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KOCHI (Cochin)
& ERNAKULAM
 With its wealth of historical associations and its
beautiful setting on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsulas, the
interesting city of Kochi perfectly reflects the eclecticism of Kerala.
Here, you can see the oldest church in India, winding streets crammed with
500-year-old Portuguese houses, cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, a
Jewish community whose roots go back to the Diaspora, a 16th
century synagogue, and a palace built by the Portuguese and given to the
Raja of Cochin. The palace, which was later renovated by the Dutch,
contains some of India’s most beautiful murals. Another must-see is a
performance of the world-famous Kathakali dance-drama.
The older parts of Fort Cochin and Mattancherry are an unlikely
blend of medieval Portugal, Holland and an English country village grafted
onto the tropical Malabar coast- a radical contrast to the bright lights,
bustle and big hotels of mainland Ernakulam. The dense population of
brightly painted billboards proclaiming the launch of yet another luxury
apartments building (some with swimming pools!) confirms what a prosperous
town this is.
Kochi is one of India’s largest ports and a major naval base. The
misty silhouettes of huge merchant ships can be seen anchored off the
point of Fort Cochin, waiting for a berth in the docks of Ernakulam or
Willingdon Island. This artificial island, created with deepened, also
provides a site for the airport. All day, ferries scuttle back and forth
between the various parts of Kochi. Dolphins can be seen in the harbour.
FORT
COCHIN
 St Francis
Church
India’s oldest European-built church was constructed in 1503
by Portuguese
Franciscan friars who accompanied the expedition led by
Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The original structure was wood, but the church was
rebuilt in stone around the mid-16th century-the earliest
Portuguese inscription found in the church is dated 1562. The Protestant
Dutch captured Kochi in 1663 and restored the church in 1779. After the
occupation of Kochi by the British in 1795, it became an Anglican church
and its presently used by the church of South India.
Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India by sailing around
Africa, died in Cochin in 1524 and was buried here for 14 years before his
remains were transferred to Lisbon in Portugal. His tombstone can be seen
inside the church.
Santa Cruz
Basilica:
This large, impressive church dates from 1902, and
has a fantastical pastel-coloured interior.
Chinese
Fishing Nets:
Strung out along the tip of Fort Cochin, opposite
Vypeen Island, these cantilevered fishing nets were introduced by traders
from the court of Kublai Khan. You can also see them along the backwaters
between Kochi and Kottayam, and between Alappuzha and Kollam (Quilon).
They’re mainly used at high tide, when the system of counterbalancing
stones is quiet a sight.
MATTANCHERRY
Mattancherry Palace
Built by the Portuguese in 1557, this palace was presented to
the Raja of Cochin, Veera Kerala Varma (1537-61), as a gesture of goodwill
(and probably as a means of securing trading privileges). The palace’,
resulted from substantial two-storey, quadrangular building surrounds a
courtyard containing a Hindu temple. The central hall on the 1st
floor was the Coronation Hall of the rajas. Their dresses, turbans and
palanquins are now on display.
The most important feature, however, in the astonishing murals, depicting scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranic legends connected with Siva,
Vishnu, Krishna, Kumara and Durga. These beautiful and extensive murals
rarely seem to be mentioned, although they are one of the wonders of
India. The Siva temple in Ettumanur (a few km north of Kottayam) has
similar murals. The staff like to keep the odd gallery closed- such as the
ladies’ bedchamber downstairs- and quietly charge extra to see it. The
bedchamber is worth seeing because it features a cheerful Krishna using
his six hands and two feet to engage in foreplay with eight happy
milkmaids.
The palace is open Saturday to Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm; entry
free, but photography is not permitted and there are no postcards or
reproductions of the murals on sale.
Jewish
Synagogue
Constructed in 1568, this is the oldest synagogue in the
Commonwealth. The original building was destroyed by shelling during a
Portuguese raid in 1662 and was rebuilt two years later when the Dutch
took over Kochi. It’s an interesting little place, with hand-painted,
willow-pattern floor tiles brought from Canton in China in the mid-18th
century by one Ezekial Rahabi. He was also responsible for the erection of
the clock tower which tops the building.
A synagogue built at Kochangadi in 1344 has since disappeared,
although a stone slab from this building, inscribed in Hebrew, can be
found on the inner surface of the wall which surrounds the Mattancherry
synagogue.
The synagogue is open Sunday to Friday, from 10am to noon and from
3 to 5pm.
This unexpected and isolated Jewish community dates back to the
time of St Thomas the Apostle’s voyage to India in AD 52. The first
Jewish settlement was at Kodungallur (Cranganore), north of Kochi. Like
the Syrian Orthodox Christians, the Jews became involved in the trade and
commerce of the Malabar Coast. Preserved in the synagogue are a number of
copper plates inscribed, in an ancient script, with the grant of the
village of Anjuvannam (near Kodungallur) and its revenue to a Jewish
merchant, Joseph Rabban, by king Bhaskara Ravi Varman I (962-1020). You
may view these plates with the permission of the synagogue guardian.
The concessions given by Ravi Varman I included permission to use a
palanquin and parasol- in those days the prerogative of rulers-and so, in
effect, sanctioned the creation of a tiny Jewish kingdom. On Rabban’s
death, his son fought each other for control of the ‘kingdom ‘ and
this rivalry led to its break-up and the move to Mattancherry.
The community has been the subject of much research. An interesting
study by an American professor of ethnomusicology found that the music of
the Cochin Jews contained strong Babylonian influences, and that their
version of the Ten Commandments was almost identical to a Kurdish version
housed in the Berlin Museum Archives. Of course, there has also been much
local influence, and many of the hymns are similar to ragas.
The area around the synagogue is known as Jew town and is one of
the centers of the Kochi spice trade. Scores of small firms huddle
together in old, dilapidated building and the air is filled with the
pungent aromas of ginger, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and cloves. Many
Jewish names are visible on business premises and houses, but the
community has diminished rapidly since Indian independence and now numbers
about 20. There has been no rabbi within living memory, so all the elders
are qualified to perform religious ceremonies and marriages. They are many
interesting curio shops on the street leading up to the synagogue.
PLACES
TO STAY
TAJ RESIDENCY, (Government Approved) 5 Star
CASINO HOTEL, (Government Approved) 5 Star
QUALITY INN PRESIDENCY, (Government Approved) 4 Star
THE AVENUE REGENT, (Government Approved) 4 Star
THE RENAISSANCE COCHIN, (Government Approved) 4 Star
BOLGATTY PALACE HOTLE, (Government Approved) Heritage
THE MALABAR HOUSE RESIDENCY, (Government Approved)
Heritage
GRAND HOTEL, (Government Approved) 3 Star
HILLTOP RESORT, (Government Approved) 3 Star
HOTEL ABAD, (Government Approved) 3 Star
HOTEL ABAD PLAZA, (Government Approved) 3 Star
HOTEL COCHIN TOWER, (Government Approved) 3 Star
SEALORD HOTEL, (Government Approved) 3 Star
HOTEL YUVARANI RESIDENCY, (Government Approved) 3
Star
MERMAID DAYS INN, (Government Approved) 3 Star
THE BRUNTON BOATYARD, (Government Approved) 3 Star
THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, COCHIN, (Government
Approved) 3 Star
THE METROPOLITAN, (Government Approved) 3 Star
THE TRIDENT, (Government Approved) 3 Star
ERNAKULAM
Kathakali
Dancing
The origins of India’s most spectacular dance-drama
go back 500 years to a time when open – air performances were held in
temple courtyards or in villages. There are over 100 different
arrangements, all of them based on stories from the Ramayana
and Mahabharata. They are
designed to continue well into the early hours of the morning. Since most
visitors don’t have the inclination to stay up all night, the centers
which put on the dance in Ernakulam offer shortened versions lasting about
11/2 hours.
Kathakali isn’t simply another form of dancing –it incorporates
elements of yoga and ayurvedic (traditional Indian) medicine. All the
props are fashioned from natural materials- powdered and the sap of
certain trees for the bright facial make-up; the beaten bark of certain
trees, dyed with fruits and spices for wigs; coconut oil for mixing up the
colours; burnt coconut oil for the black paint around the eyes; and
eggplant flowers tucked under the eyelids to turn the whites of the eyes
deep red. The make-up process before the dance is quiet a show in its own
right. The dancers are usually accompanied by drummers and a harmonium
player. A government-run school, near Palakkad in northern Kerala, teaches
Kathakali dancing.
The evening starts with an explanation of the symbolism of the
facial expressions, the symbolism of the facial expressions, hand
movements and ritualistic gestures. This is followed by an actual
dance-drama lasting about one hour. At all three Kathakali centres,
make-up starts at 6 pm, and the performance at about 7 pm.
Parishath
Thampuram Museum
This museum contains 19th –century oil
paintings, old coins, sculptures and Mughal paintings, but apart from some
interesting temple housed in an enormous, traditional-style Keralan
building (previously Durbar Hall) on Durbar Hall Rd.
Vypeen
& Gundu Islands
Ferries shuttle across the narrow strait from Fort
Cochin to Vypeen Island. The island boasts a lighthouse at Ochanthuruth
(open from 3 to 5 pm daily), good beaches, and the early 16th
–century Palliport Fort (open Thursdays). Gundu, the smallest island in
the harbour, is close to Vypeen. It has a coir factory where attractive
doormats are made out of coconut fibre. Fishers will take you to Gundu
from Vypeen.
AROUND KOCHI
The Hill Palace Museum is at Tripunithura, 12
km south –east of Ernakulam, en route to Chottanikkara. The hilltop
museum houses the collections of the Cochin and Travancore royal families.
It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 12:30 pm and from 2 to 4:30pm.
The Museum of Kerala History is at Edapally, 10km north-east
of Ernakulam en route to Aluva (Alwaye). It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from
10 am to noon and from 2 to 4 pm.
PLACES
TO STAY
THE SURYA, (Government Approved) 3 Star
FERRY
This is the main form of transport between the
various parts of Kochi. Nearly all the ferry stops are named, which helps
to identify them on the timetable at Main Jetty in Ernakulam. The stop on
the east side of Willingdon Island is called Embarkation; the one on the
west side, opposite Mattancherry, is Terminus. The main Fort Cochin is
known as Customs; the other one (for Vypeen Island) is unnamed.
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