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Indian Express
17-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
A boat, a legacy: A scrap dealer's tribute to Robert Bristow, the architect of modern Cochin port
The warm scent of teak wood and Fevicol greets visitors at a boatyard on the banks of the Vembanad Lake. Beneath a teal tarpaulin, two men work diligently on a weathered wooden boat, predominantly brown with patches of flaking polish. Surrounded by scaffolding and wooden supports, the vessel wears a modest sign at its bow: ML Vasco. But this is no ordinary restoration, and ML Vasco is no ordinary boat. More than 105 years old, it is the boat that once ferried British harbour engineer Sir Robert Bristow — widely acknowledged as the architect of the modern port in Kochi — after he landed in Kochi in 1920. Seethi Sajar, a scrap dealer based in Thoppumpady, secured it in an auction held by the Cochin Port Trust in 2010 for Rs 2 lakh, only to realise its historical significance later. 'It was only after a Port Trust official told me that this was the boat used by Robert Bristow that I knew of the value of my possession. It was then that I decided I would not dismantle the boat but keep it for future generations to witness and understand his contributions.' Bristow arrived in Kochi in April 1920 at the age of 39, under the direction of the then Governor of Madras, Lord Willingdon. Waiting for him at the waterfront was ML Vasco, which would become his constant companion during his mission to modernise the Cochin Port. Though the port had been a major trading hub even before Bristow's arrival, its expansion was hampered by the lack of a safe inner harbour for ships. 'The Cochin Port was a natural port, attracting Portuguese, Arabs, Jews, Dutch, and British at different periods. Over the centuries, shipping technology underwent significant changes. Sailing ships gave way to steamships. However, huge ships could not come close to the Cochin Port due to a natural sandbar, and cargo loading and unloading were being done using small boats,' says Bony Thomas, nodal officer of Cochin Heritage Zone Conservation Society. In 1926, Bristow brought a dredger, named 'Lord Willingdon', from Scotland to remove the sand and silt that prevented the entry of large ships at the port. Two years later, on May 26, 1928, a steamship, SS Padma, entered the inner harbour of the modernised Cochin Port, officially opening it to the world. This event is commemorated annually as the Cochin Port Day. But Bristow didn't stop here. He used the mud and materials dredged from the sea during the modernisation of the port to create Willingdon Island, the largest artificial island in India. He filled the area around Veduruthy Island, a pre-existing small natural island, to carve out Willingdon Island in a sprawling area of 775 acres. He owned the first building on the new island. 'He later connected this human-made island to the mainland of Ernakulam through the Venduruthy bridge. He also connected the island and the mainland area of Thoppumpady through the Old Harbour Bridge, which was called the London Bridge of Kochi. It was an architectural marvel as its middle portion could be lifted to allow ships to pass through,' says Thomas. In his book Cochin Saga, Bristow wrote how he marvelled at the scope of the Cochin Port when he touched down in 1920 and took the first trip on Vasco. 'It seemed all the blue lagoons of the southern seas had come to rest in the wide bosom of Mother India at Cochin, for each side there stretched an interminable vista fading only into the sky itself.' Over the next two decades, he transformed Kochi's landscape as the 'interminable vista' evolved into a bustling port city, complete with wharfs, cranes, roads, and bridges. He oversaw the extension of the rail line from the old railway station in Ernakulam to Willingdon Island and the establishment of Harbour Terminus railway station on the island in 1932, mainly for freight movement. Talking to the BBC in 1935, a proud Bristow said: 'I live on a large island made from the bottom of the sea. It is called Willingdon Island, after the present Viceroy of India. From the upper floor of my house, I look down on the finest harbour in the East.' Bristow also played a key role in building a civilian airstrip on Willingdon Island in 1936, which later proved to be a crucial aircraft repair yard for the British during World War II. In 1953, the facility was commissioned as INS Garuda, the oldest operating air station of the Indian Navy. Apart from his engineering laurels, Bristow, along with his wife, Gertrude, is credited with founding the inter-racial Lotus Club in Kochi. 'The Cochin Club in Fort Kochi allowed only fully British people. Gertrude had Belgian Jewish ancestry, making her ineligible. The couple opened Lotus Club to people from all races and backgrounds, almost like a statement to the British Raj,' says Stephen Robert, a Kochi-based heritage activist. Bristow returned to England in 1941 and passed away in 1966 at the age of 85. ML Vasco is unlike any modern vessel. Twenty-six feet long, six feet wide, and seven feet tall, with a two-cylinder diesel engine, it can accommodate 10 to 12 people. Built entirely from wood and copper, and without the use of iron, it has not rusted even after all these years. For its restoration, Sajar sought craftsmen skilled in repairing wooden boats. His search eventually led him to Jaison and Janappan from Mulvakukad in Kochi. The two men are as enthusiastic as Sajar about the restoration efforts. 'We had heard about Bristow sayippu (a loosely used colloquial term in Malayalam for people of Caucasian descent) and it is a great privilege for us to now work on his boat,' says Jaison, adding that the instruction from Sajar has been to stay true to the original design. The boat has two cabins separated by a central deck. A wooden ladder connects the central deck to the front cabin, which features two large oval windows on each side. The two men plan to install glass panes in these windows. The rear cabin has rectangular wooden panels and serves as the main seating area. The windows in the back cabin are rectangular and much smaller compared to those in the front cabin. They have reattached the loose steering wheel and plan to replace the engine cover. What lies ahead for them is the not-so-easy task of lifting the boat and replacing the missing wooden planks on the bottom. Sajar estimates the cost for the restoration work, which began over four months ago, to be around Rs 10 lakh. For now, ML Vasco remains at a rented yard in Karuvelippady. But Sajar has bigger plans: once restored, the boat will be mounted on trolleys and transported to a three-acre plot nearby, which he bought recently. He intends to display Vasco in a fibre enclosure and unveil it during Onam.
The Hindu
14-06-2025
- The Hindu
Portuguese Kochi Heritage Walk held
A total of 22 heritage enthusiasts participated in the 'Portuguese Kochi Heritage Walk with Bony Thomas', jointly organised by the Cochin Heritage Zone Conservation Society, Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), and the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED). The heritage walk, which began at 8:30 a.m. and concluded at 1:30 p.m., covered a wide range of heritage sites and buildings across West Kochi. They included the Ro-Ro jetty at Kamalakadavu, the Chinese fishing nets, the Kochi Corporation's Fort Kochi regional office, huge trees in Fort Kochi heritage zone, Koder House, Old Harbour Hotel, Tower House, Vasco da Gama Square, the plaque commemorating the Portuguese President's visit to Kochi, the anchor of Lord Willingdon, a dredger, the Great Fire of Cochin Memorial, the cannon at Fort Kochi beach, Bastion Bungalow, St. Francis Church, Parade Ground, Cochin Club, David Hall, Malabar House, Bernard Bungalow, Spencer Home, St. John De Britto School, Bishop's House, Indo-Portuguese Museum, CSI Bungalow, St. Francis School, Santa Cruz School, Anti-War Installation, Santa Cruz Basilica, Rampart Road, Burgher Street, Vasco Home, and Fort Kochi. The walk also covered the Post Office, Delta Study School, Jail of the Freedom Struggle, RDO Bungalow, Cabral Yard, Albuquerque Jetty, Calvathy Masjid, Calvathy Bridge, Mehboob Memorial Orchestra, Aspinwall House, Pierce Leslie Godown, Brunton Boatyard, Fort Vypin, and Our Lady of Hope Church, the organisers said.
