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THE OLD WORLD CHARM OF
FORT
COCHIN
By
Manmohan Melville
In recent years,
Cochin
has changed its name to
Kochi
. Fortunately, nothing else has changed in that little sea-side
town of
Kerala
. Centuries ago,
Cochin
was established as a tiny port on the busy
Malabar Coast
. Since then, it has changed hands many times; but its basic
character -- a laid-back, serenity -- remains in the air even
today.
Cochin
-- like the city of
Mumbai
further north on the same coast -- is basically a cluster of
islands linked to the mainland of
India
. Unlike Mumbai, which has been invaded by many bridges
bringing to it all the modern woes of this century's life;
Cochin remains linked delicately to its sister city Ernakulam
on the mainland by several long bridges and ferry-boat
services; but, refuses to accept any modern-day woes.
Ernakulam and
Cochin
together form the biggest city complex in the state of Kerala.
The twin-city is actually a complex formed by mainland
Ernakulam, the islands of Bolgatty, Vypeen, Willingdon and
Gundu and again
Fort
Cochin
and Mattancherry on a part of the southern peninsula jutting
northwards.
Of these islands, the
Willingdon
Island
is entirely man-made -- created by the pile-up of rocks and
soil that was dredged up when the harbour opposite was deepened
by the British in the 1920s.
Willingdon
Island
is also the site of
Cochin
's airport and railway terminus.
It was from the traffic-congested streets of high-rise
Ernakulam that we began our drive into
Kochi
.
Portuguese Fort
We heaved a sigh of relief as we escaped from the
claustrophobic, billboard-and-skyscraper environs of Ernakulam
into the free space of
Willingdon
Island
. Still greater pleasure was in store for us as we crossed
another bridge and drove into the old township of
Fort
Cochin
. Here, time seemed to have come to a standstill and we entered
a scene that may well have been straight out of the turn of the
last century!.
In the Ernakulam-Cochin city complex, almost all the
interesting tourist sights are centered around
Fort
Cochin
, while the better hotels are located in Ernakulam. We decided,
however, to try our luck in
Fort
Cochin
. And so we found ourselves, frugal, but clean, lodgings in
Fort
Cochin
-- just a stone's throw from its famous quay and Chinese
fishing nets. There, we allowed the old-world charms of
Fort
Cochin
to gradually take us captive.
Cochin
is made up mainly of tree-lined straight lanes, running between
old, pastel-painted, red-tiled Dutch and Portuguese villas and
bungalows. The town is dotted with old churches, synagogues,
palaces, temples and mosques.
Cochin
came into being because of Muziris' misery! Muziris (now called
Kodungallur) was an important port 50 kilometers north of
present-day
Cochin
-- and once upon a time the capital of the mercantile Rajahs of
Cochin. In 1341, the
port
of
Muziris
was inundated by floods from the
Periyar
River
-- but the area around
Cochin
remained above water. The royal family decided then to shift
their capital to
Cochin
.
Along with the Rajahs, their entire maritime operations
and trade were shifted to the new port in 1405. At that time
trade in spices -- especially pepper -- was the main attraction
for the European traders to the
Malabar Coast
. In fact,
Cochin
had the monopoly on pepper and pepper was so precious, that it
was called "black gold". The port attracted
Christian, Jewish and Arab traders. The locals referred to
their port as kocchazhi
(little harbor) and the foreign sailors shortened it to
Kochi
or
Cochin
. At that time, the pepper trade was so lucrative that the
Rajah of Cochin was considered among the most powerful in the
subcontinent.
From the 1500s onwards
Cochin
was dominated, in turn, by the Portuguese, Dutch and the
British. Each of these European powers tried to leave its own
mark on the port town -- either by building a new church or
palace, or by renovating an old one. While wandering through
the maze of charming narrow lanes of
Fort
Cochin
, I suddenly came upon the simple, white
Church
of
St. Francis
. This church is considered to be the first church built by
Europeans on Indian soil. The story of this church, more or
less, parallels the story of
Fort
Cochin
.
In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached
Calicut
north of
Cochin
. Two years later another Portuguese, Admiral Cabral Jaun de
Nova Costelho reached the cluster of islands near
Kochi
. He paid his respects to the Rajah of Cochin and secured
permission to trade with the coast. Three years later, when the
Zamorin of Calicut sailed threateningly southwards in a bid to
subdue the Rajah of Cochin; it is said that a Portuguese
admiral, Alphonso de Albuquerque sent a squadron of ships to
protect the Rajah.
As a gesture of his gratitude, the Rajah allowed the Portuguese
to build Fort St. Emanuel -- a wooden stockade -- near his own
palace. The wooden
Church
of
Santo Antonio
was built, inside the fort, to accommodate five Franciscan
friars. In 1516, the wooden church was rebuilt in stone as the
Church
of
St. Anthony
.
In 1524, Vasco da Gama returned to
Cochin
as
Portugal
's Governor general of the Indes. He had a short tenure,
however, as he died that very same year. He was buried in the
courtyard of the
Church
of
St. Anthony
. (Later his body was taken back to
Lisbon
by his son). When the Dutch East India Company defeated the
Portuguese in 1663, they took over the Fort. They then
proceeded to destroy everything built by their arch-enemies in
the Fort -- except the Church. They converted (or reformed) the
Church into a Dutch Reformed Church.
More than a century later, in 1795, the British took over the
Fort from the Dutch and they re-re-formed the Dutch Church as
the Church of St. Francis. And to this day, it bears this same
name. Today, all the European conquerors have departed from
Indian soil. But, they have left many of their fellowmen asleep
in the soil behind the Church. And that is where I found the
original grave of Vasco da Gama (now bereft of his body). The
original tomb-stone and metal railings mark the spot where he
had been laid to rest.
Dutch Palace
The early days of the Portuguese in India gave Cochin another
of its great landmarks -- the Rajah's Palace at Mattancherry --
a few kilometers east of Fort Cochin. The palace was built by
the Portuguese as a gift to the Rajah Veera Keralavarma of
Cochin. The Dutch who later took over trade in these areas,
carried out extensive repairs to the palace. And it is an irony
of history, that although the Portuguese built the structure it
is remembered today as the Dutch Palace-- in honor of their
arch-rivals -- who merely repaired it!
The external appearance of the palace is deceptively simple --
in fact it is hardly remarkable! But, the interiors of the
palace were extraordinarily luxurious -- and in this modern age
-- has been put to good use as a museum that showcases the
grandeur of the royal past. The collection on the top floors of
the museum includes imperial robes and thrones, Dutch maps,
palanquins and weapons and -- on the walls -- a fine depiction
of the Ramayana in
beautifully painted murals.
I had read that the piece
de resistance of the museum was the royal bed chamber on
the lower floor. However, entrance to that chamber is blocked
by a surly guide -- who breaks out into a dazzling smile when I
pass him a crisp note. Happily, we descend into the shadowy
chamber and my eyes feast on the murals. The gods are at play
and leisure in these highly erotic murals. Here, I catch a
glimpse of Lord Shiva romancing the female form -- Mohini -- of
Lord Vishnu. And elsewhere, a six-armed Lord Krishna uses all
his arms and two legs to caress eight happy gopis.One
foreign publication describes these paintings as "rarely
... mentioned, although they are one of the wonders of
India."
Chinese Fishing
Nets
As the warm, lazy day turned into a mellow evening, I walked
towards Cochin's famous quay, to catch a glimpse of the city's
land-marks -- the Chinese fishing nets – that dot the
sea-side.
These large, cantilevered contraptions fashioned out of bamboo
poles, nets and ropes were supposed to have been introduced to
Kerala from the royal courts of Kublai Khan, by traders
centuries ago. Each net is worked by four or five fishermen --
usually at high tide. A system of weights, counterweights and
pulleys, allows the nets to be lowered into the water-- and
then hoisted up with the trapped fish, after a while. The creak-creak-creak
of the giant nets forms a sort of background theme to the
fast-advancing twilight. The electric lights come alive one-by
one. But there are not too many of them. A few kilometers east
across the bay, Ernakulam -- Cochin's enormous twin city --
comes to blazing neon life as the darkness settles in. But, at
Fort Cochin we are still bathed in the soft glow of the dim
bulbs that dot the quay-side.
It is as if the town of Cochin has made an agreement with its
modern twin, Ernakulam -- you can send in a few bridges, I can
handle your bus-loads of tourists, but when it comes to you
fancy modern-day living and their accompanying woes -- sorry!
-- you can keep them for yourself!
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