At daybreak on the Marina, a series of 15 men line the shore, their eyes searching the waves. In the beginning, it seems like calm, quiet contemplation — like they are seeing the horizon for the first time and marvelling at all the sea has to offer. Suddenly, among them, T Jambulingam swoops down and grabs a handful of the wet sand and cheers.
He has found a ₹10 coin. He waves it around with joy and the rest nod appreciatively. “It rained last night. The sea is murky and the sandbars shift. This allows all the old coins tossed in the ocean to resurface. More often than not, we find money that people have thrown in for different things — processions, deaths,” he says.
