INSV Kaundinya Reached Oman:
INSV Kaundinya reached Muscat’s Port Sultan Qaboos after completing its maiden voyage from Porbandar (Gujarat), highlighting the shared maritime heritage of India and Oman.Eutelsat (French satellite operator) provided high-speed satellite connectivity to the INSV Kaundinya team via its OneWeb satellite constellation.INSV Kaundinya is India’s first ‘stitched ship’ built using the ancient stitched shipbuilding (Tankai) method. It aims to revive the 2000-year-old Tankai method, a forgotten indigenous technique.Tankai Method is An ancient technique using stitched planks (with coir ropes) and no metal fasteners (like iron nails), making ships flexible and rust-proof.Employs indigenous materials like coir, dammar resin, and animal fat for waterproofing.Involves a unique hull-first construction, unlike Western frame-first methods.Design & Inspiration: Modeled after vessels depicted in the 5th-century Ajanta cave paintings. The design draws inspiration from the ancient Sanskrit text Yuktikalpataru (by King Bhoja, 9th century CE) and accounts of foreign travellers.Features symbolic motifs like the Gandabherunda (two-headed eagle of the Kadamba dynasty emblem), Sun motifs, Simha Yali (mythical lion), and a Harappan-style stone anchor.It is Named after Kaundinya, a legendary 1st-century Indian mariner to make overseas voyages with global historical impact. Kaundinya is credited with sailing to the Mekong Delta and co-founding the Kingdom of Funan (modern Cambodia), one of the earliest Indianised states in Southeast Asia.
