Preserve boat heritage

Speakers at a discussion on the second day of a weeklong “Boat Technology in Chittagong and in Bengal” festival in Chittagong city yesterday. The festival is a joint initiative of The Daily Star and Alliance Française de Chittagong.Photo: STAR

The rich heritage of the country's boats is disappearing due to lack of efficient technology to preserve it, Yves Marre, a French expert on the boat technology of Bengal, said yesterday.
He was addressing a conference on “Boats of Bengal yesterday and today” on the second day of the week-long festival Tora Kon Kon Zabi Aar Sampanat (Who want to board my boat?) at Alliance Française de Chittagong.
The Daily Star and Alliance Française de Chittagong jointly organised the festival to highlight the boat technology and culture in Chittagong and Bengal.
About the making of Sampan, he said people of Bangladesh used different types and shapes of traditional boats over the years and their skills and process of work could also help introduce new technologies to develop it (boat) as a sustainable water transport.
In a digital presentation, Marre showed how a marginalised community like the Suthradhar (carpenters) builds boats by themselves using ancient knowledge learnt from their community.
He described, in another presentation, the salvation process of an ancient boat of the Rakhine regime found in Kuakata and spoke why they faced difficulties in rescuing the boat due to the sandy nature and wave of the sea.
Samuel Berthet, director of Alliance Française de Chittagong, delivered the welcome speech.
French scholar Jean Francois Salles and Prof Momin Chowdhury spoke on the themes “Bay of Bengal and the ancient maritime routes” and “History of Bengal, a maritime perspective” respectively.
Two films -- “Bullion for goods, the Dutch come to trade” and “The river” -- were also screened.
The event is a sequel to The Daily Star-Odommo Chattagram Festival organised last year to promote the rich history, culture, heritage and economic prospects of Chittagong.