Kochi Kerala - Queen of the Arabian Sea

Exploring Kochi  - Queen of the Arabian Sea

Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, located in the southwestern state of Kerala, India. It is primarily a port city situated alongside Arabian sea coast. The Arabian Sea is a major sea route of trade between India and the Middle East, East Asia and Europe and Kochi's natural harbor deem it an essential epicenter for trade and commerce for centuries. 

Thus, the enchanting name 'Queen of the Arabian Sea'. However, the city is not just about its commercial trade and ports, it has much more to seek the heart and eye for an inquisitive tourist or a scholar. Let us see how far we can satisfy the quench.

A brief touch on history:

The Portuguese Epoch: 

The city believed to have been founded by an ancient Indian Emperor named Mahabali somewhere around 1st Millenium BCE. During 14th century Kochi came under the rule of Zamorin of Calicut (now - Kozhikode) who overtook the city from the then Raja (King) of Kochi. Later in 15th century, legendary Portuguese traveler Vasco De Gama able to appease the Zamorins. The Portuguese wanted to establish a factory in the city and built Fort Manuel to protect it from invaders. They built Fort Kochi which stands one of the popular attraction in Kochi.

The Dutch Epoch: 

The Dutch defeated the Portuguese and reign over the city from 1663 to 1795. They shipped pepper, cardamom and other spices along with coconut, copper and coir. These contributed significantly on the commercial prosperity of the city.

The Mysore Invasion:

In 1773 Mysore rule Hyder Ali invaded Kochi and defeated the then Maharaja of Kochi. It turned out to be a significant change in the history of the city as the invader looted the city treasure which led to decline in the trade and commerce sector for the city. 

The British Epoch:

As the decline of Kingdom of Kochi happened it paved the way for East India Company to establish control over the region. After the Ango-Dutch treaty in 1814, Kochi including Fort Kochi and nearby territories came under British rule. It is the time when the city re-emerged again as a vital point of commercial business. Under the British rule, the famous Willington airport created which now serves as mainland for Indian Naval airport.

The Independence movement:

During early 20th century, different organizations and individuals in the city participated in Independence movement against the British rule via protests, demonstrations and resistance. The Key movements were 'Salt Satyagraha' in 1930 launched by Mahatma Gandhi and then 'Paliyam Satyagraha' in 1947 against discriminatory policies of the then Maharaja of Kochi.

Eventually, India gained Independence on 15th August 1947 and the city became first princely state to join the Indian Union willingly.

A new state called Kerala was formed in 1956 by the union of three provinces, namely Malabar, Travancore and Cochin (now Kochi). Later in the year 1967, the corporation of Cochin was formed by merging towns of Fort Kochi, Ernakulam, Mattancherry and nearby villages. 

I think these are enough impulses to start exploring the Queen City. 

Local Language of Kochi, Kerala - Malayalam. However, native is also versed in Tamil, Hindi and English.

The Urban Excursion... begins!! 

It was the month of February, we began our excursion from Kolkata and touched down Kempegowda International airport around 8.40pm, almost on defined time. Well yeah, quite a few days past but feeling the same euphoria while penning down in this blog. We retain almost all the subtle nuances that we experienced while taking the tour of the city.

Post our baggage check-out we exited the Kochi airport and booked a cab to reach the booked homestay at Kochi. We thought to have a good view of the urban night unfortunately by the time we boarded into the cab it was around twenty past nine and our homestay was at Ernakulam (mainland city) which is around an hour from Kochi airport. It was mostly highways with few shops still open and sporadic view Keralan style home came into visibility.

By the time we reached the homestay, the appetite for food gained an upper-hand. It was night-time so not much to wander about as we dived into the dining options and fulfilled our craving. Now we wait for next sunrise to resume our journey. 

1st day of Local immersion:

In the morning we perceived the grounding moment that we are in a different place than our usual bustling city rush when we are greeted with morning calls from Oriental magpie-robin birds. After freshening up we did a bit of toiling around the homestay area, it was typical Kerala style ambience with trees and garden around. The Keralan style breakfast with options like Dosa, Idli, Upma, Puttu and Kadala curry. For the first day we gone for the familiar names and convinced ourselves to experiment later.

Our pre-booked car was already geared up to commence our city tour. After breakfast we hopped into the car and met our driver Srejith (gem of a guy) from Paradise Holidays. Before he turns on the ignition, just like a typical enthusiast we asked - 'So what are the places we are going to visit today?!' 

It was like inquiring for food in a restaurant - the waitstaff always anticipate this from every customer, so does Srejith. He gave few names and i was hoping to hear some we didn't googled it before. 😃

nevertheless, we kick-off our city tour by arriving at Fort Kochi beach (also called Old Kochi) at around 14km from our homestay.

Why Fort Kochi? - a small fishing village that become the First European township in India. 

If you have only a day planned for the city, then Fort Kochi should be at top of your list. 

If you walk past the village, one will discern the colonial architecture established by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British.

The 'Chinese fishing-nets', yes, we have them everywhere!! is one of the widely favored tourist sights in Kochi. 

Why such name: somewhere around 14th and 15th century, Chinese explorers came to this place and introduced these fishing nets which are still used by local fishermen. As we observed, the nets were made of wooden frames and balanced on poles along the shores. 

We inquired the local people for more on this, however the linguistic disconnect was prominent and so we have to hinge on to our only saviour (our driver) to bridge the gap. We were even fortunate enough to hold on the fishing nets and gave an attempt in despair to catch some fish😓 

The ideal time to visit the Chinese Fishing Nets and Fort Kochi Beach occurs at sunset when the entire area gleams in the golden light. The area around the nets is also a hub of activity, with street vendors selling fresh seafood and other local delicacies. One can sit on the benches and have them served.

Next to the Chinese fishing nets, is a walkaway narrow road runs along Fort Kochi Beach - Vasco Da Gama Square. We tried some street food there - 'Pazham Pori' - popular Kerala snack made of ripe bananas. You can try the 'Kozhi Porichathu' fried chicken pieces with spices inside, but we refrained ourselves for later.

Other attractions: light house, granite walkway and remains of 'Fort Immanuel' can be seen.

Then we visited the St. Francis Church - oldest European church in India, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It was here that the famous explorer Vasco da Gama was originally buried. On the religious side, the church played an important role for the preach of Christianity in India.

 

Behind the St. Francis Church, is the residence of Vaso da Gama- Vasco House (now converted as Vasco Homestay!!).  A two-story structure with a tiled roof and a façade that features intricate wooden carvings and arched doorways. The building has a traditional Portuguese design. The rooms are spacious and airy, with high ceilings and large windows.

Now we shift our gaze to Santa Cruz Basilica - one of the oldest Catholic Churches in India. Built by the Portuguese, destroyed by British and later rebuilt in 1905. Ahh quite a re-work. It is a fine example of Gothic architecture, with beautiful stained-glass windows, intricate carvings, and a soaring ceiling. We sat inside the Church for a while, savoring the tranquility it offers.

It was like 10mins we were inside the Church and then the impatience wins over peace, I asked my Wife - we need to leave now as we have to visit other places and we have just a day, an 'uff' sound poked my ears and we came outside to visit the next destination.

After a brief conversation with our driver, we decided to park the visit of the Jewish Synagogue and Mattancherry Palace for tomorrow. It was around one in the afternoon and maybe because of the seashore (or an excuse for our large appetite) we opted for our lunch break.

As we seek for some sea food, so Srejith suggested to check Seafood Harbour at Rose Street. We fulfilled our craving by having a pomfret fry and prawn dish with roti.

Then we head straight into Kerala Kathakali Centre. 

It was our first such in-person experience of an Indian traditional dance form. But it's not just a dance form, its culture in itself preserving the traditional arts of Kerala. The dance timing as we get to know was from 5pm to 6pm and 7pm to 8pm in the evening however the elaborate make-up process takes around 2-3 hours. We witness the heritage style, and the aura was sublime to say the least.

It was already dusk and now time to head back to our homestay. A day enthralling with cultural and historical significance. Yes, we still have couple of more landmarks to stop over tomorrow before we embark on our next Kerala exploration venue (should be an easy guess).

The evening was mostly spend conveying the trip to family members and friends and watching over the frozen moment snapped by the camera and smartphones (of course).

For dinner we opted for Rice (jeera rice) and chicken curry with pickle and sambar comes under default choice. 

2nd day of Local immersion:

The morning calls from the magpie-robin and the breakfast were the routine activity we had but this time an hour earlier than previous day as we need to start early today to reach our next hotspot. So, we headed on towards Synagogue Lane in Jew town. 

Jewish Synagogue - Also known as Paradesi Synagogue, is one of the oldest synagogues in India, dating back to the 16th century. It is located in the heart of Jew Town, a neighborhood with a rich history of Jewish settlement. It was Sunday, so were lucky enough to have a look as the place remain closed on Fridays, Saturdays and on Jewish holidays. 

What we noticed is the unique blend of Indian and Jewish architecture visible in the place. The buildings are painted in white while the doors and windows are in blue. The interiors hold gold pulpit and a number of ornate chandeliers.

For visitors you need to remove your shoes before entering the Synagogue.

We then move towards Mattancherry neighborhood and visited the Mattancherry Palace

Also called 'Dutch Palace' was built by Portuguese and gifted to the King of Kochi. The palace is adorned with traditional Keralan elements, including sloping roofs, intricate wooden carvings, and murals depicting scenes from Indian mythology. Another unique blend of Indo-European architecture.

We now came to the culmination point to bid adieu to the city. From Mattancherry we headed for Munnar - 'the town of misty hills' (follow the Munnar journey here...) An elegant hill station awaits with its own history and significance for tourist to cherish. Surely a blog in time to pen down the experience we perceived.

But before closing this journey just a few pointers on Kochi...

Best time to visit Kochi: October to February having a pleasant weather. However, tourist rush. April - June - lean period better hotel deals!!

No. of days - Full 2 days will be good enough for all major spots. Also, if you want to visit Munnar, Alleppey and/or Thekkady - Kochi usually stands to be the gateway to kick-off. Even for Lakshadweep tour, it begins here.

What we missed: Folklore Museum, Hill Palace Museum, Cherai Beach are some of noteworthy mention that you can surely visit. 

Hope this post turns helpful and instill enough curiosity to embark your journey to the Queen of the Arabian Sea.