Ballad on the Shore

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On the small isle of Tap Mun, the ocean breeze gently lifts up strands of grey hair on Lai Lin-shau’s head. He quietly sings in the characteristic tones of the fisherman’s ballads. Seemingly without rules, the pitch and tones alternate and repeat themselves as if they were synchronising with the ocean waves. Lai is one of the few people alive who knows the fisherman’s ballads intimately. None of his children experienced the harsh and unforgiving life at sea. They are not even aware of his priceless knowledge of the ballads. As the fishing community shrinks, old fishermen found new ways of life on land. One performs and teaches the ballads to young children; another uses the ballads to spread her Christian faith. The ballads have become a spiritual harbour for these landed fishermen. But deaths come brutally. Lai loses his listeners and his memory of the ballads. A precious part of him is dying.