Few countries and continents tell more stories than this tiny town - of Chinese sailors, Arab traders, Jewish merchants and European conquests - set against a backdrop all of one square mile, chronicles that clash as vehemently as the protagonists once did. Captured here are 135 sketches and a commentary that navigates us as we walk across half-a-millennium in half-a-day.
The book covers Kochi Timeline, Kochi Maps, A journey through Chronicles, Little Lisbon - The Portuguese times, Homely Holland - The Dutch times, Mini England, Karl Marx, Other Jews and the like. Other than the three major European powers, the fourth, French came pretty close to it.
The Kochi story begins with the grand arrival of Admiral Cabral in 1500 on Christmas Eve like Father Christmas. To the scribes who followed Santa Claus too, history began here, that very neat moment. Over the next four centuries, they kept coming to create a surfeit of records. Enough for the tourst guide to find high points to keep the visitors entralled.
Admiral Cabral's men hardly seemed like makers of history then.
E.P.Unny Sir has beautifully captured and narrated Fort Kochi in this book with him beautiful cartoons.
The least vaguely stated event in Fort Kochi's life is the earliest, its genesis, perhaps because it is attributed to geography, not history. Periyar River in spate overflowed, desilted and deepened the backwaters off this obscure fishing village and a navigable harbour was born. The birth pangs finished Malabar's mother port, Muziris, which got silted in the process. A major archaeological expedition is on to look for this long - lost harbour, celebrated by historians as an emporium of trade between the East and West since antiquity.
More than any sight or sound, trees mark Fort Kochi. Every view of the town is prefixed, suffixed or bracketed by these rain trees apparently brought by the Portuguese from Brazil. Looks like town's signature trees are only one with organic continuity, rest is a suitably ambiguous heritage.
This is no fairy tale town with an uncertain antiquity. The Kochi story is dotted with calendar events. Its standard opening, the European advent, happened precisely at the turn of the sixteenth century. By then European's had mastered the art of documenting. The written word had arrived. And thanks to sustained European chronicling, you can count more words here than elsewhere in India.
Fort Kochi was built as much with parchment and paper as brick and mortar and is still being restored by masons and wordsmiths. With image and text - the very mix that makes a comic strip. Only the Kochi comic seems far too animated. History stretches here from one speech ballon to the next and even before it can puncture the first, a third one comes along.
The first Portuguese, brought engineers to build a fort and scribes to build up heroes. The Dutch demolished the fort and built a smaller one but failed to cut down the preceding icons to size. The British who followed soon enough were eager to eager more that was Dutch rather than what was left of the Portuguese. The result is far from a neat sequence of hype and wipe. Where is the fort in Fort Kochi?
The Portuguese had built here what has been hailed as Asia's best library then and it became an obvious Dutch target. Priceless parchment and paper stood burning for five full days. The unseen library is part of the tourist lore.
Little Lisbon: The Europeans shy-ed away from any vital task on Friday. One Portuguese governor who skirted this norm was Afonso de Albuquerque, though faith-led in other ways. There is a weather-beaten sign board of him near Aspin wall. Albuquerque expanded Gama's scrappy success story into an autobiographical novel. His self image was supremely heroic. They had the spicest war in 1504. Lourenco Moreno, the Factor of Kochi and Antonio Real, the Chief Alcaide, saw in the rise of Goa the loss of Kochi's primacy and they went to the extent of complaining to the king of Portugal. The protest went unheeded. They sub-subdivided and ruled. The heritage theater perfomred "Chavittunatakam". Nelson Fenandes is the living compendium of Kochi's culture and Britto Vincent is an actor. Vasco square has music concerts. He died on a Christmas day.
Homely Holland: While Portuguese Admiral Cabral came to Kochi chiming on Christmas Eve like Santa Claus, the Dutch marked in, all guns blazing. 30 year war between brother Christian's effected Fort Kochi too. New Protestant power in Kochi was out to erase every Roman Catholic sign, symbol and structure, the predecessor had left behind. The dutch had detailed book keeping. Steamships and telegraph was in and busted distance. They made local's slave, were over indulgent at the dining table, and over-regulating at the trade. They wrote about Hortus Malabarius - The Garden of Malabar.
Mini England: Kochi was left to die a slow death. First things were silent, and then demolishing spree. Native king was a reduced ritual presence. Kozhikode was the centre for Brit's, Fort Kochi became the sub-division of Malabar district. Only after the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1814 did the Brits decide to keep Kochi as barter for the island of Banca which they ceded to the Dutch. They continued to pay pension to Napoleon Bonaparte and then to his heirs. Colonel Colin Macaulay's escape, on 29 Dec 1808 is a proof that there were underground tunnels around. Print boom happened in 19th century, but didnt stay for long. There was Brunton and co, Cochin Argus, Cochin Chronicle and West-Coast spectator, Western star, Paschima Tharaka, and Kerala Mithram - started by Gujrati merchant Devji Bhimji, edited by Kandathil Varghese Mappila who went on to fine Malayal Manorama. Through the 20 years he was here since 1920, Kochi did grow on Bristow under the lordship of Lord Willingdon.
Conti's one-liner about this town being a great place to spend seems truer a good three centuries later.
In 1947 Fort Kochi was freer than the rest of India, In one go, 444 years of uninterrupted European dominance ended here first princely state to annexe to India, not to be follow Gandhi, but Karl Marx. Jews in Fort Kochi and Mattanchery migrated to Israel formed in 1948 and many susequently. Last Jewish baston was the Koder house, who is said to have brought electricity here. Similar to the story of Jews for whom textual Torah was sacred is that of Konkani's for whom their Thirumala idol was that was lost and found - both were provided place by Rajah of Kochi.
[22/01, 21:22] Harris CBC: "Looks like town's signature trees are only one with organic continuity, rest is a suitably ambiguous heritage."
Did you mean the origin of trees other than the raintrees? If yes, I have a tidbit of information to share:
A few decades ago, around the beach area, there were no trees. It was only sea and sand. The beach simply stretched from one end to the other. The current walkway was also not there. And not a single tree along the beach. Then a club came by the name 'Flora & Fauna', very informal group of two brothers and two sisters. They planted saplings wherever they could especially along the beachside. Now all the greenery you see by the walkway and around the parade ground other than raintrees is their contribution. But hardly anyone knows it, because they didn't publicize their efforts. They didn't try to take any credit for it. They did it for their love of nature and greenery. Annually, they even conducted a tree festival at the parade ground when they decorated the large peepal tree (called Ammommayaal) at the ground's corner and conducted games for children. (It was along the line of a festival in Greece or somewhere that worshipped trees).
These people were the ones who also started the first art cafe in Kerala -- Kashi.
I don't know if this information is recorded in any history book.
Brazil was a colony of the Portuguese. Brazilians' mother tongue today is Portuguese language 😀
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