The following is the first in a series of reports from a three week exploration of Southern India
The alley is so narrow, bumpy and mostly unpaved that our schoolbus couldn't turn into it and dropped us off at the main road which was small enough as well. We find ourselves in the Kerala village of Beypore at that point not knowing, that the village had a centuries-old tradition of crafting sturdy ships and dhows from teak wood of the local forests for the trade across the Arabian Sea. So our small group of architecture students was confused when when the alley open up to a steel scaffold that held up a blue tarp under which a huge wooden boat sat jacked up on various pieces of lumber and rollers held in place by braces. What really happened here became clearer in bits and pieces that the western mind had trouble comprehending. So many ironies, so many contradictions in one spot.
The alley is so narrow, bumpy and mostly unpaved that our schoolbus couldn't turn into it and dropped us off at the main road which was small enough as well. We find ourselves in the Kerala village of Beypore at that point not knowing, that the village had a centuries-old tradition of crafting sturdy ships and dhows from teak wood of the local forests for the trade across the Arabian Sea. So our small group of architecture students was confused when when the alley open up to a steel scaffold that held up a blue tarp under which a huge wooden boat sat jacked up on various pieces of lumber and rollers held in place by braces. What really happened here became clearer in bits and pieces that the western mind had trouble comprehending. So many ironies, so many contradictions in one spot.
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| The boatyard in Beypore |
If the boat looked like out of some fantasy world, it is because that is precisely where it originated: the dreams of the Qatar royal family with seemingly endless money at their disposal. Qatar is where anything is possible, including buying a soccer world cup which somehow also involves to gussy up the maritime fleet of the rulers, which is why they ordered a whole set of yachts that resemble a traditional Dhow or Uru, the sailing vessels that once plied the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
They didn't buy the latest technology from where they get their engines (Japan) or from where they order their plumbing (Germany) but they went for the ancient skills of local carpenters who have honed the art of boat making over centuries by using local lumber (mostly teak but also so called jack-wood as a replacement for teak which has become rare and sometimes has to even be imported), fish-oil and the their ability to design and build in the same manner as the medieval builders of cathedrals, mosques and temples built the most beautiful structures. Lore has it that dhows from Beypore won the battle of Trafalgar where Lord Nelson’s smaller British fleet beat Napoleon’s huge naval fleet in part thanks to superior ships.
The messy boat yard with bits and pieces of lumber strewn about belies the precision in which the strips of hardwood are formed and joined and with which the heavy boat will eventually be transferred to the water of the river. The process is slow and not necessarily obvious from a brief visit. Of course, being built for the nouveaux riches of Qatar, the boat is with 180' length bigger than any dhow ever was before and although the engines and propellers weren't, there is plenty of technology on the handcrafted boat from electric wiring to navigation and sprinklers. The workers run around barefoot and when I asked for permission to board and walk around on the boat, the entire visiting group followed, most taking their shoes off as if they entered someone’s house. Women in Saris climbing up the rickety ladder to the rear deck was a sight that would make OSHA shudder.
Once onboard one can see that much of the boat resembles the construction of a luxury home, including firestopping drywall, stud walls and wiring. Just as in a regal mansion, there is plenty of wood. As well crafted as the ship's body is, the woodwork of the railings and steps is more for show than precision.
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| climbing up the ladder bare-foot |
Once onboard one can see that much of the boat resembles the construction of a luxury home, including firestopping drywall, stud walls and wiring. Just as in a regal mansion, there is plenty of wood. As well crafted as the ship's body is, the woodwork of the railings and steps is more for show than precision.
According to the daily newspaper Hindu the daily wage was Rs. 650 in 2013. Each dhow needs the work of at least 30 workers over two years.
When we visited, the boat was almost complete and much of the activity revolved around getting the boat ready to be rolled to the sea via this very elaborate set of supports resting on log rollers and square lumber "tracks". The terrain between the boat and the estuary was still level and needed to be dug into a gentle slope, no doubt, this will also be done by hand, barefoot and with tiny shovels and metal pans, just as we had observed downtown utility work being done.
The boat movers are not part of the carpenter crew but a team of local experts called Mopla-Khalasis (after the Arabic word for dockyard workers). As we watched they shoved large wads of rolled up textile as cushioned supports between the boat's body and the first layer of the support structure. The seven people got into the right rhythm with a chant. The boat is supposed to be launched with the help of Thovar (the manual winch), Uruls (round wooden logs), Baloos (Long hardwood logs), a pulley and an iron rope. The specialty of Khalasis is that they convert any available material to weight pulling equipment and manage to pull out any amount weight. "No other country or place on earth could boast of a better technique which has beaten modern machinery,” Manoj, a supervisor at the Karuvanthiruthi dhow making yard is quoted in First Post.
When we visited, the boat was almost complete and much of the activity revolved around getting the boat ready to be rolled to the sea via this very elaborate set of supports resting on log rollers and square lumber "tracks". The terrain between the boat and the estuary was still level and needed to be dug into a gentle slope, no doubt, this will also be done by hand, barefoot and with tiny shovels and metal pans, just as we had observed downtown utility work being done.
The boat movers are not part of the carpenter crew but a team of local experts called Mopla-Khalasis (after the Arabic word for dockyard workers). As we watched they shoved large wads of rolled up textile as cushioned supports between the boat's body and the first layer of the support structure. The seven people got into the right rhythm with a chant. The boat is supposed to be launched with the help of Thovar (the manual winch), Uruls (round wooden logs), Baloos (Long hardwood logs), a pulley and an iron rope. The specialty of Khalasis is that they convert any available material to weight pulling equipment and manage to pull out any amount weight. "No other country or place on earth could boast of a better technique which has beaten modern machinery,” Manoj, a supervisor at the Karuvanthiruthi dhow making yard is quoted in First Post.
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| the early steps of building the boat body (the Hindu) |
As one can surmise, boat building by hand and ancient techniques is a slow process. A posted sign indicated who commissioned the boat ("Qatar"), that work started in July 2015 and that it was supposed to take 14 months. Clearly the work was behind schedule. The master carpenter is well aware of his work as an attraction to visitors and plays a sly role. "Its all in my head" he says, "just a few sketches". The tour of the boat revealed some rather elaborate drawings pinned to a wall, but they may well have been prepared by some of the engineers who I assume deal with the wiring, plumbing or other infrastructure of the boat. Our man acts as if he is the boss, but there is apparently a second master carpenter who cannot work on deck anymore because he lost a few toes when a teak plank fell on his feet. The two carpenters, in turn, work for the wharf owner. Regardless, the master carpenters are the bearers of the critical skills and must love what they to get such a huge structure assembled without forklifts, cranes or any machines other than power saws.
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| Dhows on steroids: Nelson and the sheiks (Photo: Philipsen) |
As an art passed down through generations, Uru-making is an undocumented practice. There are no build plans, sketches, drawings, or blueprints that the makers refer to. From conception to completion, it is all in the mind of the master carpenter or maistry of a yard, who assigns work to his assistants on a daily basis, so as to keep the secrecy that shrouds the technology intact.(The Hindu)
Asked how he would manage cost control and whether this was a fixed price contract, the master carpenter thinks I asked for the price of the boat and says he can't tell it. He then explains that the client has much money and that the specifications changed over time and that he will simply let him know what the cost is. He sounds as if he had the better hand in the deal, but in press articles one can find that the total cost is around 1$ million per boat, which would be incredibly little, even if one considers how cheap labor is. Then again, it isn't clear if the press articles are correct and whether that amount simply covers the hull or includes the full fit-out. It also seems that the client for this boat is neither the royal family nor a sheikh but simply a multimillionaire. The sources vary widely in the descriptions of the boat material, the total length and the client.
No matter, the shining giant boat under the tarp tells as much about Qatar as it does about India and as much about the past as the presence. Hundreds of thousands of Indian "ex-pats" work in Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on constructing a world that is much shinier and more modern than their own. In many respects what happens on the other side of the Arabian Sea is a giant mirage that encapsulates most everything that is wrong with unfettered growth and the creation of fantastic theme parks in the middle of a desert in the same manner as Las Vegas is an unsustainable mirage and endless growth as well. In a bit of irony, the Dhow construction, originally an Arabic invention, is now commissioned by Arabs to be made in India, because here the skill survived and the deep rivers allow a traditional launch.
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| The master carpenter Puzhakkara Rameshan (Photo: Philipsen) |
For now, though, the Arabic fantasies bring money back to India and allow a tradition of making by hand to be carried forth. It keeps people employed and fed who would otherwise idle in spite of their considerable skills.
It isn't very likely that India will be able to hold on to its economy of small, local and independent businesses that still are the backbone of the economy. The boat builders near Kozhikode received a lifeline that may not last beyond the FIFA Cup in 2022. It would be gret, though, if the country could find a different path than the one the US has been taking and which Qatar has put on steroids.
It isn't very likely that India will be able to hold on to its economy of small, local and independent businesses that still are the backbone of the economy. The boat builders near Kozhikode received a lifeline that may not last beyond the FIFA Cup in 2022. It would be gret, though, if the country could find a different path than the one the US has been taking and which Qatar has put on steroids.
Klaus Philipsen, FAIA
Images of 2013 (another boat)
Scroll India, June 2014
The Boatmakers of Beypore (The Hindu)
Patronage of the Royal Family of Quatar lifts the industry
The boatmakers of Beypore (The Hindu)
As Arab millionaires delight in Beypore's traditional wooden boats, marvelous craft at risk from lack of experts
Patronage of the Royal Family of Quatar lifts the industry
The boatmakers of Beypore (The Hindu)
As Arab millionaires delight in Beypore's traditional wooden boats, marvelous craft at risk from lack of experts
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| Hardwood scraps telling the story of cutting, bending and fitting |
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| On deck: wood railings with aluminum banisters |
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