The Fort Kochi family

BY PETRA O’NEILL

Everyone knows Johnson! In Fort Kochi that is. It wasn’t long after my arrival there that I got to know him too. Fort Kochi has a laidback vibe and considerable charm. The historic centre is admittedly a tourist enclave with churches, restored colonial buildings now operating as boutique hotels, art galleries, internet cafes and restaurants serving the kind of cuisine designed to cater to the western palate. A promenade along a rather scruffy looking beach is where locals and tourists mingle in the evening to dine on seafood and enjoy ice cream. Kochi is a port after all, with numerous cargo ships waiting their turn to offload freight.

A medley of personalities

While I visited all the tourist sites, I met many interesting people from Joe Ikareth, a cutting edge designer just returned from showcasing his collection at the Paris Fashion Week; to autorickshaw drivers including Johnson, and KP Francis who had managed hotels for the Taj Group and was now managing a boutique hotel owned by Johny L Malayil, who with his brother, owns stores and a cafe. In Fort Kochi, everyone knows everyone else.

When the public bus I was on came to a halt in the hectic city of Ernakulam, I realised I was a long way from where my guidebook said I was. Looking disoriented, a lawyer judging from his attire and the documents he was carrying, helped me by directing an autorickshaw driver to the ferry terminal and advising me on the correct fare. An enjoyable 20 minute ferry ride took me across to Fort Cochin, despite autorickshaw drivers offering to take me 1km for the same price that had just taken me 10kms!

Exploring emporiums!

After depositing my bag at the Old Harbour Hotel, I set off to explore the sights on foot. The tourist season had seen fewer tourists, especially from the UK and Germany, and autorickshaw drivers appeared at every turn. I kept walking, but it was very hot. Would it be so ill advised, instead of walking the several kilometres to Jew Town, to accept a ride? Would I like to see the All Spices Market, asked Salu, the autorickshaw driver I eventually engaged. Inside a large crumbling old warehouse seasoned with the heady aromas of turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and saffron were mounds of drying ginger waiting for export. The local laundry? Dhoby Khana was fascinating with many of the hotels sending their guests’ laundry here to be pounded, pelted and pressed. Now just three short stops, said Salu. And so I found myself being deposited, greeted and coerced into one large emporium after another. In this heat, were my thoughts focused on purchasing a pashmina? Madam, just three more! Unconvinced by the need to give up my entire afternoon visiting emporiums, I reverted to walking the distance to Mattancherry and Jew Town.

Historical Jew Town

There was so much to see. The Dutch Palace built by the Portuguese in 1557 and later renovated by the Dutch, has an exquisite collection of mural paintings and portraits of the former royal family. The Jewish Synagogue built in 1568 and rebuilt in 1664 after it was destroyed, and six Crafters stores where no-one pressured me to buy anything. Here I enjoyed masala tea and French fries and in a cafe above an old warehouse, the largest of the Crafters stores at which I found several men attempting unsuccessfully to reassemble a large antique wooden door-frame. The owner Johny L Malayil spent time talking to me. I left with a silver necklace, antique ceramic doorknobs and a wooden bowl from Burma. He also owned a boutique hotel. I began to walk there to take a look and it was then that I met Johnson. Johnson is an autorickshaw driver. He was on his way home and offered me a lift at no charge. He and his wife had just opened a Home Stay, a lovely whitewashed two-storey home, where we met his wife and sons Xavier and Herbert reading in the small garden outside, before he dropped me nearby at Bishops House. Built in 1506, it was formerly the residence of the Portuguese Governor and was later acquired by the Bishop of the Diocese of Cochin.

The Dutch Palace built by the Portuguese in 1557 and later renovated by the Dutch, has an exquisite collection of mural paintings and portraits of the former royal family.

The eventful history of Kochi commenced when a major flood in 1341 threw open the estuary, forming a natural harbour. Kochi became a renowned centre for trade and the first European settlement in India when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century, followed by the Dutch from 1663 and the British from 1795.

Churches and cafes

The next day I visited David Hall, named after David Koder, built in 1695 by the Dutch East India Company that now operates as an Art Gallery and Cafe showcasing work by contemporary Indian artists. I walked past the Parade Ground where the Portuguese, Dutch and British once conducted military parades, but today teenagers played sport. Nearby, the Cochin Club retains its British ambience, and displays a ‘Members only’ sign.

I visited St. Francis Church, built by the Portuguese in 1503 and one of India’s oldest churches. Once a Roman Catholic Church, today it is governed by the Church of South India. It was Sunday and mass was underway. It was filled to capacity.

The ancient Chinese fishing nets that form the backdrop to the beachside promenade were erected on teakwood and bamboo poles between 1350 and 1450. There are many bungalows and mansions, commercial buildings and warehouses as I walk by, that reflect Portuguese, Dutch and local influences. The Old Harbour Hotel where I stayed was built in 1808 and was the first hotel in Cochin. Later it was owned by Carriet Moran and Co, renowned tea brokers before being restored as a boutique hotel. Next door, Koder House was built by Samuel S. Koder of the Cochin Electric Company, and shows the transition from colonial to Indo-European architecture.

Santa Cruz Basilica, the historic church built by the Portuguese was spared by the Dutch, but destroyed by the British. The new building, commissioned in 1887, was declared a Basilica in 1984.

Fort Kochi feels more like a friendly neighbourhood than a city. And while I enjoyed strolling by historic buildings and visiting the sites, what I liked most of all was engaging with the local people.

As I walked to the bus stop for the airport bus, I saw Johnson for the last time. When I hopped on the bus I waved goodbye. The bus driver turned to me and said, “Here, everyone knows Johnson!”