Sea Explorers’ Institute’s Boat Show, Prinsep Ghat, Kolkata

Prinsep Ghat, Kolkata

On 20 & 21 December 2024, the Prinsep Ghat of Kolkata witnessed a parade of an assortment of boats and ships. They sailed down the Hooghly River beneath the Vidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge). This was Ananda, a boat show to rediscover the river and its vessels. The whole show was an initiative of the Sea Explorers’ Institute (SEI).

Founded in 1984 SEI is a non-profit organization, that aims to create a nation where people become keenly interested in marine and riverine resources and value them as a crucial part of our environment. It engages in creating awareness about marine and riverine resources.

SEI is also known for its adventure activities across the rivers, seas and beyond.

In 2023 they hosted the SEI Pentathlon a 525 km race along the Ganges (in Uttarakhand and West Bengal) involving five adventure sports: trekking, rafting, kayaking, rowing and sailing.

Apart from adventure and scientific activities SEI also comes with a cultural wing.

Nodir Songe Dekha (a tryst with the river) is an initiative of SEI’s cultural wing and aims to build a bridge between the river and the general public through a series of cultural activities.

These include songs, poetry, street plays and art work. For the last two decades, SEI have involved noted artists, singers and poets in spreading awareness through a series of events.

The latest event of SEI was Ananda held on 20 & 21 December 2024. The boat show aimed at rediscovering the river and its vessels.

Apart from the actual boat show, where a variety of vessel sailed along the Hooghly River there was a display in the adjoining Prinsep ghat area.

The display included a model boat exhibition. It was curated by Swarup Bhattacharyya, an anthropologist researching on Bengal boats.

Audience of the boat show

About 15 models of different boats were on display. Apart from the model boats the entire area was decorated with paper boats, fishing nets and sails.

Also on display were several photographs of boat by Bhattacharyya. Each photo came with detailed descriptions of the boat.

The entire display was curated by Bhattacharyya, popularly known as boat man of Bengal.

The boat show was held on the Hooghly River and the steps of the ghat behind the Prinsep memorial acting as the gallery.

After the events were flagged off the boats and vessels sailed in front of the audience and passed beneath the Vidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge). Detailed narrations were provided over the microphone.

Assortment of boats before the show

Over 30 boats and vessels were in display and they consisted of ingenious boats, improvised boats and service boats of different organizations associated with the river. The host Sea Explorers’ Institute (SEI) was also a participant and displayed three different types of boats.

Taler Donga: Taler donga is a dugout boat made from the trunk of a tal (palmyra palm) tree. It is abundantly used in the low lying areas of Bengal, especially the flood prone areas.

Talai: A 15 – 20 feet long fishing boat common in the Kolkata region of the Hooghly River. Thousands of hooks are hung up in a row to catch fish.

Jele Dingi: Dingi is a spoon shaped multipurpose boat. It is widely used for fishing in the Kolkata region of Hooghly River. It usually comes in with a bamboo cane shed and equipped with fishing nets.

Khile Nouka: A small dingi (usually less than 15 feet) is known as khile nouka. Like dingi it has a multipurpose usage and is used for fishing and household purpose.

Tiner Nouka: Not a traditional boat but a recent innovation by the fishermen of Murshidabad. It is made of a single sheet of tin. This tiny boat can accommodate only one person.

Gol Nouka: This is an adaptation of the circular boat of south India. Commonly known as coracle (pericel in Tamil and hanigalu in Kanada) the round shaped boat is made out of bamboo and animal hide. The one at display in the river parade had a plastic cover.

Mahajani Nouka: Big cargo boats common in Hooghly River. They are used for transporting cargo from one bank to the other. The boat is also used for transporting clay and hence is refereed as mati tolar nouka.

Hogla Nouka: The boat is made of straw along with leaves of Hogla tree. Hogla is a popular tree of Sundarban. It is not a traditional boat of Bengal but an innovation of SEI. In 2020 SEI organized a river expedition along the Hooghly River from Murshidabad to Kolkata on a similar boat.

Plastic Bottle Boat: Another innovation of SEI aiming at environmental friendliness and adoptive reuse of discarded plastic bottles.

Pansi Nouka: A pleasure boat used for joy rides. Common in the Prinsep ghat region of Hooghly River. The boat was rowed by would be River Ambassadors. The River Ambassador is an initiative of Kulti X, Living Water Museum and SEI. It aims at training the local people in the history and heritage of the ghats, life saving, disaster management and cleanliness of the river bank.

Dragon Boat: A traditional boat from China. Although the Chinese have been living in Kolkata for over 250 years the dragon boat has never become a part of Bengal’s aquatic heritage. Since, a decade the Chinese of Kolkata are celebrating Dragon Boat Festival complete with boat races on the eastern fringes of the city.

Chip: A traditional racing boat from Bengal. It has a long and slender shape and can extend up to 120 feet. The shape helps in reducing friction and helps the boat to glide through water.

Boats of Sea Explorers’ Institute: The host SEI came in with their own fleet of water crafts consisting of expedition boats, diving boats and kayaks. Abhinandan was the expedition boat, which was involved in a Kolkata – Falta expedition in 2021. The boat came in with a bright orange coloured sail sporting the SEI logo. The second exhibit was a diving raft which came in with divers and necessary equipment. Two kayaks, which were part of the SEI pentathlon was also part of the display.

Boats of Sea Explorers’ Institute

Navy, Army, Garden Reach Shipbulders and Engineers (GRSE) and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI): Various organization has a connect with the Hooghly River. SEI also included them in their water show. The Indian Navy came in with a patrol boat. Unknown to many the Indian Army also has a water presence and largest craft on display was from the army. GRSE came in with three water crafts manufactured by them. A dredger from IWAI was also part of the water parade.

Boats of Navy, Army, GRSE and IWAI

River Traffic Police (RTP): The RTP, Kolkata came in with a patrolling water craft. It was accompanied by two water craft, which zoomed across the river.

Note: The same boat parade was repeated in the two days

Special thanks:

• Sea Eplorers’ Institute (SEI)
• Swarup Bhattcharyya