Mandvi
is a picturesque town with many old buildings.
It was an important port of the Jadeja Rajputs,
who claim descent from Lord Krishna. They are
said to moved to Sindh when Krishna’s capital,
Dwarka, was submerged by the sea. In the 1540s,
the Jadejas became ruler of Kutch. Times were
turbulent until the arrival of the British who
brought the kingdoms under their umbrella. By
then Kutch was one of the largest princely states
in India and the Maharao was awarded a salute
of 17 guns, the second highest in Gujarat after
the Maharaja of Baroda.
During the
days of sail, Mandvi prospered and was known for
it's superb sailors. Ocean-going merchant vessels
of Mandvi travelled between Zanzibar in Africa
and Calcutta in eastern India via the ports of
Arabia, Persian gulf and the western coast of
India, trading cotton, rice, salt and pottery
of India for ivory, cloves and rhino hide from
Africa. Even Vasco Di Gama is said to have used
sailors from Mandvi to navigate the stretch from
Mombasa to Zanzibar.
The Maharaos,
Rajput rulers of Kutch, maintained a huge fleet
of cargo, passenger and war ships. The Maharaos
were respected even by the Mughals, for Mandvi
was one of the few important ports in India that
was not captured by the Portugese and other European
invaders in the 17th century.
Mandvi therefore became an important trade post
for Mughal India and an important harbour for
India’s Muslim pilgrims to start their pigrimage
to Mecca. In the 1760s, a ship of Rao Godji of
Kutch is said to have travelled to England and
back from Mandvi.
Mandvi is
located on the banks of the Rukmavati river, barely
one km away from the Arabian Sea at the Gulf of
Kutch. The town has a very pleasant climate throughout
the year. The establishment of the town dates
back to the late sixteenth century (1581 AD).
Mandvi was originally a fortified town having
a fort wall of about 8m high and 1.2m wide stone
masonary. The fort had several gateways and 25
bastions, but at present, most of the wall has
disappeared. The bastion on the southwest is largest
and acts as a lighthouse.
Mandvi is
known for its 400 year old ship building centre.
The local carpenters still make ocean going Dhows
in much the same way that their ancestors had
done a century ago. One can go and visit the men
at work, shaping the great vessels with hand tools
and coaxing the seasoned timber into shape. The
carrying capacity of these boats can vary from
250 tons to 1000 tons. The predecessors of these
very same ships had roamed the Indian Ocean and
made Kutch a maritime power. Hand made models
of these Dhows can also be procured from local
artisans.
Mandvi is
also interesting for watching and photographing
birds like the flamingos, godwits, sandpipers,
gulls. There are beaches in and around Mandvi. |
