“Kochi, Kerala’s Friendly Gateway, Is No Backwater” read the article on New York Times travel. I was sifting through google trying to figure out a destination for the long weekend around Independence Day. Explicit instructions from M just said “No beach , please!”. The woman elegantly went incommunicado after that and no amount of hounding over phone calls or emails helped. The responsibility of looking for a destination was thus successfully delegated to me , the sole back up plan being hanging out at Hard Rock Cafe in Bangalore for all the three days. The snake boat race in Alleppey around the same time was an option , but I had already been there same time last year. The idea of Fort Cochin seemed like a good fit – I had briefly passed through Jew town on my way back to Bangalore from Alleppey after the snake boat race. I badly wanted to catch a Kathakali dance performance and M could get her first glimpse of the backwaters too – our two main agendas were ticked!
Fort Kochi was the territory that was granted by the Rajah of Kochi to the Portugese , later captured by the Dutch and finally by the British. There is a distinct colonial air around the place, be it the ancient architecture of the churches or the elegantly built boutique hotels on the waterfront , some restored from heritage buildings. The place is also a backpacker's retreat and tell tale signs are everywhere – affordable homestays (the one where we stayed ,bang opposite the St Francis Church claimed to be the last residence of Vasco Da Gama till his death and burial in the same church ), flea markets lined across the streets and small cafes tucked around the corners in the local neighbourhoods.
We reached Fort Kochi on Friday afternoon and decided to catch a Kathakali performance in the evening at the Kerala Kathakali Centre. We got in early to catch a glimpse of the elaborate make up process before the actual performance. The show begins with a demonstration of the main facial expressions used in Kathakali. The experience of watching a Kathakali performance is a fascinating one -a vibrant medley of dance, mime, music and acting. Expressions so vivid that we were left to wonder how is it humanely possible to practice and perform such an art form! An enthralling 3 hours later we headed off for dinner and back to the venerable Vasco's home . Despite much speculation around the apparition of the Portugese explorer , the night went away uneventfully. Vasco probably decided against a rendezvous with the two not-so-sane women:).
Early next morning we headed off to Kumarakom. Situated on the banks of the Vembanad Lake (the longest lake in India), Kumarakom is a beautiful backwater destination.The cruise took us through an intricate network of canals and lagoons lined with lush, green paddy fields, finally ending in the Vembanad Lake. The boat stood still in the endless expanse of the lake, and the gently flowing breeze put us into the throes of the most heavenly sleep ever. Vembanad deservedly earned it's place on my list of favourite places to snooze*!
We reached back Fort Kochi in time to catch the sunset along the waterfront and the postcard Chinese fishing nets. Plenty of fish mongers were still open in the evening , selling fresh snapper, prawns or crabs which can be served grilled to your liking ( for those with a strong penchant for the piscean variety , it may also take some effort to steal your glance away from the fish glistening under the light of the lantern). We wandered around in the quiet streets for sometime,whiled time over coffee and headed off for dinner to the Koder House. The Koder House is the former residence of one of the city's most prominent Jewish families , now a heritage building and an all suite hotel. Menorah , the restaurant serves authentic Jewish, Syrian Christian and Kerala cuisine with a wonderful ambience to unwind. A thoroughly enjoyable dinner later (not to mention M's interesting conversations with the waiter after her glass of beer) ,we headed back to the homestay.
We checked out the next morning , left our bags at the homestay and decided to cover Jew town and the Dutch palace before heading back to Bangalore. Jew Town is situated in Mattancheri , a 10 minute auto rickshaw ride away. The oldest synagogue in India , built in 1568, is located here. Old , handpainted Chinese tiles decorate the entire synagogue which also has Hebrew inscriptions on the walls. The narrow alleyways around the synagogue are lined with shops selling artifacts and antiques, some owned by the handful of Jews who still stay there. Nearby is the Dutch palace , which was presented to the Cochin rajas by the Portugese. The highlight of the palace are the beautifully painted Hindu murals depicting the entire story of the Ramayana. We headed back to pick up our bags , and with an hour still in hand , decided to spend some time in the St Francis Church.It was empty and quiet inside ,except for gospel songs, being rehearsed by the church coir. The oldest European church in the country briefly held the remains of Vasco Da Gama before it was sent back to Portugal. We sat in silence as the gospel songs echoed in the centuries old church (I am tempted to add the church as well to the my list of soporific favorites save someone sue me for blasphemy). An hour later we headed off to the airport to catch our flight back to Bangalore. The holiday to the Queen of the Arabian sea was over – a tete-a-tete with eclectic culture, the lovely backwaters and plain good times with an old friend:).
*Others in the list include the tempo traveller single seat , the soft grassy, ground beneath a particular tree in Vaxholm and my sleeping bag in Ladakh.