THIRUVALLA: Sasidharan, who worked in shipyards for four decades, has his house full of ships. Aircraft carriers, deep sea fishing vessels, dredgers, oil tankers, floating cranes and LNG vessels are all there in the car garage of 'Kusuma Bhavan' in Thiruvalla. All are smaller versions of the original ships. People come not only to see but also to buy.

71-year-old Sasidharan requires PVC sheet, pipe, multiwood, glue, paint, and scrap to build a ship in a week. Initially he was alone. Now his wife Kusumam, daughter Sinju and grandchildren Amritha and Aradhya are all involved in shipbuilding.

Four decades on the ship

His relationship with the ship began when he became a firefighter at the age of 22 on the Mumbai-based warship-manufacturer Mazagon Dock. After 8 years, he worked at Bahrain Shipyard and Saudi airbase. After that, for 24 years, he was at Dubai Drydock World. He retired as a senior inspector. Sasidharan, who has studied over 30 courses related to safety, started a Fire and Safety Institute in his native place. It was then that he first made a ship's model. During the pandemic period, it became a hobby.