by Asen Djinah
‘Muziris is about nine hundred nautical miles away. This leg of the journey should take about nine days,’ Binian informed the crew after they had left the port.
That same night, Hayder and Binian were suddenly awakened by someone banging on the cabin door.
‘Rayis – Boss, it looks that there is a storm brewing. Thick clouds are completely blotting out the moon and the stars, making navigation impossible. I am afraid that we may be blown off course,’ the first mate informed the captain.
Out on deck, Binian immediately noticed that the wind had picked up significantly and saw how the sea had become choppy during the night. With no stars visible to maintain course, Binian decided to shorten the sail.
‘We have to reduce speed,’ he told the first mate in a grim voice.
‘There is definitely a storm coming,’ he added, looking at the rough sea.
He gave orders to the men on watch to reef in the mainsail to reduce their speed to two knots. Leaving the first mate at the wheel, he went back to his cabin and by the light of the oil lamp he studied his map for a long time. Although worried by the turn in the weather, Hayder did not dare distract Binian by asking the many questions on his mind. Finally Binian went back out again and gave his first mate specific instructions to set a new course.
‘The map shows that there is a small island known as Colaba near the coast, about thirty nautical miles from where we are. We will attempt to reach this island and take shelter from the coming storm. At the reduced speed we should make it by morning,’ he explained to the first mate.
‘What about the rocks closer to shore? It will be difficult to spot them in this total darkness,’ the first mate pointed out.
‘Post two men as lookouts at the bow, to keep an eye out for any spume or white froth. This should give us advance warning. I will take the wheel now. Go and sleep as it is time for my watch anyway,’ he told his first mate.
For the rest of the night Hayder could not sleep as he was tossed from side to side. For the first time since the start of the voyage, he started to feel sick. He realised that they had not hit the storm yet and that worse was to come. He did the only thing he could in this situation and started to pray. Yet the dhow heaved and swayed even more as the sea became rougher. By now he could hear the rain pounding the walls of the cabin above the creaking sounds of the ship as it got battered by the waves. He had never been so scared in his life. Once, when he was young he had gone on a hunting trip in the desert with his cousins. They had lost their way while trying to reach a well and spent several days wandering around in circles. Still, he had not felt the sort of panic he was feeling tonight.
‘Oh God, help us to reach the island safely before the storm intensifies,’ he prayed.
As he dozed on and off, Hayder kept checking whether Binian had come back to sleep. After what seemed an eternity, he noticed some light coming through the cracks of the cabin wall and realised that it was getting brighter.
‘It will be dawn soon. At least now Binian will be able to see and avoid the coastal rocks. Thank God we have not hit any during the night,’ he thought, as this had been his biggest fear.
Eventually the cabin door opened and the first thing Hayder noticed in the pale light of dawn was the wide grin on Binian’s face. His gleaming smile instantly reassured Hayder as the young captain walked in, drenched to the bones.
‘We are lucky. Another hour of darkness and we would have missed the island completely. We have now corrected course and should be there within the next couple of hours. God is with us,’ he said cheerfully.
‘All praises be to God, the Lord of the World,’ replied Hayder.
‘I have made a decision tonight, Binian. This is my first and last sea voyage. Forgive me, dear friend, but in future you will have to go on your own. I can cope with the desert and all its perils, but not the sea. I have never been so terrified in my life,’ he confessed.
Colaba was a small island off the coast of India and home to a small community of fishermen and their families. The dhow slowly made its approach as close possible to shore where the waves were not as high as in the open sea. It was bright enough for the lookouts to spot any submerged rocks.
‘We will drop both the main anchor as well as the spare one at the bow to reduce swinging and secure the dhow firmly,’ Binian told the first mate.
‘Close all hatches to the hold and cover them with tarpaulins. We don’t want water to get in and damage the goods,’ he ordered a couple of men.
Once the dhow was secured, Binian decided that it was pointless to leave the entire crew on board as there was only one cabin to shelter from the rain.
‘I need three volunteers to stay on board and the rest will go ashore,’ he bellowed above the sound of the howling wind.
Leaving the first mate and two other men in charge, Binian and the rest of the crew left the vessel to seek shelter ashore. The local fishermen welcomed them with open arms. They too had been taken by surprise by the storm during the night. Hayder and Binian stayed with one family while the rest of the crew was spread out between the other shacks. Despite sleeping on the bare floor and sharing the meagre meals of the fishermen, Hayder felt grateful for the kindness of these poor and destitute people. Although he could not converse with his hosts, who spoke among themselves in a strange language, he felt an affinity and closeness towards them.
‘They remind me of my own tribe. Although they are struggling to survive and make a living for their family, they still welcome us with open arms and share their meagre meals,’ he remarked to Binian.
Hayder dreaded to imagine what would have happened had they not been able to reach the safety of the island in time. His vow not to sail ever again was reinforced by the ferocity of the storm. In fact, it was just an average storm, but Hayder did not know any better having never experienced bad weather at sea. The two partners waited patiently for the weather to clear with nothing much to do, except listen to the howling of the wind and the sound of the rain battering the thin wooden walls of the hut. Everyone feared the flimsy huts would be blown away by the gusts. Binian and Hayder stayed in one corner of the shack to give privacy to their hosts, who had a small baby.
To pass the time, they talked about their lives. Binian told Hayder about his family in Djibouti.
‘I have my parents to look after and have the responsibility to see my four sisters married. They all depend on me ever since my father became paralysed. Luckily I have met you and if our venture is successful, it will make life easier for me,’ he said with humility.
Hayder also spoke about his tribe and life in the desert and how he had moved to Kuffrat with his uncle Asif for a better life.
‘If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh and make fun of me?’ he asked Binian on an impulse.
He had become quite fond of his partner and felt that the feeling was mutual. They were both of the same age and of similar temperament.
‘I solemnly promise not to laugh,’ his friend replied with a twinkle in his eyes and his white teeth glowing in the dark.
Hayder described his encounter with the singing girl and his disappointment when he had found out that she belonged to a rival tribe. Binian did not make any flippant comment, as he realised that Hayder must really value his friendship for him to open up and confide his innermost thoughts. During the three days and nights they spent together in the confinement of the hut, the two partners became even closer and their friendship grew deeper as they shared their hopes and dreams.
In the middle of the third night, Binian woke Hayder up.
‘Listen,’ he simply said.
As Hayder listened, he realised that something had changed.
‘The wind has eased off and we can no longer hear the sound of the rain on the walls of the shack,’ Binian told him, ‘the storm appears to be weakening.’
When they woke up in the morning, the sun had come up on a clear blue sky and a gentle breeze had replaced the howling wind. After thanking their
hosts and leaving them with some food supplies to express their gratitude, they set sail once again, leaving the island behind them.
Unbeknownst to them, ten centuries in the future, the island of Colaba along with six other islands in the archipelago, would be connected through land reclamation and joined to the mainland to form the port of Mumbai.
Chapter 13
After the dhow left Colaba, the sailing was smooth and uneventful, much to Hayder’s relief. One day as the boat sailed down the Malabar Coast, Hayder spotted a pod of dolphins trailing their vessel.
‘Binian, look at these strange fish. They seem to be smiling at me,’ he pointed out to the skipper.
‘They are not smiling at you. It is just the way their mouth and nose are shaped! They are called dolphins,’ Binian burst out laughing.
‘But they are indeed strange creatures. I have heard that they don’t lay eggs like other fish, but give birth to young babies like animals and humans. They supposedly produce milk for their young ones, but I don’t know if this is true,’ he added.
Bow-riding the waves made by the dhow, the dolphins seemed to grin directly at Hayder every time they leapt out of the water. It was the first time that Hayder had experienced such a sight. With their usual graceful and synchronised swimming, the dolphins followed the dhow, leaping out of the water before dipping back again. Every now and then, one of them would rise vertically out of the water as if to take a good look at the boat and then splash back into the sea. They stayed with the dhow for some time until eventually, diverting their course away towards the open sea, they disappeared in the distance. Hayder was disappointed to see them go and started to feel bored again.
‘Come, I will show you how to use a fishing line and you can pass the time fishing,’ Binian told him, seeing the disappointment on his face.
He demonstrated how to hook the bait and cast the line. Hayder was eager to give it a try, but hours went by without him feeling any pull on his line. After the initial excitement at the prospect of catching his first fish, he once again began to feel restless, ready to give up.
‘Fishing is not easy. One has to be very patient.’ the first mate told him, ‘Even the most experienced fishermen wait for hours before hooking a catch.’
Hayder decided to persevere and indeed, soon enough he felt a tug on his fishing line. As he struggled to bring the catch in, one of the sailors came to his help.
‘A fish is very strong in the sea and you can’t just pull him out otherwise the line will break. You have to tire him out,’ he explained to Hayder.
After a long fight, with both men sweating in the hot sun, they finally pulled a four-foot long red snapper on board. The crew congratulated Hayder, excited to have a break from their daily ration of salted meat broth. Hayder was elated by his catch and resolved to spend more time fishing in the future. As the days went by, he began to feel less bored than at the start of the voyage; for the first time he started to feel part of the crew. Nevertheless, he told himself that he would never sail again.
‘We will be reaching Muziris tomorrow if the wind holds,’ Binian announced to everyone a few days later.
Muziris was the most southern port on the Malabar Coast and the sight of the harbour brought a rush of excitement to the crew. After they had docked, Binian decided to replenish their food supplies and water before anything else.
‘This way, if we ever have to leave in a hurry to catch the wind, we don’t have to worry about our supplies,’ he told Hayder.
A couple of merchants approached the newly-arrived boat and their interpreters asked Hayder whether he had any goods for sale.
‘I have a load of ivory but I don’t intend to sell here,’ Hayder told them.
Hayder expected to get a much higher price at the Port of Bengal, which was known as the gateway to China where demand was high. At the mention of ivory the merchants immediately became animated and wanted to buy the whole cargo. When Hayder repeated that he had no intention to sell, they looked disappointed. After the merchants had left, Binian gathered the crew and informed them that they were no longer allowed to leave the ship and go ashore. Without realising it, Hayder had inadvertently let the merchants know they had a valuable cargo on board. Luckily, Binian had been quick to pick up on this.
‘We will have to keep watch at all times. The news will spread very quickly and soon everyone will know about our precious cargo,’ he told the men.
Seeing the disappointment on the sailors’ faces, Hayder cursed himself at his indiscretion. That evening, Binian ordered the crew to sail out and drop anchor away from the docks in case any unscrupulous merchant sent raiders to steal their valuable ivory under the cover of darkness.
In the morning, the dhow once again moved back to the docks and Binian divided the men into two groups of six.
‘I will stay on board with this group. The other group will have the morning free, but I want you back by midday to relieve us. The first mate will accompany Hayder to carry out his business,’ he informed the crew of the new arrangement.
Hayder and the first mate walked to the traders’ area of the port, while the rest of the men went on to the town centre.
‘Muziris is even busier than Barygaza,’ Hayder thought.
He noticed that the people were much darker and spoke a strange guttural language he had not heard before. Fortunately for the foreign traders, just like in Barygaza, the main merchants had interpreters working for them. As they moved from shop to shop, the heavy aroma of spices hanging in the air tickled their senses.
‘No wonder Muziris is called the port of spices,’ the first mate remarked to Hayder.
Hayder found the price of the different spices even lower than in Barygaza. With the current price in Gerrha, Hayder quickly calculated that he would be making a very tidy profit. He bargained with one trader and agreed on an even lower price as there was much competition between the merchants. After carefully checking the quality of the different grades, he placed an order for the top grade for each spice. He was only interested in the most common spices and therefore purchased only black pepper, cinnamon, dried turmeric and cardamom.
‘I want the spices in solid pieces and not in powder form,’ he told the interpreter.
The solid pieces would absorb less moisture than the powdered form and therefore less likely to suffer water damage. Hayder did not mind having to get it ground into powder once he would be back in Kuffrat.
‘I will collect the goods on my return journey in about four weeks. I will personally oversee the packing in waterproof bags. And as is customary, I will make full payment when I collect the goods,’ he informed the merchant.
He wanted to make certain of getting the top grade he had ordered, as well as ensuring that the goods would be suitably packed to avoid any water damage. By late afternoon, with their dealings complete, Hayder and the first mate made their way back to the dhow. They waited until Binian and his group returned from their break before moving the vessel once again away from the docks as an overnight precaution.
‘I intend to set sail in the morning. I don’t want to stay any longer than necessary, as the news of our precious cargo must have spread across the whole harbour by now,’ Binian said.
After they had left Muziris and hit the open sea, Binian turned to Hayder and smiled.
‘Well done! It has been exactly thirty-one days since we first left Djibouti,’ he informed his friend.
Hayder quickly calculated that if everything went smoothly, by the time they returned to Gerrha the entire trip would have lasted three months.
‘Praise be to God, we have not had any setback or misfortune so far,’ he replied, feeling pleased that their plan was on schedule.
Although he had the opportunity to sell some of the goods in Muziris, he had held back with the belief of getting a higher price at the port of Bengal. And so far, he had only secured the acquisition of spices and nothing else.
‘Binian, I have decided to sell all the dates at our next sto
p. We should get a good price there,’ Hayder informed Binian.
The next port, Kaveripoompattinam, was six hundred and fifty nautical miles from Muziris round the cape. Since the storm at Colaba, the weather had been good with only a few days of rain.
‘If the current weather holds we should be there in about six days,’ Binian informed Hayder.
As they sailed around the furthest point south on the Malabar Coast, the large mass of the island of Serendib could be seen on the horizon. The dhow navigated the water between the Indian coast and Serendib cautiously, as there was a great deal of traffic. Most of it was small fishing vessels, with the exception of a few larger merchant ships. The sailors waved at each other as their boats crossed one another.
‘Soon we will be on a northward course and against the wind. We will be sailing at a lower speed,’ Binian informed Hayder.
When Serendib finally disappeared over the horizon behind them, Hayder knew that they would soon reach Kaveripoompattinam. He was excited as he had been looking forward to making some large purchases of wootz steel.
‘In the past, much of the metals in use have been copper and bronze, which were used to make a wide range of goods. Lately, there has been a great demand for steel, which is much harder and is particularly useful for weapons and other goods where a harder metal is desirable,’ Hayder enlightened Binian.
‘Traders from Damascus, where there is a large weapons industry, have been coming to Gerrha to buy the cakes of steely iron and there is always a shortage of supply,’ he further added.
Hayder wanted to secure a large consignment to meet the huge demand for this product. The instant they docked in Kaveripoompattinam, a group of traders surrounded their boat. Although Hayder could not understand their language, it was clear that they were looking for goods to buy. As soon as he showed them a sample of his dried dates they started jabbering in that same guttural language Hayder had first experienced in Muziris. Both Binian and Hayder laughed and made signs that they did not understand. One of the men quickly went away and returned with an interpreter. Hayder understood that they were all eager to buy his entire shipment of dates.