And that is what most men in Vanakbara also tell their wives after marriage that their life is perpetually in danger.

But fishermen of this small fishing hamlet don't fear the big waves or the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea. Neither do they fear cyclonic storms and eight-metre high walls of water that smash their boats into pieces in a few minutes.

And when nature pitches its fury against man, they brave it. Several perish but a few survive.

Take Mahesh Solanki, for instance. Hardly 16-years-old, he swam for more than 10 hours, spent two days in water and is the only survivor of a fishing boat with eight crew. ``It was almost evening when the eight-metre high waves tossed our boat around like a toy. The waves were so high that they passed over the mast of the boat and slammed it around for sometime before breaking it into pieces.

"Steering the boat was impossible so everybody braced themselves to dive into the water before the boat went down. I caught hold of an oil drum when I was thrown out and immediately realised I was alone. I don't know what happened to the rest and didn't see them again. When a huge wave struck me the oil drum slipped from my hands. I thought I would drown but kept on swimming. It must have been a couple of hours but it seemed a very long time when a big thermocol board drifted by and I caught hold of it.

``The whole night I spent drifting as the sea calmed but there was no sign of the coast. Later during the day, I saw the hazy outline of a coast but I think I lost consciousness after that because late night I found myself washed ashore near Jakhau. I passed the night in a temple when two persons of a search team picked me up and sent me home,'' Solanki told Express Newsline. Ramesh, 19, is also the only survivor of a boat capsize. However, three of his elder brothers who were in another boat never returned. ``Our boat with six crew was tossed up and down by the huge waves and finally capsized. ``I caught hold of a piece of wood. I don't know in which direction the storm pushed me because for almost 24 hours, I did not touch any coast or port. The second day I found myself at Narayan Sarovar in Kutch.''

In the midst of grief and despair in Vanakbara, there is also a little joy for those who braved everything and were lucky enough to come back alive.