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, predominant 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 Sajar, a scrap dealer based in thopumpady, secured it in an actions Held by the cochin port trust trust in 2010 for Rs 2 lakh, only to realize its historical significance later.
“It was only after a port trust official told me that this was used by Robert Bristow that I know of the value of my possession. 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 be his constant company during his mission to modernize the cochin port.
Though the port had been a major trading hub even 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 differnt periods. Steamshams, Huge Ships Could not come to the cochin port due to a natural sanding and unloading as done using small throms, nodal. Heritage Zone Conservation Society.
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In 1926, bristow brought a dredger, named ‘lord willingdon’, from scotland to remove the sand and Silt that prevented the entry of land ships at the port. Two years later, on May 26, 1928, a steamship, SS Padma, Enter Harbour of the modern cochin port, officially open 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 He filled the area around Veduruthy island, a pre-sexist Small natural island, to carry 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. London Bridge of Kochi.
Robert Bristow is regarded as the architect of the modern kochi port. (Photo Credit: MNC Kochi)
In his book Cochin sagaBristow wrote how he marveled at the scope
“It seamed all the blue lagoons of the southern seas had come to rest bosom of mother india at cochin, for easy vista fading on the other side on the sky its own. “
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Over the next two decades, he transformed kochi’s landscape as the “interminable vista” evolved into a bustling port city, Complete with whaarfs, cranes, and and bridge. He oversaw the extension of the rain from the old railway station in ernakulam to willingdon island and the establishment of harbour terminus railway station on the island in 1932, main for the fore.
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 roll in building a civilian airstrip on willingdon island in 1936, which later provided to be a crucal aircraft repair yard for the british dring world war. In 1953, the facility was commissioned as ins garuda, the oldest operating air station of the Indian navy.
Anchor at the cochin port. (Wikimedia Commons)
Apart from his engineering laurels, bristow, along with his wife, gertrude, is credited with founding the inter-rural lotus club in kochi. “The Cochin Club in Fort Kochi Allowed Only British People. Gertrude Had Belgian Jewish Ancestry, Making Her Ineligible. The couple Opened Lotus Club to People from all races and backgrounds, alm. 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.
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A careful restoration
ML vasco is unlike any modeln vessel. Twenty-Six Feet Long, Six Get 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 south craftsmen skilled in repairing wooden boats. His search eventually LED him to jaison and Janappan from Mulvakukad in Kochi. The two men are as anthusiastic 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 bowat,” Instruction from Sajar has been to stay true to the original design.
Jaison and janappan, the two men involves in the restoration of the boat. (Narayanan S/Indian Express)
The boat has two cabins separated by a central deck. A Wooden Ladder Connects The Central Deck to the Front Cabin, which features two live oval Windows on Each Side. The Two Men Plan to Install Glass Panes in these windows. The rear cabin has been rectangular wooden panels and services as the main seating area. The windows in the back cabin are rectangular and much smaller compared to those in the front cabin.
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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 escort for the restoration work, which began over four months ago, to be around Rs 10 lakh.
For now, ml vasco remains at a restored yard in karuvelippady. But sajar has bigger plan: once restored, the boat will be mounted on trolleys and transported to a three-acre plot nearby, which he bought recusently. He intends to display vasco in a fibre encosure and unveil it during onam.