Maritime Memories of a Silent Sentinel: Panikota at Diu

MHS organised its second lecture of three-part Monsoon Musings Lecture Series themed Coastal Defence Architecture on Western Coast of India on 12 August 2022. Renowned Conservation Architect Ms. Kirtida Unwalla delivered talk on the subject. Protecting National interests alongwith Maritime frontiers demands a robust network of defence systems. The need for coastal defence architecture can be traced back to medieval times, when the conceptual idea of a fortified location through conventional emplacements evolved. This further progressed into a geographically defendable concept of fortification. Ms. Unwalla highlighted the context of the cultural history of Diu Island that manifests in its physical and non-physical maritime settings. The talk looked at facets like historic architecture, construction systems and technical attributes of the asset which leads to qualification of Diu as a significant "Maritime Cultural Landscape" in conformity with other such prevailing landscapes in the country.