Thomas and Kunjanali are one of the hottest commodities in the
skill labour market because the owners of coconut estates find
it tough to get people to pluck their coconuts. There is a
scarcity of people who climb coconut trees for a profession,
and people already into this profession are extremely busy and
expensive.
Thomas and Kunjanali reside in Viakom. Kunjanali is one of the
few Muslims residing in this place ( from where
Mohammed Basheer,
one of the famous writers of Kerala, originates). Thomas and
Kunjanali work together and usually are very busy. They cover
a lot of distance while working. Sometimes they go from one
Coconut Estate to the next. They start working from early in
the morning. People who want their coconuts plucked have to
call them fairly in advance to fix up a date. They are full
booked for weeks ! They charge per tree - usually up to 5
Rupees per tree. The only break they get is for lunch, which
they take from a small 'hotel' (as foodstalls use to label
themselves here). They use a bamboo stick as a ladder, and a
rope as a grip and a special type of sickle known as 'vettukathi'
for plucking coconuts.
Thomas and Kunjanali both are very orthodox and religious.
Thomas visits the church on every Sunday, Kunjanali visits the
mosque as often as he can. Thomas says he is a reborn
Christian, recently there has been a tremendous revival in the
catholic church. There have been retreats and conventions by
preachers encouraging people to change their life. Thomas and
Kunjanali are family men and are very fond of their families.
Spending time with their families is their main pass time.
They have very small children. They participate in all
religious as well as church activities. They wish to bring up
their children in a well-respected manner and they do not want
their children to come up in their profession. These are
people who consider what they have and live with it , as a
result they are very satisfied with their lives.
By Sojan Matthew
....'nothing could have ever prepared me for my
first sight of a coconut climber'
