mapping
edges
The junction between the road that leads to the coast and the bus stop becomes a social space in the evening
In the case of christian houses the physical edge of the house spills out and becomes a notional edge to accomodate chulas, fishing nets, animals etc
Hindu houses are notionaly bounded by a tulsi pot and a small garden.
The edge condition gave rise to different kinds of activities and the relationship between its immediate surroundings depending on the kind of people, their occupation and religion.
Fishing, being the major occupation on the site, was carried out using different methods (Chinese fishing nets, secondary fishing, handpicking).
Crossing the canal and the huge mangrove patch, the other side had more softer edges, where even the ground textures visibly changed from water, marshy, sand, loamy and then paved or concrete
The jetty from which you could board a ferry had a cafe, stairs leading to the water, mangroves on one edge and small fishes.
The idea of the walk and the derive started from the port. The idea of the edge started as the hard physical edge between the land and the water. We walked back and forth moving between different places such that we always ended up back on the water's edge. We started identifying the different kinds of physical edges that existed between the land and the water. The edge condition gave rise to different kinds of activities and the relationship between its immediate surroundings depending on the kind of people, their occupation and religion. Even though these edges were not physical there were distinct factors that determined the porosity, visual connect, gender and religious segregation. It was seen that Christian houses were not bounded within the four walls but spaces used on day to day basis like ‘chulas’, toilets, storage sheds, and shelters for their animals were seen softly merging with the surroundings. Comparatively the Hindu house was contained within the compound walls except for tulsi plants and gardens that happened outside thus forming a notional communal edge.
Fishing, being the major occupation on the site, was carried out using different methods (Chinese fishing nets, secondary fishing, manual fishing). The fishing nets were built and owned by the locals, but a large number of migrants(Assamese, Bengalis, Biharis, Odia) worked on these nets. Manual fishing was done by migrant women, whereas large-scale fishing was done by migrant men. Eventually, we realised that the edge condition that existed was not only a physical or a visible edge but there were also notional edges that defined relationships.