They may appear as mere dots on any pre-modern world map, but the many shipping havens on India’s west coast had their economies and the people open to the world. Centres of commerce and civilisation, where enterprise and manufacture enriched populations and altered the architectural landscape. They present a rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Thane and Revdanda (Chaul) just over 100 kms apart, reveal the hidden facets of their maritime past and what looped them politically and economically. The talk is by author and historian Dr. Fleur D'Souza, erstwhile Vice Principal and HOD of History, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.