The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) opened a gallery of trade history of Bunder in Mangaluru on Monday. (The region surrounding Old Mangalore Port is known as Bunder.)
Giving an overview of the gallery, Niren Jain, architect of the gallery project, said there is historical evidence to show that Bunder was a cosmopolitan port for many centuries.
The Jewesh trader of the 12th Century Abraham Bin Yiju called Mangaluru his home for 17 years, trading with various communities in the port.
A peek into the gallery gives an idea of the trade history of the region over many centuries. Information provided in the gallery highlighted the fact that the natives of the region comforted, welcomed and provided ample space for each of the communities to grow.
The Konkanis, who migrated from Goa 400 years ago, settled in the region and prospered on the banks of Nethravathi and Gurupur rivers. The Kutchi Memons and Dawoodi Bohras of Gujarat settled in the region trading in arecanut and salt.
While the kings, sultans and emperors clashed over the control of the port and thrived on its trade, the communities, overcoming their socio-cultural differences, stood together and celebrated each other’s achievements.
These communities together etched Mangalore as a prominent maritime junction where the merchants from across the world competed for pepper and coffee brought down the ghats along the inland rivers, said the information provided in the gallery.
Jain said that the excavation for the New Mangalore Port half a century ago revealed a hoard of 270 coins of Vijayanagar kingdom, including gold ‘Varaha’ and copper coins.
He said inscriptions also report two mints – one at Arthapura (present day Attavara in Mangaluru) and another at Barkur in Udupi district during the period of Alupas. By the mid-8th Century CE, coins bearing the symbols of Alupa rulers have been found in Mangalore, denoting an in-house currency for trade.