Recreation of unique Indian boat showcases lost skills and environmental change

Experts at the University of Exeter have teamed up with Indian craftsmen to recreate a vanished traditional boat hailed locally as “king of the waves”.

While documenting disappearing craft skills, the project has also charted the environmental and social changes behind its disappearance.

Until about 30 years ago, chhot boats were widely used as fishing boats in the estuaries and inshore waters of the Indian state of West Bengal, where they were renowned for their superior handling, particularly in challenging estuary conditions. But the building of barrages upstream has made estuaries shallower and calmer, prompting fishers to switch to round-bottom dingis, which permit a wider range of fishing techniques.

Now, a collaboration between academics from Exeter and India and the local Mondal boat-building family in the village of Dihimandalghat, West Bengal, has resulted in the most detailed documentation to date of a chhot boat, as well as of the unique Bengali tradition of joining hull planking together using staples. Like many traditional Bengali boats, the chhot is built using a ‘shell-led’ approach, whereby the planks of the hull are built up before any internal supporting frame is installed and are joined along their edges with small steel staples.

The builders write nothing down and have no drawn plans: all knowledge is from memory. The project team therefore used video, photography, interview and 3D modelling to make a painstaking record of the month-long construction, which was led by head builder Amol Mondal, assisted by brothers Manimohan, Dilip and Dipak and their father, Panchanan, who last built a chhot 30 years ago; the work culminated in the boat’s launch in the Rupnarayan river in November 2023.

“Chhot means ‘king of the waves,” Panchanan Mondal said. “No matter how turbulent waves are, the chhot will sail with ease. [But construction] stopped about 30 years ago due to increased costs. I won’t build any more; this is the last one.”

The project documentation—including a feature-length documentary film—has been deposited in an open-access repository at the British Museum run by project sponsor the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme. The chhot boat itself is being transported to Lothal, Gujarat, where it will represent the unique boatbuilding traditions of the historic Bengal region in the collection of India’s new National Maritime Heritage Complex, set to open in April 2025.

The project was led by Professor John P. Cooper, from the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies.

“This was a unique opportunity for us to work with artisan knowledge-holders to document the construction and form of a vessel that has not been built for over two decades,” Professor Cooper said. “It was a joy and a privilege to work with the Mondal family and witness first-hand their knowledge and awesome skill in turning a pile of timber into a beautiful and complex boat in just one month. We are grateful for their expertise and their generosity of spirit: real friendships were made.”

The researchers hope the project will also help raise awareness of dying nautical craftsmanship throughout India. Professor Cooper said, “This project showcases the cultural importance of these craft traditions. It became something of an event in the village, and it attracted a huge amount of press and social media interest around India. Our links with major UK and Indian museums show how such work can not only contribute to community heritage, but also the heritage economy.”

Most data collection took place at the temporary build site on the northern edge of the Amberia football ground, to the south of Dihimandalghat village. Other data was collected during brief excursions, for example to the forge of nail-maker Raju Rana in Myachar, to the sawmill at Belpukur, and to the market and Bargabhima Kali temple at Tamluk.