Vasco's gravestone, a 'Dutch' palace and the busy spice markets of Kochi

My visit to Kochi — which most people better know as Cochin — happened some time ago. Finding a free day from my work, I decided to explore the city and in particular, the old Dutch Quarter, which included a fort, a Jewish synagogue and a church where Vasco da Gama, famous Portuguese traveller was briefly buried after his death in Kochi during his third visit to India. Vasco da Gama who died on December 24, 1524, was first buried in St Francis’ Church and 14 years later, his remains were removed and carried to Lisbon. His gravestone can still be seen at St Francis Church. Also there are the picturesque Chinese fishing nets that one cannot miss seeing, nor resist stopping to photograph at sunset.

Vasco da Gama and his crew opened a new way for communication and changed sea trade forever — opening the market to new goods, spices, and other things unknown in Europe before then. The explorations also changed Asia forever. Following the arrival of the Portuguese crew, more and more Europeans headed to the east. The city of Cochin with its trading history that goes back at least 600 years and has often been referred to as the “Queen of the Arabian Sea”.

Called the spice trade centre of India, Kochi was the city that dealt with traders of many lands — the Arabs, the Dutch, the Phoenicians, the Portuguese, the Chinese and the British, and the Indian Chera dynasty. The trade in spices was made through a wide network with the Arabs. Kochi was also the first of the European colonies in India, with its Portuguese invasion in 1503. The city was later ruled by both Dutch and British forces.

With such a wide variety of people having influenced the city, there is much to see. For most visitors, the Mattancherry Palace built by the Portuguese and gifted to the King of Kochi in 1555 is the first stop. It is said that the palace was built to appease the Raja, after the Portuguese plundered a temple. In 1951, Mattancherry Palace is now declared a protected monument, with a restoration by the Archaeological Survey of India. The palace is considered an architectural masterpiece showcasing the blend between colonial and Kerala architecture.

Built in what is known as Kerala’s Nalukettu style of architecture, the palace is a sort of quadrangular structure, with a centrally located courtyard. In the courtyard there is a small temple dedicated to ‘Pazhayannur Bhagavati’ — the Kochi royal family’s goddess. There are two more temples on either side of the palace, one dedicated to Lord Krishna and the other to Lord Shiva. These two temples show a distinct European influence in pattern and arches. However, the palace offers some unique Kerala traditions in its interiors. The dining hall has a splendidly carved wooden ceiling with brass decoration. But the most unique and rare is the flooring that offers is an example of traditional Kerala flooring, created with a mixture of burnt coconut shells, charcoal, lime, plant juices and egg white. The end product that we see now is like black marble!   

The palace has a large number of murals, depicting religious and other decorative subjects in traditional Hindu temple art, painted in tempera with rich warm colours. The king’s bedchamber which lies on the left of the entrance in the southwest corner of the palace is worth seeing, with a low wooden ceiling and 300 sq ft of its wall surface covered with 48 paintings. Attributed to renowned artist of that era Veera Kerala Varma, the paintings in this section date back to the 16th century and are the earliest in the palace. Here we can see the Ramayana, from the beginning of Dasarath’s sacrifice to Sita’s return from captivity in Lanka. The last five scenes are from the “Krishna Leela”, seeing Krishna with eight Gopis.

The upper staircase rooms, notably that of the coronation hall that was extended under Dutch patronage, also contain some murals, such as Lakshmi seated on a lotus, Vishnu sleeping on the thousand-headed snake Sesha (commonly known as “Ananthasayanamurti”) and the seated Shiva and Parvati. Other subjects include “Ardhanariswara”, the coronation of Rama and Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan. The staircase room or “Kovinithalam”, descends to the lower storey where we can  see four paintings of Shiva, Vishnu and Devi (Parvati), and also one incomplete painting. In some other rooms there are also more recent paintings with scenes from Kumarasambhava and other works by Poet Kalidas, painted in the eighteenth century.  

The coronation hall, now converted into a museum, is where portraits of the Rajas of Cochin dating from 1864 onwards, are displayed. Painted by local artists, these paintings are rendered in western style. The ceiling of the hall is another traditional creation, of Kerala’s woodcraft, covered with floral designs. Amongst the other exhibits in the palace are an ivory palanquin, a howdah, royal umbrellas, ceremonial costumes used by royalty, coins, stamps and drawings.

Another important place to visit is the Paradesi Synagogue, also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or Mattancherry Synagogue. Built in 1568, at the time the Jews were known to have a busy mercantile role in the Malabar Coast. Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest active synagogue, in the Commonwealth of Nations. The synagogue shares its walls with the Mattancherry Palace and was built by Spanish — speaking Jews; therefore, it is also known as “Paradesi” meaning foreigners. It has a large number of rare antiques including beautiful chandeliers,a polished brass railed pulpit, Chinese hand painted tiles and more. Its striking architecture includes a clock tower and four buildings of its own.

The writer is an author, a professional communicator and an intrepid traveller