Taking a walk back from Tiger Cave to Mamallapuram, you pass the fisherman from Devaneri returning back from catching prawns with their small katamaram. Lately the catch of prawns became less rewarding as many prawn-farms are started up and the seawater became more poluted by the big hotels draining their dirty water into the sea chasing the prawns away.

The origin from the English word catamaran is coming from the Tamil word katamaram meaning maram=tree kata=bound together. Five or seven trees are bound together with coconut-rope and the bow is seperatly fixed slightly cut to a point and put upwards. Those boots are rather heavy and it takes 4 man to carry them to see. The plastic blue sail is nowadays replaced by an outboard motor, less pittoresk to see them at see. For the catch of prawns they don't need a motor nor sail as they stay nearby the coast.