Entwined Flow of Water, People, Labour and Capital: A Visual Essay of Socio-Ecology of Kochi, Kerala

The entwinement of social marginalisation with spatial and sensory marginalisation—the most marginalised people, the destitute and homeless—living on the periphery of the city, in the geographic edges, in hazard-prone, riskiest, ecologically vulnerable and waste dumb places—is what makes Kochi's urbanisation process particularly precarious. Marginality is tripartite- social, spatial and sensorial.

The dense coastal land, the wetlands of the west coast and the city lowlands/floodlands around railway station and bus stand constitute the places of my research. The labourers flowing from the suburbs of west towards the centre and the east for livelihood, are likely to be pushed off further from the city, with the rising sea level. The risks and loss in traditional fishing, frequent floods, youngsters’ aspiration, and the pressure of infrastructure development, make them sell their land. Whether this land serves the multinational conglomerates or the right to the city of inhabitants, is a question to be dealt with at multiscalar level. The state with its - strategic spaces, SEZs, port development, rehabilitation projects and other mega infrastructure projects and investments - draws multitude of stakeholders and beneficiaries in the production of the city.

Experiencing and expressing the flows require more than text, hence drawings. Crafting consensus and solidarity requires not just political will but also creative engagement evoking the emotions, memories, hopes and dreams of the inhabitants. The chapter is designed as a dialogue between text and drawings, unravelled with my flows across the ‘margins’ ‘shores’ ‘edges’ of Arabian Sea, Vembanad lake, Periyar river, Perandoor canal, Calvathy canal and railway. What I attempt is 1) framing a socio-ecological perspective to urban planning, 2) arguing the need to act at everyday level evoking the moods, habits, routines, liminals and thresholds. The chapter also discusses the conundrum of discourses on development and climate change- the crisis, risks and uncertainty.