The HMS Trincomalee — built in Bombay in 1817 — is still afloat in England today. India’s shipbuilding supremacy predates cotton mills and financial services by centuries.
At the Max City VOW Lit Fest 2025 at Kitab Khana, four panellists — Prof. Anita Rane Kothare (Xavier’s Ancient History), Captain Kapil Dev Behl (merchant mariner and author of The Dufferin), maritime historian Ninad Patharfaikar (curator of the Mazgaon Dock museum), and Joe Alvarez (chronicler of Thane’s 2,200-year history) — reconstruct Mumbai’s forgotten maritime identity. Ninad reveals that since 1735 over 600 vessels were built at the Bombay Dockyard, including ships of the Royal Navy that surpassed European vessels in quality because Malabar teak outlasted English oak by decades: where English oak ships lasted 15 years, Malabar teak ships lasted 25–30. HMS Mindiri, built in Bombay in 1810, was the first ship-of-the-line ever built outside Britain. The Dufferin, the training ship that seeded India’s entire Merchant Marine and Naval officer corps, produced India’s first Chief of Naval Staff — against a British expert’s confident prediction that “Indians are not a seafaring people.”
Joe Alvarez’s chronicle of Thane spans King Solomon’s ships trading at Sopara in 1000 BCE, Marco Polo’s 1290 CE visit to a bustling port town, a 1321 CE interfaith dialogue that ended in martyrdom (recorded in letters now in the Vatican archives), 800 years of Tanasi silk woven by Muslim artisans who later converted to Christianity, and Basin Hills teak that supplied both the Portuguese Armada and the Maratha Navy’s 200-ship fleet. Prof. Kothare argues the real scandal is academic neglect: Yukti Kalpataru, an ancient Sanskrit text with complete shipbuilding instructions, still lacks an English translation, while petroglyphs along the Konkan coast preserve maritime knowledge millennia older than any colonial archive.
About the Speakers:
Capt. Kapildev Bahl is a “Dufferin” alumnus and a Master Mariner, with about 20 years of sailing experience including 5 years in command. Thereafter he worked for about 30 years, specialising in Maritime Emergency Response, super specializing in salvage/wreck removal and Oil Major Vetting Inspections. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of “Indian Centre for Climate and Societal Impacts Research”.
Cdr Ninad Phatarphekar (Retd) is the Co-founder and Principal Maven at Transformavens Training and Consulting. He has garnered over three decades of work experience in Defence Services, Public Sector, Corporate and Social Sector ecosystems. Ninad has essayed a pivotal role in researching, curating and establishing ‘Dharohar’ – The Heritage Museum at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., Mumbai.
Dr.Anita Rane – Kothare is the Head Associate Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian history culture and Archaeology, St.Xavier’s College, Mumbai. She has a deep interest and expertise in archeology, Indology, museology, ancient history, world history and analysis and cultural studies.
Joe Alvares is a pioneering Indian jazz and rock vocalist known for fronting one of India’s first rock bands, The Savages, in the 1970s. Transitioning to jazz, funk, gospel, and R&B, he performed at global festivals including Montreal and Java Jazz. He is also the cultural ambassador recognized by the ICCR.
Commodore R.S. Kesnur (Retd.) is a decorated naval officer, maritime historian, and advocate for maritime awareness. A graduate of the NDA, he commanded two frontline warships, served as Defence Adviser in East Africa and held academic leadership roles. He also led the Maritime Warfare Centre.
