Charting India’s maritime tradition

Two fortified ammunition bunkers built prior to World War II by the British in Fort Kochi have been turned into a maritime museum of the Indian Navy.

One of the bunkers charts the maritime history of Kerala, while the other details the history and evolution of Indian Navy. The museum located within INS Dronarcharya (the Navy’s gunnery and missile school) took shape in 2001, after Rear Admiral (retd) Kirpal Singh donated Rs.5 lakh. Among the outdoor exhibits is a huge missile like the one that was used to bombard Karachi harbour in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, depth charges, mines, huge guns used by old Delhi-class warships, models of warships made in India and anti-aircraft guns used by the British to guard Fort Kochi. The museum is among those mentioned in Kerala Tourism’s official website and is a storehouse of information on India’s maritime history since the Indus Valley Civilization and other prominent world civilizations. Among the exhibits is the detailed map of the route that adventurers from the west took to sail to the east, following the Ottoman Turks blocking the land route. Visitors would never miss the model of the menacing-looking Kunjali Marakkar, Kerala’s proud sea warrior, located alongside that of Vasco Da Gama. Cdr A.N. Satish of INS Dronacharya spoke of how Marakkar harassed the Portuguese Navy using many small boats under the camouflage provided by big ones.
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