Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The bloodstains have long since been washed off its wooden deck,and a moored MV Kuber now bobs gently on the waters off Juna Bandar,just like the scores of other fishing crafts dotting the sea around. But the taint stays,like its own dark shadow playing on the sunny ripples. Few workers dare to step on the deck of the fishing trawler,in which six local men were slaughtered around this time,last year.
In the boats cabin,where the crews traditional gods reside,the pictures of the dead captain and his crew now find place among the deities like Lord Chamunda. Before weighing anchor,prayers are offered for their souls,as well as for courage to sail on the ill-fated boat.
Aa ma na jayiye. Haji pan aatmao bhatke che (We dont want to get on that boat. Its still haunted by those souls), says Jiva Solanki,a fisherman from Vanakbara. Others nod in quiet agreement. The crew is very scared,they keep telling me they see ghosts of the murdered men on board in the dark, says owner Vinod Masanis brother Narsinh.
This little wooden craft with the paint fading,till November last year,was one of the three fishing trawlers that made money for Masani,and his two brothers. After 10 armed men hijacked it on their way to strike terror in Mumbais heart,it has turned into a scary liability.
The LeT terrorists,Ajmal Kasab included,were on Kuber for at least two days on the sea. When they abandoned it near the Gateway of India in Mumbai,they left behind its tandel (captain) Amarsinh Solanki,beheaded with his hands tied behind his back. All five of Solankis crew were slain and their bodies thrown overboard earlier,with none recovered so far.
A year since,with Kuber still waiting for a new crew,none of the local veterans wants to risk the ghosts of the dead that they believe are still on board.
I am tired of looking for and persuading experienced people here to work on her. No one wants to sail on Kuber anymore, laments Masani. The few who he has managed to persuade are men desperate for work but greenhorns who have never gone to sea or done any fishing.
The trawler itself has been on the high seas only a couple of times since its deadly rendezvous with the terrorists. Each time with a new crew.
The owners had to fight a long legal battle after the boat showed up in Mumbai with its dead captain to get the boat back from investigating agencies. The Masanis themselves were subjected to a series of gruelling interrogation sessions by several agencies.
However,Vinod Masani hasnt lost hope. I will never scrap my Kuber, he says. One day things will be fine for her,and she will get back to her old self.
