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Kachchativu: Uneasy peace in Lanka’s holy waters
View(s):Chris Kamalendran in Kachchativu
- The islet hosts Indo-Lanka fisherfolk’s joint worship at St Anthony’s feast
- Devananda’s mass sea protest a non-event while SLN ensures plain sailing for the devotees
As a four-hour voyage in a passenger ferry, cutting through the choppy waters of the Palk Strait on a bright Sunday nears end, the panorama unfolds.Staring at us is a riot of colour. They are a collection of polythene sheets tied to poles to form a roof. Hundreds of devotees, from India and Sri Lanka, had gathered there with whatever little they could carry. On hand to protect them were the Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lanka Navy. Congregated to convey the proceedings to the outside world, are the electronic and print media from both countries.
The 40-nautical mile journey for me and photographer T. Premnath ends in the afternoon, as we go ashore onto the usually desolate, uninhabited island of Kachchativu. This island becomes active only once a year, when Catholics from the two countries gather for the annual feast of St Anthony. In years past, the separatist war had marred festivities on a few occasions. However, with the defeat of the LTTE, it had drawn considerable interest.
Our voyage began around 1 p.m. from the Kurikattuwan jetty, Jaffna which is usually busy over the weekend when thousands of visitors arrive there to take the ferry to the historic Nagadeepa temple. Last Saturday, the jetty was packed, as the weekend Kachchativu feast of St Anthony coincided with the Poya holiday on Monday.
We passed through a Navy checkpoint advising devotees not to carry alcohol, as they were heading for a religious event.
A privately owned boat was preparing for the four-hour journey, with passengers trickling in, carrying small bags for their overnight stay. They were also ‘armed’ with bottles of potable water and food items.About 45 minutes later, the skipper of the boat shouted to the passengers that the boat would not be sailing, as only 80 passengers had turned up.
“I need 150 passengers for the trip. Otherwise it is a loss for me, as I will have to return empty,” he explained.All the passengers started getting off the boat and wait for the next boat. I managed to board another boat which was carrying a team of officials to the island.However, the passengers who were offloaded were not so fortunate, as the next boat had left only at 6 p.m. The pilgrims finally arrived on the island only around 10.30 p.m., complaining about the arrangements as they landed.
It was not only religious interest that was the focus of this year’s festivities. Adding to it was a threat by Minister Douglas Devananda to launch a 5,000-boat flotilla protest in the Palk Strait by northern fishermen, against poaching by Indian trawlers. Without any announcement, the protest was dropped. For the first time, India’s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Ashok Kantha was also in attendance. It seemed a clear diplomatic signal that India’s envoy was on hand to keep an eye.
Earlier in the afternoon, as I walked around, I saw makeshift food stalls set up by Sri Lankans. They sold kotthu rotty for Rs 200, egg rotty Rs 130 and plain tea for Rs 20. Temporary toilets dotted different areas. The post-noon heat was compensated by the caressing breeze. Indian devotees had spread out tarpaulin sheets and were resting after their two-hour journey from Ramanathapuram port.
Walking around the island, I found out that weeks of preparations had gone into readying the site. Heavy earth moving machines had been used to crush the shrub jungles.
Temporary dormitories had been set up for visiting clergy from India as well as the mainland. A week before the event, the church had got a new coat of paint, while a new statue of St Anthony had been put in place.Northern Naval Commander Rear Admiral S. Udawatte who was in charge of the preparations, told the Sunday Times that some 450 Navy personnel were deployed to provide security and humanitarian services to the pilgrims.
“We provided meals free of charge for the pilgrims. We have transported drinking water from the mainland, while providing electricity using generators,” he said.
The sailors were seen going around ensuring the pilgrims had had their meals.Despite protests spearheaded by South Indian fishermen against Sri Lankans, and regular incidents of chasing Lankan pilgrims, the interaction between the Indians and the locals were cordial.
Trading was widespread. Local vendors had brought jaggery, coconut oil, soap, handbags, bedsheets, toys, ornaments and cigarettes. Some of them were paid for in Indian currency.There were the unscrupulous traders as well, with some of them selling vegetable oil as coconut oil. The event attracted over 130 local and Indian journalists, which was mainly due to Minister Devananda’s threat to stage a mid-sea protest.
Delft Island’s Parish Priest, Rev Fr Amala Raja conducted Saturday’s evening mass, in preparation for the Sunday mass.Jaffna’s Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam who, along with local and Indian priests, officiated at the feast mass, in his homily, recalled the hardships people underwent in conducting the feast in the previous years, due to the conflict.
“There is a peaceful situation now. We need to continue to maintain the peace in the coming years”, he said.He thanked the officials of the Navy for helping the church to conduct the feast without any hindrance.A headcount taken revealed that 2,814 Indian devotees and 841 locals attended the event. However, those who have attended the event in the past, told the Sunday Times that the attendance was less this year compared with last year.
“The recent rift between the Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen may have affected the attendance,” said Rev Fr Raj.The mass started at 6.30 a.m. and lasted till 9.30 a.m., when the statue of St Anthony was unveiled.Soon after the mass, the devotees were seen heading for their boats, as they had been instructed to leave the island by 11 a.m, thus drawing to an end, the annual feast of St Anthony in Kachchativu.
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 An island buzzing with pilgrims. Pix by T. Premnath |
 Jaffna’s Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam celebrates Mass |
 Political ripples: From L to r: Minister Douglas Devanada, Northern Naval Commander Rear Admiral S. Udawatte, Indian Consul General V. Mahalingam and Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha |
 All aboard: A Navy personnel calls out to passengers at the Kurikattuwan jetty |
 Piligrims from both sides of the Palk Strait in worship at Mass conducted on the island |
 Piligrims from both sides of the Palk Strait in worship at Mass conducted on the island |
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