The days are getting colder, and it is becoming difficult to get out of bed. But, I drag myself out of bed at 4 AM and get ready for my daily walk. I leave home by 4:15 AM and walk towards the beach road nearby. I prefer to go for a walk in the morning when most people are still asleep, even the sun. I hear many say that they gather their thoughts while staring at the pitch dark ceiling at midnight. But, I’ve always been an early riser and the quiet mornings prepare me for the long day ahead.
After a good walk, I go to the beach and sit there till the sun rises. Daily, I turn to the right to notice a group of annas (big brothers/ calling elder people with respect) preparing everything they need before they sets sail into the ocean for fishing. I usually don’t stare at people, but I’m at a safe distance to observe their group from afar. I’ve been observing them for a few weeks, and they have been consistent with their pre-sail preparation and timings. If I’m late by a few minutes, I will only catch them pushing the boat into the sea. Some days, they have a different schedule and go fishing in the middle of the night and return from the ocean when I reach the beach for my daily walk. I didn’t know why I stared at them, so today I sat and gave it a thought.
There isn’t anything fancy that I’m staring at- a simple boat painted with three different vibrant colours parallelly and the long fishing nets. The annas inspect all the fishing nets carefully over every inch to make sure there aren’t any big holes for the fishes to jump out. They load the boat with all the fishing nets which probably take up most of the space, a fishing rod and some bait. After checking the engine, the group pushes their boat into the water.
Sounds simple, right? Not really. What amazed me was the consistency and the will to go out there every day for their livelihood. The way they make sure to inspect all their tools before setting sail into the unknown and, doing it daily, no matter what. The days when they came back while I was sitting there, I understood how much fish they catch. Most of the days, there are very few fishes for which they have to share the profit amongst the people in the boat. They share disappointed looks with their wives waiting for them by the shore while sorting the fishes into huge utensils to sell in the market. But, I hear them reassuring each other with the phrase “Nalaiku paathukalam” (we’ll take care tomorrow).
There was a lot to learn from them. We all complain about being stuck in a rut if we go through a routine and want nothing more than a change. Little do we realize that most of us have comfortable daily routines and, it isn’t monotonous as we make it out to be. The little things we do helps us get through the day like the comfort of travelling every day to Vadapalani in 5E bus and looking nostalgically at Anna University while passing by it. Visiting the break room daily around noon to drink machine coffee to help me not doze off whilst reading the long company reports has become comforting these days.
Sometimes, we follow the same schedule every day to get positive results, for example, working out. However, we might not achieve our desired goals every day, but that doesn’t mean we should give up. There is always tomorrow. So, nalaiku paathukalam. With this thought in mind, I came back home being thankful for the little things in my life and a goal to remain consistent with my morning walks. I’m also late to work with all this thinking. Got to hurry. Bye!
World of Jeana 