Archives for the month of: October, 2012

By Sunil Amrith

This temple is unusual in Malaysia in facing directly out to sea. It was built in the late-nineteenth century by local Tamil fishermen—the story I was told is that many had arrived in Malaya to work on the rubber plantations, but made their way from the mainland to Pangkor to make their living from the sea. It is likely that they originated from coastal districts in Tamil Nadu, quite possibly from fishing communities. Read the rest of this entry »

By Debojyoti Das

My preliminary field visit to the Sundarbans in May 2012 was challenged by the roasting heat and by tidal waves. I was warned of the turbulent waters by Mr. Ajit Sarkar, director of Help Tourism who had visited the islands recently. On my trip, he introduced me to Bali Island, adopted by Help Tourism as a model village. Read the rest of this entry »