Before going to Kochi one needs to have a good understanding of the cultures that made kochi and the cultures that are making it.This beautiful port city situated on the west cost of the country by the Arabian sea has not just harboured various indigenous and foreign cultures but over a period of time, it has taken the best of these influences to create a unique new. Traditionally a stronghold of the Vermas of Kochi, it gained great reputation in the international trade market by way of exotic spices that were an unknown ingredient in south Western Europe in the late 12th century. This lead to an influx of traders and travellers from Portugal, Italy and Spain to this port wonder. Being a port city separated from the mainland due to the presence of inland waters, Kochi didn’t go through the same cycles and revolutions that the rest of the state had to. The result being, gothic churches dotting the landscape, colonial style buildings and communities that are as Indian as they are Foreign.
Hailing from Kerala it’s embarrassing to acknowledge the fact that you haven’t been to half a dozen places that your motherland is known all over the world for. Usually my trips to Kerala involve me and my family oscillating between my dad’s place and mom’s place but this time i vehemently protested against the traditional. I landed in Kochi on the 20th of May and headed straight to my hometown, a small semi-rural settlement on the outskirts of what could possibly be called greater Ernakulum in the distant future.3 years of Bangalore and a lifetime in Delhi is more than enough to make anybody crave for some nature and air that doesn’t trigger cancer genes.Marady is what you would describe as the ideal idle village, it’s a district of Muvattapuzha which is a few miles further from the main city. People are friendly and curious but mostly curious. The best thing about a small town is also its worst trait; everyone knows everyone and the men are also indoctrinated in the art of gossiping along with the women. Reputations soar or plummet with each rumour like stock prices.
The most endearing thing about Kerala is without doubt its greenery, from Kasaragod to Trivandrum there’s something worth seeing in every district. There’s a picture of my hometown etched in my mind, the clean transparent river under the town bridge with thick patches of vegetation on either side. It was like a tamed amazon passing through a less dense jungle. I realized how modern consumerism has us convinced that it takes a tourist package to somewhere distant to find peace and nowhere do I see it more at work than in Kerala .I have seen Malayalis go to other neighbouring states to see the same things that are pretty much present in their backyard.
After spending 2 days in my hometown, I headed to my Uncle’s place in Kochi which at that time was empty. Entering a concrete jungle with all its hustle and bustle was slightly depressing and the absence of the nocturnal opera was quite profound. The next morning I took a cab to fort Kochi to go to the Jew town, a place I was looking forward to go to from a really long time. It’s the only concrete remnant of Kochi’s Jewish past, an alley with antique shops and odd looking restaurants leading to an old modest synagogue which seemed to have undergone many renovations. The most impressive bit about the Jew town is its relevance; a small family of Jews still continues to live there. The current occupants of the Jew town are the Sephardic Jews who migrated to Kerala to escape religious persecution and settled in Kerala for a considerable period of time. Even before the Sephardic movement, the rulers of cochi had long experience dealing with people of this faith; the Jews of Cochin are an ancient branch of far eastern Judaism whose myth dictates an eastward migration resulting from the destruction of the second temple of Jerusalem. A majority of the original migrants have either embraced the indigenized form of Syrian Christianity or migrated to Israel. Now only a handful of Sephardic Jews remain who over a period of time have come to embrace Malayali culture, their level of social activeness in the region is proof of that fact. Unfortunately for me it was the day of the Sabbath and the synagogue was closed to the public, but it made me happy realizing that in spite of all that fame and recognition, they still kept their sacred place sacred like nothing had changed in the last 100 years. While walking back I heard a Jewish lady from a nearby household shouting away in fluent Malayalam about cooking jackfruit for lunch.
