kapoor, A., 2018. Inching Closer: Life on the Sinking Island of Ghoramara.
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