SIX WONDERFUL HOURS AT FORT COCHIN

My first tryst with residents of Fort Cochin was in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of 1990. Visiting them and spending time in their company sometimes made us forget we were caught in a war with enemy soldiers all around, all the time with guns and ammunitions. Perhaps it was their humour laden dialect and accent that amused us profusely. The laughter filled conversations, humourous anecdotes and their positive vibrant energy must owe to the general carefree and kind spirit of the people of Fort Cochin. The stories and history of Fort Cochin resonated in my mind as I travelled in the cab from Ernakulam city to Fort Cochin.

It was raining heavily and I couldnt make out much as the sky and the sea were so grey and merged to appear like a dark grey blanket. Yet my determination despite the rain manifested into sheer joy upon visiting so many places. The Dutch palace hardly seemed like a palace from the outside, but some renovation could restore its outer deteriorating appearance. It was filled with awesome paintings, guns, knives and war equipments from the past. The Jewish Synagogue wasnt too far from there and I felt blessed to visit the place and sit on the benches where, way back in the past must have sat jews who prayed for their bretheren and themselves to be able to return Israel. I was told there are still eight jewish families residing in the Jewish street. Every Saturday they would gather to hold their prayers from the Torah and Talmud. I have always found hebrew script fascinating - and the speech so close to arabic. Infact the hebrew script can go for an improvised version of hierogliphics. I exited from the synagogue and headed for the explicit antique shops in the Jewish streets.

The rains had stopped and the streets laden with tourists are different from any other streets compared to our cities. The infrastructure and layout is perhaps from several centuries ago influenced by Dutch and Portuguese invasions.

My next visit was to the Jain Temple. A lot of Gujarathi jains were present there. The priest was pleasantly surprised to see a non-jain and he was kind enough to take me around the temple, the interiors of which was entirely and exquisitely tiled with superior marble imported from Jaipur. There were statues and paintings of the ten teerthankaras and I looked for Mahavira and there was this beautifully and gracefully adorned Mahavira statue. The priest gave me pedas and besan ladoos as prasad which I ate in the taxi. The driver refused to partake any saying he was a 'christian'. The St.Francis Church is a fine example of a great architectural work from the past and a visit there would have one experiencing a certain divinity and calm.

A stroll in the Princess street is exciting and interesting with shops selling a variety of handicrats, artecrafts, curios, brassware, tibetian buddha paintings, semi and precious stones, carpets, wall hangings and so on. A lot of hotels and home stays are an attraction due to enormous presence of tourists. Antique and carpet shops are in plenty and a visit to well established ones would leave you spell bound at the collection.

The Chinese fishing nets are quite interesting to watch. Couple of fishermen would lower the nets into the water, wait a while and raise the huge nets and find that the catch is just a few fishes. Its tempting to go and try it out yourself and experience fishing - chinese style !!! On the pavement are spread fishermen selling their catch for a huge price! They were selling 6 medium sized prawns for 200 Rs. Across the ground are young men bargaining with european ladies and men towards their services of guidance and sightseeing. As I relaxed sipping tender coconut water that seemed like a litre, a young Arab girl from Oman began to talk to me. She had just visited Kovalam and was preparing to go to Munnar from Fort Cochin. Her family and she was having a fantastic time vacationing in Kerala! I didnt miss that opportunity to converse in arabic after a lapse of 3 years. The name Kuwait had her mother talking to me with great comfort. They were already addicted to tender coconut water. I had lunch at Anne's Residency, a homestay with a restaurant beside their well landscaped lawn and beautifully designed garden. The restaurant had a soothing waterfall. Then I went to the Portuguese museum housing various crosses and belongings from churches of europe.

A visit to an exclusive antique shop (which are in plenty by the way), had the Kashmiri salesperson take me to beyond the 5th floor, the terrace where the open view from there is just breathtaking. I noticed a lot of buildings and homes in Dutch and Portuguese style and in one part slums and another part in the far distance, the high rise buildings of Ernakulam city. The last visit was to an art gallery to culminate in returning to ernakulam city with a mental promise to come back with my soulmate to experience the wonder, warmth and historical extravaganca of Fort Cochin.