Our ship
docks at 10:30 a.m., later than normal due to the distance we had to traverse
overnight. This morning we are greeted
with the requirement that all disembarking guests and crew have face-to-face
passport inspections with the Indian authorities. Loads of custom agents come aboard to conduct
the inspection; the infamous Indian bureaucracy, an English legacy, at its
finest. All tours start this afternoon
and we sail at 5:30 pm. This starts as a
hectic day, but God looks down favorably on us and helps complete the
inspection-of-the-masses in a few hours.
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| Fishing nets as we enter port |
Our tour
today is “Highlights of Cochin.” Let’s
start by saying – “hazy, lazy Saturday”.
Translated: “Hazy” due to the smoggy
air quality, the result of the high heat, numerous vehicles and use of wood and
coal as fuel sources and “lazy” because it is a non-work day in Cochin. It benefits us that the traffic count is down
today; the tour bus doesn’t have many difficulties moving between points of
interest, a bit different than our Sri Lanka experience.
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| Welcome to Cochin |
The tour
guides provide a good historical summary.
Cochin, now officially known as Kochi (although everyone and all signs
still refer to it as Cochin), is located in the Indian state of Kerala (formerly
called Malabar in the “British Time”). The community is diverse and multicultural, including
many religions. Around 50 % of the 2
million residents are Christian, with Hindus comprising most of the remainder. It is believed that St. Thomas traveled to
and temporarily resided here in the 1st Century, resulting in many
Christian conversions. Cochin is known
for its location on the major east-west shipping channels. It is the 4th largest seaport in India,
and continued expansion is underway here and in the other large Indian ports.
(Based upon what we have seen in our travels, soon Planet Earth will be
completely awash in port facilities since all seem bent on expansion.)
Our tour
takes us to the ‘old Cochin.’ Here we
visit three major sites. First stop is
the Dutch Palace. This building was
built as, guess what, a palace, subsequently partially destroyed, then finally
renovated by the Dutch when they arrived in the 16th century. Inside are beautiful murals of epic Hindu stories
on the plaster walls, all painted with ancient formulations of delicately
colored plant-based inks. Amazingly the
murals are still visible. There are
several items on display from the 16th, 17th and 18th
century along with paintings of the Cochin Rajas who were crowned in the
Coronation Hall of the palace. No
pictures are allowed. We find it interesting
that there are goats, allegedly owned by local families, wandering around among
the men who are trying to sell us their merchandise in the courtyard of this
national treasure.
The market
street in this area is called Jew Town because there has been a settlement of
Jewish people, presumably living here since the days the second temple was
destroyed in Jerusalem. There are only nine
Jews left now, representing six of the original families, maintaining an old
synagogue in the area. As a matter of
history, the Cochin has maintained the longstanding name of the area, even as
the Jewish population migrated to Israel and other locations.
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| St. Francis |
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| Rain tree |
We pass an
old Christian cemetery, well maintained even though the associated church is
long-since gone. However, there are
other Christian churches in the area. We
stop at the oldest Christian church in India, St. Francis. It was built by the Franciscan Friars who
came with the Portuguese in 1500. Church
services are still held here on Sundays.
The famous Portuguese navigator/explorer Vasco Da Gama was originally
buried here but removed to Portugal later by his son.
 |
| Fishng nets and boats |
Within
walking distance of this church are many small hotels and a fishing area. This fishing area is believed to have been
inhabited for as long as a thousand years, and Chinese traders from Kublai
Khan’s court are believed to have brought to India the type of fishing nets in
use. They are very unusual and the men
are actually still using them. However,
it is clear from the various boats that fishing is also done with nets from
boats now. The fish caught today are
being sold from small huts right on the beach.
 |
| Woman selling goods |
Throughout
this area of old Cochin we see these amazingly huge and canopied trees. We are told they are Rain Trees, brought over
by the Europeans, some being over 300 years old. People who live in this area of Cochin also
live in some of the nicer homes in the city.
We see many people going about their business on a Saturday.
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| Dhobi laundry |
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| Man walking by spice store |
Some of
the interesting stores we visit include spice, silk and Oriental rug shops, and
the street vendors, including young women selling necklaces and bracelets. As the bus weaves it way among the
motorcycles, cars, tuk-tuks and bicycles, we see open-air fruit and vegetable stores,
the larger department stores (sorry, no Macys!) and “dhobi” – places that do
your laundry the old-fashioned way.
The rich
history of Cochin, its residents and their strong desire to move their economy
and culture forward is clear. This of
course isn’t the only city in India attempting this new direction. We are told that they, unfortunately or
fortunately depending on your perspective, continue to lose their population to
jobs in other parts of the world – Middle East (Dubai), Europe and
America. These people are known as NRI’s
– non-resident Indians or, to locals, “not-returning Indians”. Sad for local development but perhaps good
for those that move on and perhaps good for those that remain since it lowers
pressures on the local economy and habitat.
At sea for
a day; then we visit Mumbai – and its 22.5 Million people!!
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