Dawn at the jetty

Fishermen dock their boats at the Pondicherry jetty before dawn - around 4 a.m., to be exact - and start unloading their night's catch. By the time Ravi, Zach and I reached there at 6, the fishing boats, which had just a few hours earlier hastily headed for shore, idly waded in the water. The fishermen were off to a breakfast and sleep, after selling their fish to middlemen, who then sell the fish to the lady merchants we bought from.

We ambled around, catching sights of what the market was offering this morning: crates and crates of squid (which if not bought here, will be shipped to Japan); prawns, small and giant; a few crabs; a large ray whose skin was sold for leather; many barracuda; and lots of other fishies that I don't know the names of. We settled for 10-15 smaller fish, which we'll batter up today and fry tonight for dinner. We aren't even really sure what type of fish it is; Zach says they look like small barracuda. We paid 100 rupees ($2.50) for the fresh fish and had it cleaned and cut for a paltry 15 rupees ($0.38), which is actually more expensive than usual, as Ravi was in "bad company" (aka, with white people)!