Thursday, 2/18/16 - Fort Kochi and Mattancherry: Early Christian churches, Chinese fishing nets, Jew Town, Kathakali |
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When we woke up at 7 a.m., I checked e-mail and had received the download link for God Don't Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson, which we had funded via Kickstarter. I downloaded the mp3's, and we listened to tracks by Tom Waits, Luther Dickinson, and Tedeschi Trucks Band. Wow, covers of amazing blues classics by some of our favorite contemporary artists!
We met Mukul at the East Indies restaurant for breakfast. We once again opted to eat inside in the air conditioning. We are sure that Mukul must have been freezing, but he never complained. He knows that the heat and humidity bother Craig, so despite the fact that he probably would have been more comfortable outside, he never once even mentioned it. Jagdishji had contacted Mukul at 11 p.m. last night upon leaving the hotel. We were sorry that we didn't get to spend more time with him, but we were very honored that he had taken the time out of his busy schedule to meet us, even if briefly. He had left a Kerala road atlas as a gift for us. He had remembered that Craig loves maps,and we were touched by his thoughtfulness! We sat down at our "regular" table and then went up to the buffet. We enjoyed fruit, juice, cereal, coffee, and banana bread. The kitchen also made items to order, so Craig and I split our first ever dosa. It was amazing! It was a crispy thin crepe-like pancake served with coconut chutney. We had been wanting to try one forever, as it is a South Indian specialty. We wasted no time, and it did not disappoint! We left the Eighth Bastion Hotel at 9 a.m. This morning we enjoyed the company of an excellent local guide named Mr. Rajan. He enthusiastically taught us all about his home city of Kochi. There are 33.75 million inhabitants in Kerala (3% of the Indian population). 51% are Hindu, 25% are Muslim, and 20% are Christian. Christianity is thought to have arrived in Kerala and nearby Tamil Nadu with a visit from St. Thomas the Apostle in A.D. 52. Inhabitants speak Malayalam, and often don't speak Hindi at all. Therefore, English is usually the common language for Kerala dwellers to communicate with inhabitants of other parts of India. Kerala is the state with the highest literacy rate in India, and this makes Kerala natives able to travel and work abroad. The Keralite diaspora is found worldwide (in fact, one of my colleagues back in Boston is originally from Kerala). Many people from this region (an average of 2 people per family) work in the Middle East / Gulf States. Lots of Gulf money flows into Kerala, which is invested in gold and real estate. This region is known for its production of cardamom, vanilla, and other spices. Banana, papaya, and guava grow here year-round, while mango and jackfruit are seasonal (March, April, and May). Foreign influences in the region include the Portuguese (Catholic), the Dutch (Protestant), and the British (Anglican). The influence of each country lasted for about 150 years. Men here wear kalli mundu, a sort of sarong, which they tuck up between their legs so that their legs are exposed from the knee down. It is traditional men's wear, cool for physical labor in this hot climate. During British colonial times, the Brits grew impatient when their workers needed to frequently adjust their kalli mundu. They decreed that their workers must wear trousers instead, for efficiency. Today we would explore the Fort Kochi area, followed by Mattancherry. Fort Kochi is relatively small, area-wise, but it was nice to have Sadanandan drive us between sites in the air conditioned car. As we drove to our first destination, Mr. Rajan directed our attention to the Cochin Catholic Bishop's house. Having been built in 1557, it is the second oldest bishop's house in India. Mr. Rajan explained that in its 450+ year history, only 3 marriages had ever been performed there. Mr. Rajan's was one of them; he was married there 32 years ago, and is very proud of that fact. We passed the Dutch cemetery dating back to 1724, where some of the Dutch navigators who made it to Kochi are buried. Mr. Rajan joked, "And like everything else you want to see in India, it is closed." Vasco de Gama, the famous Portuguese explorer, had discovered the sea route from Europe to India, first arriving in Kerala in 1498. The Portuguese were granted permission to build a wooden fortification (the area now known as Fort Kochi) by the Hindu king of the region. Our first stop was St. Francis of Assisi church in Fort Kochi, the first European church in India. It was originally built as a Catholic church by the Portuguese in 1503. It was originally constructed of wood, but was rebuilt with brick construction in 1516 after a fire. The history of the church mirrors the colonial history of Kerala: in 1664, the Dutch converted it to a Protestant church. In 1804, the British used it as an Anglican church. Following Indian independence in 1947, it became Indian Anglican, and now it is the Church of South India (serving approximately 175 families). There are two Masses each Sunday, one in English and one in Malayalam. The church has a choir loft, a baptismal font, 150-year-old teak wood pews, a pulpit, and a ceiling built to look like the hull of a ship. The floor under the pews is original stone, and the center aisle floor was imported from London 200 years ago. White embroidered lace panels hung from the ceiling. These are called punkas, and function similarly to fans for ventilation. A person called a punka walla would sit outside the church, pulling the ropes to manipulate the punkas and circulate the air. The punkas were perfumed, so the air in the church was always cool and fragrant. We wandered around, admiring the architecture. There was a Bible printed in Malayalam script, which is ornate and beautiful. Tombstones of Portuguese and Dutch people who had been buried within the church hung from the walls. They date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. When Vasco de Gama died on Christmas Eve in 1524 on his third visit to Kerala, he was buried in this church. His body remained there for 14 years until his son returned his body to Portugal per his wishes. It was very interesting to see such an historic church, especially since its namesake is St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis continues to be a common thread throughout our lives, completely by coincidence. It was the name of my father's family's church, where my grandfather was caretaker. I was baptized in that church, and we were married there as well. It also happens to be the name of our Guatemalan compadres' church, and that is where our godchildren Aracely and Eddy were baptized. Our Ecuadorian compadres attend several different churches, and the one where our goddaughter Sisa was baptized is named after St. Francis. And here it was again, in southern India! This coincidence was not lost on us. In the church's garden, we saw sandalwood, teak, and rosewood trees. There is a World War I war monument in the front garden which honors those from Kerala who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is ceremonially honored every November 11th at 11:11 a.m., in commemoration of the end of the war in 1918. After exploring the church and its gardens, we walked down the tree-lined lanes passing many colonial buildings. It was so picturesque, with lovely English-style cottages and gardens. The vegetation was lush. We walked down a little alleyway where an elevated covered wooden bridge connected two colonial buildings. We arrived at a lovely park across the street from the sea. Huge umbrella-shaped Portuguese rain trees introduced in the colonial days provided much-needed shade from the intense sun. There were papier-mache and wire artworks which encouraged recycling. Quaint colonial buildings lined one side of the park, with the Arabian Sea on the opposite side. Kochi was actually landlocked until a big flood during the 1340's, at which time a passage to the Arabian Sea opened up. The Chinese were the first to arrive via ship in 1344. (It is thought that the "Cochin" spelling is actually derived from the word "co-chin", which means "similar to China", as the Chinese thought that this area resembled their homeland). At that time, the Chinese constructed cantilevered fishing nets using wood, rope, and stones. This same technology is still used in Kochi today. Mr. Rajan led us over to one of the nets. We walked on to a wooden jetty which had sheets of plywood forming a deck. Five men, most of them wearing the traditional Kalli Mundu sarongs. They were quite friendly, and allowed us to try lifting the fishing nets. The nets were suspended from spider-like poles over the water. Craig and I were each assigned a fat rope, and we pulled on it, which lowered ballast stones and raised the nets. It was a good workout! Though it wasn't the right time of day to fish due to the tide and currents. nonetheless, the net contained two small fish. It was a lot of fun, and it was amazing to actually catch a couple of fish using 600+ year old technology. It is obvious why this method has persisted.  We saw a wide variety of fish for sale: silver mullets, sardines, red snapper, barracuda, mahi mahi, catfish, green mussels, squid, crabs, and yellow fin tuna. In fact, the fish seller we visited supplies fish to our hotel's restaurant. So my yellow fin tuna and Craig's tasting menu from last night could possibly have come from them! We enjoyed interacting with the fishermen and the fish sellers. They were quite friendly and cheerful, eager to show us their trade! While I was photographing one of the men holding a large mahi mahi, another man photobombed him by holding a colander over his head like a hat. Many laughs ensued. We visited the Santa Cruz Basilica, a gorgeous structure originally constructed in 1508 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was renovated in 1902 in a Gothic style. A Mass was in progress, so we peeked in and got to hear some of the music. Mr. Rajan told us that his own children were baptised here. The interior of the church was whitewashed, and colorful paintings and geometric stained glass windows made it quite cheerful. The ambiance in this church was completely the opposite of St. Francis. It felt very light, airy, and tropical, whereas St. Francis seemed more Old World, formal, heavy, and dark. We got into the car, and as we drove to our next stop, Mr. Rajan pointed out that this particular boulevard is always elaborately decorated for Christmas. At the beginning of advent, people start to decorate at one end of the street, and decorations reach the far end on Christmas Eve. We noticed that several houses still had their Christmas stars hung, two months after Christmas. There is an enormous rain tree set back from the road. Its shape exemplified "treeness". Mr. Rajan said that it takes fifty people to decorate that particular tree for Christmas. It must be quite a spectacle, and he said that there is a large New Year's parade as well. The decorations had been removed from the large tree, but we noticed a large crowd congregated underneath its broad canopy, as well as several motorbikes and a tuk-tuk. Mr. Rajan explained that they were there to take their driver's tests. The tree provided necessary shade from the intense tropical sun, so it made it a much more tolerable place to wait. Our next stop was a colonial laundry service still in use today. In 1720, the Dutch army brought people from Tamil Nadu to Cochi to wash their military uniforms. They gave them 13 acres of land and 80 wells with which to get the water for the washing. The laundry was known as Mainath Veli. Today, this washing center (now called Vannar Sangham Dhobi Khana) is still active. The people live onsite and wash, dry, and iron clothing and linens for the nearby naval base, homestay B&B's, and local people. They start their days at 4 a.m. with washing. Then they hang the clothes on clotheslines or spread them on the ground to dry. And finally, they iron them. Today they mostly use electric irons, but some still use the traditional irons heated by smoldering coconut shells. Kerala literally means land of coconuts, and this abundant resource can burn for 4 hours within an iron. We toured the facility. A man in a turban soaped up and scrubbed the clothes. Men and women in small numbered cement stalls then rinsed the clothes with water and wrung them out. Men wore shorts or kalli mundu, sometimes shirtless, with flip-flops. The women wore loose saris. They all smiled for the camera and were very friendly. Off to the side of this area were many clotheslines propped up by wooden planks and pieces of bamboo. The clothesline itself is made from twisted coir (coconut husk fiber) ropes, with the fabric tucked in so that they don't need to use clothespins. The clothes were immaculate and bright. Large squares of fabric were drying spread out on the grass. Some white collared shirts looked as though they had been starched before being ironed and folded. They looked brand new. It was an impressive operation! On our way out, we lingered for a few minutes in the ironing area. The building had a corrugated metal roof and concrete countertops along the perimeter. Men were ironing shirts with broad electric irons, and folding them precisely. A woman in an outbuilding filled an old-fashioned iron with coconut husk coals. We saw one of these irons loaded up with coals perched ready for use in the ironing counters. It was incredibly bulky. Mr. Rajan dared us to pick it up. We lifted it and found it to be extremely heavy...over 10 kilograms! Major religions have coexisted peacefully in Kochi for centuries: Hunduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. We got back into the car and drive into the Matancherry section of town. We stopped to look at a colorful Hindu temple. Hindu devotees offer salt for the dead on Fridays, and they make candles of lime. We walked around the temple, which had bright statuary along the eaves. There was a vibrant canopy in front of the temple, covering an altar which contained a conical pile of salt. The caretaker of the temple seemed quite amused by us. Mr. Rajan told us that a famous local elephant visits this shrine. We drove through the Gujarati community, who originally settled here 200 years ago after fleeing Muslim attackers. After that, we headed to Jew Town. Jews came to India as far back as the days of King Solomon in order to trade for black pepper to preserve their meat. In 1524, Jews settled in Kochi with permission from the Hindu king, and since then have been provided with protection by the government. They built the first synagogue in the British Empire here in 1568. At its height, the Jewish population of Kochi reached 5000 people. But the vast majority repatriated to Israel, leaving just 6 individuals (4 of whom are over the age of 90). The community is so small that it can no longer look after its cemetery properly. There aren't enough men to perform the proper Sabbath rituals without recruiting Jewish tourists and/or Jewish sailors. We walked down Synagogue Lane, passing the International Pepper Exchange Headquarters (a venue for trading black pepper). Some buildings were adorned with Jesosh stars of David while others sported Hindu swastikas. It was a bit jarring to see these two symbols next to one another, but only because of the co-opting of the latter symbol from its original intent. In addition to Jews and Hindus, there is also a Muslim population in Jew Town. We met Sarah Cohen, the oldest Kochi Jew, at age 94. There are many embroidery shops in Jew Town, and Sarah Cohen used to produce exquisite work before her advancing age made it too difficult for her. She has passed along her techniques to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. Her embroidery shop is now looked after by a Muslim couple. Jew Town is a microcosm of the broader tolerance that occurs across Kerala, and should be a model for all of us. We visited Paradesi Synagogue, which was built in 1568. A sign in English and Hebrew asked entrants to "please dress modestly." We were not allowed to take photographs inside, but we bought a couple of postcards which depict the interior. It is one of only four synagogues in the world containing two pulpits. The floor is made up of 1100 blue and white handpainted Chinese tiles in four motifs. Decorative Belgian chandeliers hang overhead. The Eternal Flame burns coconut oil (mixed with water to prevent the glass globe from cracking). We were amazed by all of the details. The synagogue was beautiful, yet bittersweet because its community will soon disappear unless more Jews move to Kochi.
We went into an embroidery shop and admired all of the intricate work. Most of the pieces were white linen with hand-made lace edging. There was a display showing how the lace was made, using 11 wooden bobbins. Some of the linen was plain, others were embroidered using various techniques. There were doilies, tablecloths, bureau scarves, etc. We wanted to get something, but a large white linen tablecloth would never survive in our house! Sp we opted for a small round doily with scalloped edges, embroidered with a pale floral motif. We bought it with our marble lamp from Agra lamp in mind; it would be nice to have it sit on top of a doily that was also from India. Next we went to the "Dutch Palace" (Mattancherry Palace). It is a bit of a misnomer because it was originally built by the Portguese in 1555 as reparations for accidentally destroying a Hindu shrine. It was renovated by the Dutch in 1665. Inside are various historic Hindu artifacts, including palanquins, royal clothing, etc. But the most impressive are the 375 year old murals painted with natural dyes depicting scenes from the Ramayana. They cover almost 1000 square feet of wall space. Some of the paintings are unfinished, and you can see how they used saffron to trace out the design before coloring it in with the other colors. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the building, but I did find one online via Wikimedia Commons:
The architecture was interesting, with dark wooden ceilings of various complexity in the various rooms. The dining room had brass adornments on the ceiling that would reflect candelight to make the room brighter during dinner. Such a simple yet elegant solution! We stopped in at a "handicrafts cooperative." This turned out to be Cottage Industries Exposition, Ltd., a multinational corporation which imports and exports luxury goods. We knew that very often, guides get kickbacks for bringing tourists to local shops, so this was not a surprise. Sometimes it is very low-key, and other times it is a hard sell. I don't mind souvenir shopping, but I really dislike the hard sell. Unfortunately, this was one of those times. A salesman gave us each a cold bottle of water (much appreciated as it was now around noon and the heat was extreme). He asked if we wanted to buy a carpet. I said no, that we already had two Indian carpets, and that we don't have room for a third. He described how nice that Indian wool or silk carpets can be. I agreed with him, saying that we absolutely love ours (one wool and one durry), but don't intend on buying another. Next he tried to sell us fine silk scarves. We have textiles from everywhere, including India. These were some very high quality silk scarves, and they were so soft. But they were expensive, and I don't need anything that fancy. I did find an inexpensive one that I liked, and the salesman was obviously disappointed. He led us to a display of marble piedra dura. No thanks, we had bought some at the source in Agra. He led us upstairs and into a jewelry showroom. I said that I absolutely would not purchase gemstones. I have a history of bad luck with precious jewelry. No more. He begged and pleaded, just please take a look. I held firm. I'm not going to buy anything, why waste your time? After a few more failed attempts, he basically gave up and let me wander around at my liesure. With our love of travel, compasses have always resonated with us. Since Kochi has such a navigational history (from European explorers to the Indian navy to a shipping hub), this seemed to be the appropriate place to buy one. So we bought a brass compass shaped like a ship's wheel. (Of course, by the time we got it home, it no longer functioned. But it looks nice!) We got back to the hotel at 1:45 p.m. Mr. Rajan had extended our half-day tour a bit since he saw how much we were enjoying it and learning from it. He was an excellent day guide and we really enjoyed his company! Mukul's cousin Ankush called Mukul to say that he had seen the baby owl today! On our birdwatching adventures the other day,, we had only seen the parents! He sent a photo of the fluffy gray chick with its black face and yellow eyes. How exciting!
We had lunch at the East Indies restaurant. Mukul once again humored us and sat inside. It was so hot and humid outside! Craig ordered the curried pasta and I ordered Vietnamese beef and soba noodles (orange soy roasted beef with bean sprouts and scallions). Everything was delicious and once again the presentatiuon was exquisite! We went up to the room at 2:30. I couldn't resist taking a dip in the infinity pool while we had some down time. It was so crystal clear and beautiful. And it was so hot outside! I changed into my bathing suit, and asked if Craig wanted to join me. As much as he would have liked to, he was wiped out from the morning's activities in the hot sun. We had other activities planned for the evening, so he decided that it was best for him to nap in the air conditioning. I put the hotel bathrobe over my bathing suit and went downstairs into the courtyard. The pool was so refreshing! I talked to a couple from the UK, and then I swam a couple of laps. When I tried to take a selfie, one of the extremely attentive staff noticed and offered to take some photos for me. It was a nice way to cool down after a morning of touring in the heat, and I emerged thoroughly refreshed. I went back to the room and did a Facebook post while we listened to the rest of the Blind Willie Johnson mp3's. Then I went out for a walk to purchase that Om batik that had caught my eye last night. I hadn't seen anything like it on our travels today, and it was still on my mind. I got to the little shop and saw that the tapestry was still hanging out front. I didn't see a shopkeeper, so I went inside. The place was unlocked, but nobody was around. I waited around, hoping that the proprietor would show up. I stood out in the street for a few minutes, hoping that some neighboring shopkeeper might call them on a cell phone to tell them that there was a customer waiting for them. The shopkeeper finally arrived. The price was reasonable, so I bought the tapestry. We concluded our day with a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is a music and dance show unique to Kerala. We left the hotel at 4:55 p.m. We arrived early to watch the performers get their makeup applied. We sat in rows of chairs and admired the paintings of various yoga asanas on the walls, hung between shiny golden elephant headdresses A man basically laid on his back in savasana on the floor while another man painstakingly applied his makeup. This process included colorful face paint as well as prosthetics applied with rice paste. After 45 minutes, the make up artist finished, leaving the performer to do the last finishing touches himself while gazing into a hand mirror. Shortly before 6 p.m., we entered the theater. Our seats were toward the back, but they upgraded us to 5th row. The show started with two women doing a brief traditional classical Indian dance. There are two characters in the main show: a female character (played by a man), and a powerful male character (usually a demon, also played by a man). The costumes are always pretty much the same for these two characters, but the identities of the characters change depending on which classic Hindu story is being acted out during that particular performance. The first 30 minutes of the show consisted of a narrated demonstration of the art form. The female character demonstrated greatly exaggerated facial expressions. The eye movements alone were so expressive and rhythmic. Then a variety of mudras (hand positions) were explained. Finally, an array of common emotions were demonstrated. All of these were very over-the-top (we've even seen it described as "grotesque"). These three elements were combined in the second half of the performance to tell a story from Hindu mythology. This performance ended with the green-faced demon (the one whose make-up we saw applied) killed the female character, who was disguised as a man. It was a gender-bending spectacle...a man dressed as a woman dressed as a man. There was no dialog, but there were musicians providing accompaniment. There was a power glitch during the performance, so they suffered a couple of technical difficulties. At one point, the lights went out, and the air conditioner shut off. It was silent in the theater. The lights came back on. In the silence, we heard the unmistakable sound of Windows reboot chimes. The audience chuckled. We could hear someone backstage frantically fast-forwarding the audio narration on the computer to catch up to where they had been. Soon the show was back underway. The performance was quite entertaining and we got our photos taken with the performers afterwards. They were very gracious.  We went up to our room at 8:30, did some Facebook posts, and went to sleep after a very busy, satisfying day. St. Francis of Assisi Church Chinese fishing nets Paradesi Synagogue |
 Mukul meets Mr. Rajan  St. Francis of Assisi, Fort Kochi  St. Francis of Assisi, Fort Cochi  Colonial covered walkway, Fort Kochi  Fishermen, Fort Kochi  Chinese fishing nets, Fort Kochi  Operating the Chinese fishing nets, Fort Kochi  Posing with our fisherman friends after operating their net  Our catch with the Chinese fishing nets  Fisherman photobombs his friend by giving him a colander as a hat  Fort Kochi  Fort Kochi  Santa Cruz Basilica  Santa Cruz Basilica  Vannar Sangham Dhobi Khana  Vannar Sangham Dhobi Khana  Iron, Vannar Sangham Dhobi Khana  Hindu temple in Mattancherry  Handmade lace, Jew Town  Sarah Cohen, age 94, oldest surviving Jew in Kochi  Paradesi Synagogue, Jew Town  Steph enjoys the hotel pool  Rice paste is used to secure a Kathakali performer's prosthetic make-up  Kathakali performer  Kathakali performance  Posing with the Kathakali performers 
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