To the seafaring people of Kerala Chaakara is one of the sweetest
words in their vocabulary. It is the richest piscean harvest of the
year and the entire fish loving population of the state share the
excitement of the fisher folk. A rare phenomenon unique to the shores
of Kerala, Chaakara has been explained in many ways. But first, what
it means to the common man.
Every Monsoon (June/July) a crescent shaped mud bank with apparently
no waves, appears in certain places in the 270 km stretch of sea between
Kozhikode and Kollam. To the fisherman this is his greatest catch.
The Chaakara traps great quantities of shrimp and other fish in its
muddy waters, which are hauled in with huge nets.
There is mention of the phenomenon as early as 1775 in Captain Kop's
book, A New History of the East Indies. It is said that the calm crescent
formation resembles the 'mud flats' formed due to the 'upwelling'
connected to the Benguela Current on the west coast of South Africa.
Scientific and geographic theories abound about this rare phenomenon.
Opinions vary from 'viscosity' of the water in the region to the hydraulic
pressure caused by the Monsoons, and the tectonic movement of the
earth.
But to the fishermen of Kerala, it is a feast and an event to celebrate.
So far, Chaakara has been recorded in the sea near Kozhikode, Beypore,
Veliyankode, Kochi, Ambalappuzha and Thrikkunnappuzha.
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