Supply Chain Cyber Security : Challenges and Solutions
Disaster at Sea: SS Vaitarna - India’s Forgotten ‘Titanic’
SS Vaitarna popularly known as Vijli (Literally electricity) or Haji Kasam ni Vijli, was a steamship owned
by A J Shepherd & Co, Bombay that disappeared on 8
November 1888 (24 years earlier to RMS Titanic sinking) off the coast of Saurashtra region
of Gujarat in cyclonic storm during a crossing from Mandvi to Bombay.
More than 740 people on board went missing in the disaster. The incident
resulted in the creation of nautical lores and songs.
SS Vaitarna
was the first steamship built by Grangemouth Dockyard Co. Ltd., Grangemouth and
launched in 1885. She was schooner made of steel and took
three years to complete. This screw steamer had three floors and twenty five
cabins. She had a single funnel, two masts and a fore-and-aft
rigged sail furled against the forward mast. The engines were built
by Dunsmuir & Jackson, Glasgow. She was owned by A J Shepherd & Co,
Bombay and was registered in Glasgow. She was 170.1 feet long, 26.5
feet broad and 9.9 feet deep. It was brought to Karachi by
traveling around Africa for a maiden trip to Bombay.
She traded between Mandvi, Cutch State and Bombay ferrying passengers and goods. She took 30 hours to travel from Mandvi to Bombay at a fare of Rs8/-. The ships of the region were not designed to mitigate storms as they generally travel along the coast from port to port during calm seasons and were laid up in harbor during stormy monsoon sea.
The Incident
SS Vaitarna was anchored on Mandvi port on 8
November 1888, Thursday), at noon and she left for Dwarka after
taking 520 passengers on board. She reached Dwarka and had some more passengers
on board, reaching 703 in number. She left for Porbandar. Though according
to lores, Porbandar port administrator Lelie told the Captain not to venture
into the sea, but later research did not supported the claim. Due to bad
weather she did not stop at Porbandar and directly headed for Bombay. At
evening, she was seen off the coast of Mangrol, and later at night some
people claimed that she was seen wrecking near Madhavpur (Ghed) amid
severe storm. The next day she was declared missing.
No bodies or debris
of the ship was found. She was assumed to be wrecked in a cyclonic storm in
the Arabian Sea. Though the folklores states casualty of 1300 people, there
were 746 people (703 passengers and 43 crew members) on board who went missing
in the disaster. The other numbers reported are 798. 741 (38 crew
member and 703 passengers) and 744. There were thirteen wedding
parties and several students who headed for Bombay to appear in the matriculation examination
of Bombay University in December.
Kasam Ibrahim or Haji Kasam was the captain of
the ship. He was an aristocrat from Kutch holding tracts of land between
in Borivali and Dahisar in Bombay. He had his office at
Abdul Rehman Street and he lived at Malabar Hill. It is also believed that
he was blessed by Fakir that he will own 99 ships and Vijli was
his last. Haji Kasam Chawl in Bombay Central is named after him.
Following
the disappearance of the ship, the Bombay Presidency formed a
committee, Marine Court of Inquiry, to probe the matter. It pointed out
that Vaitarna was ill-equipped with safety measures. It did not have enough
lifeboats and life jackets aboard. She was overwhelmed by the heavy storm. The aneroids used
on board the other steamers of the line of the ships to which Vaitarna belonged
were checked and found erroneous. Bombay Presidency and Shipping companies
sent steamers to find the shipwreck but were unsuccessful.
Lores The incident resulted in formation of many nautical Lores, Myths, Legends and Songs over the years and became popular in folklore of Gujarat.
The ship was popularly referred to as Vijli in folklore and is
chiefly associated with its captain Kasam Ibrahim.
(a) Poet from Jamnagar, Durlabhrai V. Shyamji Dhruv published a collection of songs titled Vijli Vilap.
(b) Bhikharam Savji Joshi also published another collection in the same name.
(c) Jhaver chand Meghani collected and published one of such songs in his folk song collection, Radhiyali Raat, titled "Haji Kasam, Tari Vijli Re Madhdariye Veran Thai".
(d) Gujarati author Gunvantrai Acharya wrote
a fiction titled, Haji Kasam Tari Vijli (1954) based on the incident.
(e) Y. M. Chitalwala, a researcher based in Dhoraji researched the incident and documented it in Vijli Haji Kasamni published by Darshak Itihas Nidhi in 2010.
(f) A film based on the incident, Vijli:
Mystery of the Phantom Ship, directed by Dhwanil Mehta and starring Rana
Daggubati, was announced in 2017 with story written by Yogesh Joshi.
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