Sails of the past, waves of the future

The induction of INS Tarangini, INS Sudarshini and vessels of the Indian Navy’s Ocean Sailing Node into the naval fleet resuscitated the dying art of wind-sailing in India.

- DENNARD H. D’SOUZA MUMBAI

In the world of mega tankers, seldom do we sight a cally ploughing through the surging waves of the oceans.

Seeing INS Tarangini and Sudarshini scoot between the leviathan carriers and breaking the monotony of modern floating vessels gives us a whiff of history. In the bygone days of sailing, sailors cruised through uncharted waters only with the aid of the capricious winds and their steadfast sails.

India has a long and illustrious history of sailing, truly befitting its long seaboard stretching 7,516 kilometres, coast to coast. Beginning with the Harappans, the Indians sailed into waters beyond their territorial confines.

The Harappan ships traded with the chalcolithic Mesopotamians of ziggurat fame, in materials like carnelian, lapis lazuli, red hounds and livestock. These were the high-end products of their day, fancied by the rich and affluent, from the cities that lay between the Tigris and the Euphrates. With such valuable merchandise on board, one would expect the seagoing craft to be fabricated out of the most resilient material.

However, it is interesting to note that the Harappans built their vessels from the humble dry reeds fitted with sails. This, in one sense, was an engineering achievement given that the waters of the Arabian Sea were populated by reefs which would prove detrimental to vessels made from denser material. The trade between the Harrapans and the Mesopotamians was so intense that the first batch of Indian ex-pats to ever leave the subcontinent and settle abroad were the Harappans of Guabba, who became an integral part of the local temple economy.