The last two decades have seen Chennai metamorphose into a highly cosmopolitan society. “Except for the climate which is hot, hotter and hottest, this is a wonderful metropolis,” says Sushma Kapur. Having lived in Mumbai all her life, she is amazed to realize that she has actually begun thinking of Chennai as home! Ever since the city became a major centre for the shipping industry, there has been quite an exodus of the marine fraternity from other port cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Goa and Cochin.
Migrant mariners to this city get lucrative jobs, enjoy a high standard of living, and a homogenized socio-cultural outlook. Anjali Bhatia, whose husband is a shipping executive says, “I preferred to settle in Chennai because unlike the hustle and bustle of other metros, this city moves at a moderate pace, it’s cleaner and safer too”.
As for me, there is no place in the world like Chennapattanam – my adopted home. Where else would you get the fantastic combination of fluffy idlies, crispy dosais, aromatic filter coffee, rustling silks and a whole season of cultural fiestas? Besides a large ‘sailing crowd’ present in Chennai, there are those who were Marine Officers earlier, but have now taken up shore-based jobs in Shipping Companies, Shipping Agencies, and Ship Repair Works etc.
Though the ‘sea-dog’ has turned ‘landlubber’, one cannot fully overcome the feeling – ‘once a mariner, always a mariner’. Adaptability, acquired through seaboard experience, enables this group to settle down almost instantaneously, within any social set-up. While accepting the local warmth, colour and flavour of their adopted city, they also share with its people the richness and variety of their myriad experiences of life at sea and in distant lands.
So when Captain Anup Kumar who is a pilot with the Madras Port Trust was asked whether he missed his family that lives in Jhansi, he promptly replied, “One tends to make a family wherever one settles down. Certainly, one does miss one’s siblings and parents, but if your heart is big enough, even the neighbours can turn into family. Especially in the staff quarters that are provided by the Port Trust, every family unit has come down from somewhere else.
But we’re so close that even when we menfolk are away on duty, we’re certain that someone will be around to help our family during an emergency”. Maintenance of international standards is a must in the shipping industry if one wishes to survive in this highly competitive arena.
There are associations like ‘The Institute of Marine Engineers (India), ‘The Company of Master Mariners’ , and ‘The Merchant Navy Officers’ Association’ (MNOA) which conduct seminars, symposia and publish journals for dissemination of knowledge and to keep abreast of the latest developments.
Social evenings and get-togethers are also organised to foster inter-personal relationships between members of the marine fraternity. Such evenings provide opportunities for marine families to get together, and because of common experiences of ‘life at sea’, there is an instant bonding.
‘Mariners’ Nite’ is an evening that most people look forward to, for catching up with old friends and making new acquaintances. The MNOA organises periodic get-togethers specially to celebrate festivals like Diwali and Christmas so that mariners who live away from their kith and kin, do not miss the warmth of family ties during such times.
The MNOA has frequently helped families in times of distress and emergencies also, when the ‘man of the house’ was away sailing on the high seas. Some mariners are members of social organisations too, and the excellent organisational skills honed on-board ships, enable them to make meaningful contributions to the activities they are involved in. Many wives of mariners who had to shelve their careers during their sailing days, have now settled down in jobs like teaching, party-catering and event management.
Some have even picked up the threads of professions like medicine, law, architecture and the fine arts. And there are several entrepreneurs too amongst them who have set up boutiques and beauty-parlours, and also handle interiors. When Sarla Shanker was asked how she felt getting back to her law practice after such a long spell, she volleyed back, “Well, it’s all a matter of self-confidence. Law hasn’t changed for years, but I have certainly changed. After the exposure of travelling on board the ship and meeting so many people, one definitely gets to be sure of oneself, and our insight into
reading people’s nature and character also improves”. Life on the high seas is a totally different experience when compared to life ashore, especially for the mariner’s wife. While commenting on her life as a Shippie wife, Geetha Shankar says, “There are no domestic chores to be done on the ship, except the laundry. It’s a totally hassle free life, no cares about provisions and stocks, or what menus to set. On the ships, the roles are reversed, and it is the (male) officers who have to bother about these mundane matters. We lead such a care free life, and with husbands earning well there was no question of counting the pennies when we set foot ashore and went berserk while shopping”.
Children on board the ship have the advantage of having their fathers around them all the time. Arjun Bhatia who spent his early years on the ship recalls nostalgically, “Pappa was just a shout away. We spent so many hours in the cabin playing together. But now he has an office job and comes home pretty late and tired. And by the time I finished my homework and had dinner, it was time to go to bed. So now, I can play with Pappa only on Sundays”.
Not so for eight year old Rashmi Balaram whose father still sails. “I miss my daddy especially when he has just gone, or when he is not with me to celebrate my birthday. Also, when I see my friend’s father playing with her. But after sometime, I get used to it. But, I speak to my daddy often over the phone, and I give him a long list of books and toys that he must bring for me. And then when he comes home on leave, we have him all to ourselves”. Her sister Nitika who is four years old pipes in, “When daddy goes on the ship, mummy is our mother and father”.
There are other changes to grapple with too. As Shalini Pillai jocularly commented during a discussion. “It’s a constant change from ‘master mode’ to ‘mistress mode’ for the wife. She learns to wear the pants in the family, and just when she has learned and perfected the ropes, the ‘He-Man’ comes home on leave, and to her utter chagrin, he begins to assert himself and calls the shots”. The saving grace is – distance makes the heart grow fonder! (The author is the wife of Capt. D J Bhote, President-Marine and Commercial, Sanmar Shipping Ltd.) (Parts of this article were first published in ‘Metro Plus’ a supplement of The Hindu)