Chennai: “Every lighthouse is like an individual. They have their own characteristics and purpose,” says 80-year-old historian D H Rao who has done a detailed study of the lighthouses along India’s coasts and visited each one in person.
Rao has also travelled the entire stretch of Buckhingam Canal thrice and documented the heritage structures built across it.
In the first of a two-part series of interviews to News Today, Rao shares his story of documenting the beacons of the sea and his unique bond with lighthouse keepers who make a sailor’s journey safe.
Excerpts from the interview.
Q. What made you pursue research on such unique and diverse topics?
A. After my retirement in 2002, I was faced with a big question as to how I would spend my time henceforth. I was a keen collector of stamps, especially the ones related to lighthouses. So the first thing that kindled my interest was the Madras lighthouse. It was the first lighthouse built during the British period in India in 1796 due to repeated request from ship captains. It was built over the present day fort museum and was a wooden structure. To know more it, I went to Tamilnadu Archives at Egmore where all the records are kept. That is where my journey actually began.
Q. Tell us about your lighthouse adventures
A. Each lighthouse has its own character and purpose. I travelled physically to every lighthouse in India to find out about them. I have even visited a few age-old ones that are hardly known to anyone and not listed. They were extremely beautiful. Right from human nature to the architecture of the buildings, every moment was unforgettable. The lighthouse keepers were very supportive and helpful. It was a great adventure for me.
Q. What special feature does each one possess?
A. Just like how every human being is different, every lighthouse is unique. The only thing that is they all hold and disperse light. Each lighthouse has a different type of light for seafarers to differentiate during their voyage. From the architectural point of view, each one was different and were built in geometrical shapes like hexagon, octagon, square, circle and so on.
Q. What was the most unexpected event during the course of your research about lighthouses?
A. The warmth and guidance of lighthouse keepers was the most unexpected and the most valuable lesson I learnt in this journey. I had visited lighthouses in the country that are not mentioned even in the record books. So expecting food and shelter in every place is not possible. However, in each and every place I visited, the lighthouse keepers tended to my needs. It gave me an insight into human nature. It also taught me how important human relation is.
Article by: Sharmada V and Suha Nisviya S A