Kanyakumari Fish Auction Market
An unusual way to sell fish and how local people are fish lovers. It was a wonderful experience watching the fishermen’s auction and documenting.
Kanyakumari is also known as ‘The Land’s End’ of India and the only place where you can see sunrise and sunset from the beachside. It is the confluence of the 3 oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal providing local fishermen a large sea area for fishing. Wind directions and High tides also make a positive add-up in this profession.
Arrival at the place: On my way to the sunrise point of Kanyakumari, the road was extremely crowded which was an unusual sight in the early morning I wanted to know the cause but was in no mood to miss sunrise as well so I hurried up to the point. First rays of sun glittered my eyes and illuminated my soul elevating me to the other world But after a while, I woke back to reality and was reluctant to find the cause of hustle on the way and to my surprise, it was a fish market, an unoriented yet unique way of selling fish.
In the yellow umbrella of strong sunlight around 150-200 people gathered together for an auction giving a perfect sight of photography and documentation.
After observing for a while, I found out that mostly elder ladies were involved in this selling occupation while men were mostly engaged in fishing from night till the early morning.
A variety of fish could be seen in the market, some large kingfish, pomfret fish, Hilsa Fish, Barracuda Fish, Brassy Trevally, Red Snapper and many more.
An interesting fact about the selling process was the price of fish doesn’t depend on weight rather was auctioned on basis of the number and size of the fish. A disciplined process of the auction could be noticed, fish were laid on the ground and people encircling it bid one after another and the highest bidder became the owner.
Even the dressing style of people gave a vibrant outlook to the clicked pictures. Most of the men were dressed up in checks lungi and shirt. While women were beautifully wrapped up in floral and checks sari with bright colours.
Personal views: It is my hobby to capture live moments and freeze them forever to make a beautiful memory for a lifetime. And capturing this marketplace was a whole new experience giving a good knowledge of people, culture, and lifestyle of people.
Although the marketplace was unorderly and chaotic, but it became an ideal sight for some real-life shots.
Conclusion: In the end It was a great experience to observe the lifestyle of the people closely and getting an insight into their profession and work culture. If you ever visit the Kanyakumari include the fish auction market as a must-visit place on your bucket list.
Edited By: Mariya Moomin
