Junglihaat (Andaman and Nicobar Islands): Of all those who live by the sea, fishermen are the most vulnerable of the lot. At the mercy of the unpredictable waters, they are often landless and deprived of the social status of the landholding peasant.

And in storms and tsunamis, it is the fisherman in his fragile country, who stands against the angry ocean.

When the tsunami ravaged the Andaman and Nicobar Islands last year, the fishermen were hit the hardest. The community was devastated by the tsunami due to a total lack of preparedness to shield themselves from nature's fury.

However, one such community of fishermen was spared from total devastation last year. Now, they have found their own way to ensure that luck stays on their side.

The fishermen of Junglihaat say that they were spared because the river God was merciful. A reason why the village takes out time to pray every single day.

On December 26, 2004, when the tsunami struck, almost every fisherman lost his home but miraculously everyone survived — even the fishermen who were out to sea at the time the giant wave struck.

After the water receded, the first thing that the entire fishermen community of Junglihaat did was to build a temple dedicated to the river God.

"We pray to the Gods every week to keep the tsunami away from our village. We ask that we be looked after. We all have families," says M R Rao, one of the fishermen in the village.

The fishermen say that they just keep enough fish to feed their families. The rest is given up as an offering to the river God.

For a community of people who survive because of this sea, perhaps the best way to counter its fury is with faith.