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Published: December 26th 2010
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Kochi was my first stop in Kerala.
Kochi dates back to at least 1102, and in 1503, was captured by the Portuguese, thus becoming the first European colony in India. Over the years Kochi passed from Portuguese into Dutch, and then British hands, before becoming part of India in 1947. It is the third largest city in Kerala with a population of almost 600,000.
The most attractive part of Kochi, is Fort Cochin which is just a fifteen minute journey over the harbour from the Ernakulam district, where I am staying. Ernakulam itself is unremarkable, only the thing that really strikes me about it is at there is a complete lack of dogs! Street dogs are everywhere in India from North to South, East to West, but I haven't seen a single one in Kochi.
On my second evening in Kochi, I went to see Kathakali, a traditional form of Keralan theatre which has it's origins in the 17th Century and is still going strong.
A traditional Kathakali performance can last nine to ten hours, but the evening I attended consisted of a half hour talk through and demonstration by a narrator and an actor, followed by
a half hour scene from a famous traditional Hindu story. Before the demonstration and performance, the audience was invited to watch the actors applying their make up in a room above the theatre. It was interesting to watch as they huddled around a single light bulb suspended from the ceiling like a boxing announcers microphone, sharing a box of multi-coloured powders and paints whilst applying their own and each other's make-up.
Kathakali actors are not allowed to speak, instead they act by a mixture of facial expressions, actions, and hand gestures against a musical accompaniment. As with Shakespearean acting, it is not uncommon for men to play womens roles, as in the evenings performance, although this is changing as there are now female Kathakali actors too.
After the demonstration, we were treated to a scene from a play where a prince is sat in the garden in heaven and is tempted by a daemon, disguised as a beautiful woman. The prince falls in love with the daemon, who then asks if they can be married. The prince says he will have to ask his father (a God) at which point the daemon eventually loses patience and reveals his
Scene from Kathakali
A daemon disguised as a beautiful woman tries to seduce the prince in heaven true identity. There is a struggle, and the price kills the daemon with his sword. I found it very entertaining.
The next day I took a cruise through the backwaters of Kerala. I was driven from Ernakulam jetty 40 kilometres to the beautiful Keralan backwaters.
The first half of the day was spent on a Keralan house boat, where the owner told us about Keralan fishing life whilst letting the boat drift through the picturesque lakes, almost as green in colour as the leaves of the palm trees that lined the banks. Later that morning we were taken to a Keralan village and given the chance to eat spicy mussels and drink a traditional drink similar to Feni, made from an extract of flowers.
In the afternoon we switched to canoes and set off through some of the narrow canals which run through the backwaters. The journey in the canoe was just as good as the trip in the houseboat, and we were able to see the backwaters from close up, observing the lush green vegetation as well as the local wildlife including the occasional water snake.
The next day I explored Fort Cochin. Cochin is
Kathakali
The daemon is revealed in it's true form very different to Ernakulam's Indian city vibe and very much has an uncongested southern European feel instead. The local tourist office helpfully provide maps for a walking tour of historical sites which only takes an hour or so to complete, and you get so see about fifteen colonial buildings and sites including the house were Vasco de Gama is said to have lived. The only problem with Fort Cochin in the auto-rickshaw drivers. You don't need to worry about hailing an auto in Cochin, because they hail you!. Every five minutes. Even so Fort Cochin is well worth a visit and is the place where people spend most of their time in Kochi, whether you rent a room there, or just over the harbour in Ernakulam.
Christmas in Kochi was a low key affair despite the presence of many churches. I was walking past a church on the way for some food when I heard singing and saw a Christmas carol concert in the church grounds. It made me feel quite sentimental and nostalgic, and I almost went inside to listen before I remembered I was an atheist, and a hungry one at that. I did take a look
inside St Francis' Church (the oldest European church in India) in Fort Cochi on Christmas Day. They had some decorations hanging from the ceiling but other than that the atmosphere was relatively subdued.
Tomorrow I leave for Kovalam, where it's back to the beach for a week.
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