India had an ocean named after it for a reason — and Sanjeev Sanyal just sailed it on a reconstructed 4th-century ship. Delivered as the Nathaniel Wallich Lecture at the Indian Museum’s 212th Foundation Day, this talk covers the voyage of INSV Kaundinya from Gujarat to Oman on a traditional stitched vessel.Sanyal explains the forgotten engineering logic of stitched-plank ships — including why the very design that seemed fragile actually made them superior in specific sea conditions, and why the introduction of cannon-based naval warfare made them obsolete overnight. The talk weaves personal adventure — navigating sea state 4 and 5, toilet visits measured in gallantry awards — with a substantive argument that India’s 5,000-year maritime identity, from Harappan anchor stones to medieval merchant guilds in Southeast Asia, deserves rigorous reconstruction, not just romantic celebration.

About the Speaker:

Sanjeev Sanyal is a leading Indian economist, historian, and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. A Rhodes Scholar and former Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank, he now shapes India’s economic policy and global financial engagement. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He is also a well-known environmentalist and urban theorist. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore and a Senior Fellow of the Worldwide Fund for Nature. He is an accomplished writer of many critically acclaimed books.