Anton Thina sells karuvadu, or dry fish, prepared using an age-old method under sand. He attaches great importance to using fresh, locally sourced fish. His success is changing attitudes towards karuvadu.
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00:00There are real treasures here, concealed beneath the waters of the coast of Pamban Island in
00:07Rameshwaram.
00:08The island is located in the very south of Tamil Nadu, in the strait between India and
00:13Sri Lanka.
00:14The treasures are to be found in the corals that aren't visible from the surface.
00:24These corals help in breeding large numbers of fish.
00:28That's why Rameshwaram has such good fish resources, and the fish here tastes excellent.
00:39Everyone in the area knows Anton Theena.
00:42The businessman makes his living from fish and talks about his work on Instagram.
00:46Here, he is showcasing shore net fishing, where a group of people pulls the catch onto
00:52the beach.
00:54The technique has been passed down through generations.
00:57Anton Theena wants everyone to see where his fish come from, because he turns it into
01:02karuvadu or dry fish.
01:05I'm sure we have all seen karuvadu drying outside in the sun, but we prepare it according
01:13to traditional methods, drying it under the sand on the beach.
01:19This is an age-old method for preparing dry fish that has been slowly forgotten over the
01:24past 100 years.
01:26So we revived it to reach a large number of customers.
01:31Anton Theena buys the fish for his karuvadu fresh from the market.
01:35He says only the best quality fish is suitable.
01:39First, the fish is washed and sliced open.
01:43It's then smothered in turmeric and salt.
01:45Finally, it's wrapped in a palm mat and tied up tightly.
01:51It then gets buried in the sand on the beach, where it's left to slowly dry out.
02:00There's a preconceived notion that karuvadu is made from leftover or rotten fish.
02:05We wanted to change that, so that everyone would start buying and eating karuvadu.
02:10So for the very first time, we started preparing it using fresh fish.
02:17Anton Theena's company now sells fish across India, up to two tons each month.
02:22Prices vary from 100 to 2000 rupees.
02:25That's the equivalent of between 1 and 22 euros a package.
02:32After preserving it, we take the buried dry fish and slice it up according to the needs
02:37of the customers.
02:38So a quarter or half kilo, one kilo.
02:41Then we pack it up and send it to the customer's address by courier service.
02:50Anton Theena had to work especially hard to achieve his success, as he has a disability
02:56and is unable to walk.
03:00On social media, he's very open about the challenges he's faced.
03:04His success in the company has earned him respect, even within his family, where he
03:09was often shunned in the past.
03:12We rarely used to get invited to things, but after I started the business, they all began
03:20treating us with respect.
03:21And now, we get invited to all the functions.
03:27He is now turning various different types of fish into karuvadu.
03:31He has a number of employees, and the business is flourishing.
03:35He also provides suitable recipe ideas for his fish on social media.
03:40Fish that was dried on the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, using the same methods that
03:44were employed hundreds of years ago.