Dances with the seascapes

A complementary exposition in Pune will be put up by the Indian Maritime Foundation IMF, whose head office is in Pune, under the auspices of the Portuguese Consulate in Delhi from May 9 to 11, at the Rabindra Kala Kunj, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hall. The Portuguese Ambassador, Dr Manuel Marcelo Monteiro Curto, will grace the inauguration and deliver a lecture at the National Film Archive, Prabhat Road.

8220;At the behest of UNESCO8217;s Inter-Governmental Oceanographic Commission, it was felt that there are few global issues that are not linked to the oceans. The message the UN wants to spread is that the good health of the oceans is imperative for human survival,8217; 8221; says Captain Rajan Vir retd of the IMF. Besides this, the climatic changes across the world are linked to the oceans and hence they need to be sustained as a common heritage.

The UN has urged all nations to focus attention on the seas. 8220;Believe it or not, two-thirds of the world population 3.6 billion resides within 60 km of the coast, depending on the sea for survival,8221; continues Vir. The high and low tides determine the economic status, livelihood and health of these people, who pursue sea-linked occupations like fishing, maritime trade and tourism.

The exhibition seeks to raise awareness of our seas and rekindle maritime consciousness and pride.8217; The spotlight will be on the 100 facsimiles of the nautical charts which the Portuguese have given to the IMF. The charts take one back to an epoch when mythical beliefs ruled human minds, when even the atlas of planet Earth had not been recorded due to lack of scientific know-how.

8220;For instance, the Cape of Good Hope was known as the Cape of Stormy Seas, because people believed that that was where the world ended. Portugal was the first country to present a new world, which had hitherto been lost in myths, and to draught an atlas of the nations, after Prince Henry sanctioned funds for the discovery voyages,8221; explains Kavita Sharma who, along with Roshan Billimoria and Zehra Tayabji, has gone through the history of how the charts were made prior to the discoveries and how they were updated once information was at hand. 8220;The charts are extremely interesting. They have been taken from the Portugalie Monumenta Cartographica, a virtual encyclopaedia in six volumes on cartography,8221; adds Sharma.

Prior to the discoveries, the designs reveal an artistic blend of characters from popular fables and statistics. Later, a more comprehensive picture emerges. In addition to this, 30 colourful pictorial graphs tell the most interesting and amazing historical snippets revolving around the sea routes, including some on India and the Asian continent. It is amusing to note that India is seen as a land of rituals. One poster shows a sacrifice in front of a temple in the centre of a crowded marketplace.

Each exhibit will have copy panels highlighting absorbing details 8211; how the Arabs, Indonesians and other seafaring countries made charts on parchments or reeds; how North Africa was discovered, or how new worlds were discovered after every major foray into unknown waters. The exhibition intends to make viewing exciting by adding maritime decor anchors, table models of ships, old nautical instruments to the hall.

A fitting tribute to the seven seas!