NE monsoon likely to advance: Marine researcher

Chennai: On Thursday fishermen found strange “wooden art pieces” washed ashore at Pattinampakkam here and mistaking them to be stolen chattels, preferred a complaint with the police. But in reality, the three dexterously carved pieces had come all the way from Thailand.

But the question is how and why did they come to the Chennai shores? “These wooden art pieces that were washed ashore at Pattinampakkam tell a unique tale and so do water currents, which can foretell the advent of monsoon. This time the North East Monsoon, which normally sets in October, is likely to advance,” claims historian Sivagnanam Balasubramani, aka Orissa Balu. This integrated marine researcher, involved in deciphering the sea trade routes of the ancient Tamils, claims closer examination of the artifacts revealed that they were thrown into the sea after performing obsequies. “But the important point is Thailand is located about 2,000 km from Chennai. We know that logs were floated from Burma to Kodiakkarai (Cape Calimere on the Coromandel Coast in Nagapattinam district) in Tamil Nadu and this took about 24 to 40 days to reach Kodiakkarai coast,” Balu explained and claimed that type of water current could not only help in deciding the course but also the tides and approaching storm or monsoon.

Though what he says may sound bizarre, Mr. Balu asserts that wood flung into the sea off the coast of Thailand (its southwestern shoreline meets the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean to the west) reaches Australia or Madagascar. “But when it reaches Chennai it indicates that the North East Monsoon may advance. This is also based on sea temperature,” he adds.