White Desert Story - The Boatyard

Mandvi is a city and a Municipality in Kachchh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Kachchh. The old city had a surrounding fort, and remains of the fort wall can still be seen to this day. The city has a more than four hundred year old ship building industry that still manufactures small ships.

• As per chronicles of Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas - many clans of their community, especially, Gohil, Bhatti, Jethwa, Solanki, Rathod clans & also Visavaria Brahmins shifted to Mandvi in between 15th to 16th Century AD, from Dhaneti.
• The establishment of the town dates back to the late 16th century (1581 AD) and is attributed to the first Jadeja ruler of Kachchh, Rao Khengarji I.
• In 18th century, the Mandvi merchants collectively owned a fleet of 400 vessels trading with East Africa, Malabar coast and the Persian Gulf. In the early 19th century, it was a major port of entry for the inland trade with Malwa, Marwar and Sindh.
• Mandvi was at the junction of two famous trade routes the maritime spice trade-route and the desert camel caravan route, acting as an important trade center.
• Mandvi was originally a fortified town having a fort wall of about 8 m high and 1.2 m wide stone masonry. The fort had several gateways and 25 bastions; but at present, most of the wall has disappeared. The bastion on the southwest is largest and acts as a lighthouse.
• In the heyday of maritime trade, before the arrival of steamboats, Mandvi was a rich and prosperous town, earning four times more revenue from export than import. It was a profit-making center of the Kutch state, surpassing the capital city of Bhuj in terms of wealth. Dr.Manubhai Pandhi, a local social leader, recorded shipbuilding art and collected old documents which is treasured now in Prince of Wales Museum (www.bombaymuseum.org ) in Mumbai.
• As most of the top ports of India were controlled by Europeans, especially the Portuguese, even the Mughals held the Maharaos of Kachchh in high esteem, as they needed the port of Mandvi for exports, imports and also for pilgrimages to Mecca.
• In decade of 1960, the famous Dabeli is said to be have been invented here by Keshavji Gabha Chudasama (Malam