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Cochin or Kochi, if you like, is the gateway to central Kerala, but has enough of history to justify a short stay here before proceeding further. In 1503, the Portuguese built what is the oldest European church in India in Cochin. Initially, it was just a wooden structure dedicated to St Bartholomew. It was rebuilt in 1516 using some bricks and mortar and this time it honoured St Anthony. When Vasco da Gama died in 1524 he was buried here, but 14 years later they dug his body out and took it back to Portugal. The gravestone still marks the place where he was interred. In 1663, the Dutch captured Cochin and converted the church into a Protestant shrine and also installed the sweeping overhead punkhas, which became one of the quaintest symbols of colonial rule. In 1795, the British seized Cochin and nine years later reverted its character once again to Anglican Communion. They named it St Francis’ Church, and so it remains till date. All over Cochin and its twin Ernakulam — the western mainland area, which includes the old Kochi fort — one can see memorials of the town’s history. A comparatively recent addition to its geography is the Wellingdon Island. Located between the twin cities, it was constructed in 1936 with the soil taken out while dredging the Vembanad Lake, which is India’s longest lake and takes one to the backwaters. Today the island houses the Southern Naval Command, a shipyard, the bustling Cochin port, the air squadron of the Coast Guards and the International Pepper Exchange. What we missed out on
was the 450-year-old Jewish synagogue and the Mattancherry Palace,
also known as the Dutch Palace Museum which was built for Raja Veera
Kerala Varma by the Dutch.
We missed these because our tour operator did not tell us that they are closed on Fridays, (the former even on Saturdays). In fact, before visiting, it is prudent to check which monuments are open. A high point of the trip was a visit to a Kathakali performance at the Cochin Cultural Centre. It is a highly stylised art form which grabs attention because of the colourful make up, massive headgear, bizarre costumes and athletic movements. Most performances are based on themes from our old epics. To convey a wide range of emotions, facial makeup is vitally important. The colours indicate the person’s character: Green for nobility, a red streak on it for characters like Ravana, demons are totally red-faced and women and ascetics have lustrous, yellowish faces. In Kathakali makeup is so elaborate that watching the experts do it is a part of the show. In fact, we were advised to reach 45 minutes before the start of the actual dance to see this being done. Once in Cochin, the options for holiday excursions are vast: Munnar with its lakes, waterfalls and rolling green hills of tea; Thekkadi of the spice country and Periyar Lake; and, the piece de resistance, the vast interconnected, languid, serene network of lakes and channels known as the backwaters. Cochin is the gateway to all these places. After doing the complete circuit, we returned to this city and had half a day to kill before we took the flight back and learnt of the city’s humungous textile and garment store, called Emmanuval, spread over four floors and 5,00,000 sq ft of covered space. At the store every customer is greeted at the entrance by saree-clad girls from the East with a bowing namaste. At every turn and corner, there were young ladies politely pointing out the direction-pointers. The store is truly huge, but what saved us was that, after a long eight-day trip in the interiors, everyone was too exhausted to indulge in serious shopping.
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