Traditional Wooden Shipbuilding in Mandvi
Where Timber Meets the Tide:
Building Ships In The Ancient Way
Before steel dominated the world's shipyards, great wooden vessels carried merchants, pilgrims, and explorers across the Indian Ocean. In Mandvi, that tradition has never entirely disappeared. Along Gujarat's coast, skilled artisans continue to shape massive wooden ships by hand using techniques passed through generations, preserving a remarkable craft that has changed little over centuries. These photographs explore a place where history remains alive—not in museums or monuments, but in the rhythm of saws, chisels, hammers, and the hands of the builders themselves.
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