Buoyant history afloat on a neglected boat in Bengal

  • April 23, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Buoyant history afloat on a neglected boat in Bengal

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

  • The wooden boats on the bank of the Rupnarayan river near Tamluk (the ancient port town of Tamralipta) has inspired an international project viz. The Chhotbuilders of West Bengal Project: Documenting the vanishing craft knowledge of a unique boat-building tradition.

Details about the project:

  • Project is a collaboration between University of Exeter, United Kingdom and the Central University of Haryana, India.
  • The boat-makers near Dihimandal Ghat were commissioned to build the boat last year.
  • The boats will be kept at the Maritime Museum at Lothal.

Chhot (boats):

  • Chhot means ‘to run’ in bengali language.
  • The knowledge of boat-making has been passed to us by our forefathers.
  • The boat is completely different and superior to the L-shaped boats and dinghy boats in use now.
  • The boat is around 37-foot-long and 9.5-foot-wide V-shaped wooden structure.

Other famous boatcarft in India:

  • Recently, the District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).
  • The Beypore Urus are a symbol of Kerala’s trade relations and friendship with the Gulf countries.
  • The prominent people associated with Uru-making are Odayis and Khalasis.

Rupnarayan river:

  • The Rupnarayan River is a river in India.
  • It begins as the Dhaleswari (Dhalkisor) in the Chhota Nagpur plateau foothills northeast of the town of Purulia.
  • It then follows a tortuous southeasterly course past the town of Bankura, where it is known as the Dwarakeswar river. Near the town of Ghatal it is joined by the Shilabati river, where it takes the name Rupnarayan.
  • Finally, it joins the Hoogli River.
  • It is famous for the Hilsa fish that live in it and are used in Bengali cuisine.
  • It is also notable for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) thermal power plant built along its bank at Kolaghat in West Bengal.
  • The river also passes through Bagnan in Howrah district.
  • Rupnarayan River forms the eastern boundary of district Purba Medinipur with district Howrah.
Buoyant history afloat on a neglected boat in Bengal Geography