Wednesday, January 14, 2026:
A Day Spent Sight-seeing in Fort Cochin
Our full-day of sightseeing in Cochin began early as both of us were up by 7.00 am. We showered and got dressed and decided to go out for an early morning walk to the waterfront so as to see the Chinese Fishing Nets and the Fish Auction in action. In any case, breakfast at our B and B only began service at 8.30am. This gave us a good 45 minutes to explore on our own.
Visiting the Church of St. Francis:
As daily Mass was announced at 7.30 am at the historic Church of St. Francis, we decided to begin our walk in its direction as this would ensure that it was open and would enable us to peek inside. It was just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. Already we could see Western white visitors on the streets, all struck by the same idea as ours—to get some sights in before the day progressed too far.
A large sign post in the church compound outside informed us that this was the first European church built in India. It dates back to 1500 (Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut from Portugal in 1498). It was built originally out of wood by the Franciscans but was later rebuilt in stone and roofed with tiles by 1516. It remained under Portuguese control until 1663 when the Dutch took it over and converted it into a Protestant Church. After the British took control of Cochin, it was declared an Anglican Church (in 1804) and after the exit of the British, it was then taken over by the Church of South India who continue to administer it.
In 1524, when Vasco da Gama died, he was first buried in this church. But once he was hailed as the great Father of Portuguese Colonization, his remains were transferred to the Monasterio de San Jeronimos in Belem, just outside of Lisbon in Portugal where I had been fortunate enough to see the grand marble mortuary monument under which he lies permanently at rest. The original gravestone that covered his grave in this church has been retained here and is now mounted on the wall just at the site where his remains once lay. There are also other Dutch grave monuments that date to the 1500s and 1600s and are scattered around the walls in the front of the church. Other more recent mortuary monuments (dating from the 1800s and the early 1900s) can be found all around the rest of the church.
It is quite a simple church really with a typical Anglican design. There are large stained glass windows and a beautiful teak timbered ceiling. But, by my reckoning, the most striking features are the old colonial punkah or canvas fans that hang along the sides of the church. They use an antiquated pulley system to keep them working manually—now, of course, there are electric ceiling fans—but it was quite evocative to me to imagine the use of the punkah during long church services in the sweltering heat of Cochin summers. After we surveyed the other features of the church (Baptismal font, ornamental lectern, etc), we left and walked towards the waterfront past Bastion House.
Exciting Activity at Cochin’s Waterfront:
We were right on time to see the Chinese fishing nets in action at the waterfront. These are found all over Cochin—a legacy, I believe, of Chinese fishermen who had once arrived on these shores and used these contraptions to survive. They are built on the concept of the pulley system with large round stones weighing down one side and rising up as the nets are lowered into the water. The nets are then pulled up as the weighed stones go down. When we were there, not much of a catch was to be found and after taking a few pictures, we walked towards the auction stands where the catch was being sold to the highest bidder. It was fun to see the process and even more fun to walk along the pathway to see the displays of fresh fish and shell fish that were quite attractively sorted and placed for sale to daily buyers. Fish does not get any fresher than this, I thought, as I took a few photographs.
Breakfast in our Hotel:
As our hotel tariff included breakfast, we found patrons seated at tables in the dining area as soon as we entered. Our manager asked if we’d like our eggs boiled, poached, scrambled, fried or in a plain or masala omelette. We opted for the last and it arrived with three slices of buttered toast and coffee. Indeed, it was a very filling breakfast and it fueled us well for the rest of the day. It was not long before we set off. Calling for an Uber to take us back to Jew Town as the first item on our agenda today was the tour of the Dutch Palace.
Visiting the Famous Dutch Palace of Mattancherry:
Dutch Palace is so-called because it was taken over by the Dutch after their conquest of Cochin. It had originally belonged to the princely rulers of Travancore, but the Dutch acquired it from them. It is a stucco and teak building with two major highlights. The teak timbered ceiling is beautifully carved and ornamental. These are evident is room after room and as they are beautifully polished and maintained, I simply could not stop taking pictures of them. The second huge highlight of this palace is a marvelous representation of the entire Ramayana, the Hindu ancient epic written in Sanskrit, created through frescoes on the walls. As you move from room to room, you are fully taken by the detail of these frescoes, done in mainly four colors: red, yellow, black and white. Many of them are in such a fine state of preservation that you would find it hard to believe that they are centuries old. While there is some deterioration, for the most part, it is just brilliant in its vividness.
Other than the ceiling and the frescoes, this building houses a museum that contains loads of memorabilia of the kings of Travancore—there are a series of portraits, oil-painted by local and British artists, as well as arms and armor, maps (created by Dutch cartographers that quite graphically portray the entire Malabar Coast), photographs, costumes and accessories of royalty as well as photographs of the British officials who took over the administration of the region at the time. It really was a most worthy visit because there is so much to see and all of it is quite well organized and really very cheap indeed (a ticket to visit costs a mere Rs. 5—just pennies literally). We also had lovely views of Jew Town and the back of the synagogue from the windows of the Palace as it was the rulers of Travancore who had first given the arriving Jews the space to build their synagogue on palace grounds. It was a fabulous first stop.
Off to See Jew Town and the Synagogue by Day:
It is only a short walk from the Dutch Palace to Jew Town and we made a quick bee line towards it. There is a large arching sign over the street that leads to Jew Town and today, with most of the Jewish community having left for Israel, their homes have been converted into housing for the non-Jewish population while the ground floor space has been converted into shops. En route, we stopped in a passage way that houses more shops and a little cafe to order a ginger-lemonade that was most refreshing.
By day, the shops were full of tourist merchandise and tourists too. Indeed, the place was crowded with tourists, mostly white, and many seemed to be European Jews. As we passed by the same shops we had seen by gas light last night, we were better able to admire the tourist produce inside. The cobbled street and the gas lamps continue to give the place a very antiquated look and as we moved towards the synagogue, we realized that it remains the biggest attraction in the area.
The Jewish Synagogue is the second oldest in India. It was built by the Baghdad Jews soon after they landed on Cochin’s shores. They were granted land close to the palace and the Shiva temple by the rajahs of Travancore and while it was once a most vigorous center of Jewish community life, today it is mostly a tourist site. We left our footwear outside and went pas the large Star of David in the courtyard to enter the synagogue which is hung over with colorful glass lantern lighting. The main Altar houses the Torah behind an embroidered curtain and the pulpit from which the rabbi addresses the congregation is also a prominent part of this structure. However, to my mind, the most remarkable part of this building is the flooring which is made entirely of blue and white tiles in the design that has come to be known as Delft (meaning, from Holland). However, these tiles turned out to be made in Canton, China, in the ancient past. And I also learned that the West in general and the Dutch in particular, learned to make these blue and white tiles from the Chinese. The floor is, surprisingly, not covered with carpets or rugs—the hundreds of people, who come into the place actually walk directly on them. I cannot even begin to imagine the very slow damage that is being done to them. In fact, apparently, when the late Queen Elizabeth II of England, visited the synagogue in 1965, she is said to have commented that it was a sin to walk upon so gorgeous a floor. I could fully commiserate with her feelings.
Having taken a slow spin around the room to take in the various visual details of it, we walked towards the exit—only to run into Bridget White Kumar, the cookbook author with whom we had made friends at breakfast yesterday. She too was on a visit to the synagogue, doing some sightseeing before returning to Bangalore where she lives.
Taking is some of the Art Biennale at Ishara House:
Walking out into the cool sunshine, we stopped for about half an hour to take in Ishara House—an old Jewish mansion that is an art gallery today. Since the Cochin Art Biennale was going on, this place is an important site and we decided to go in to see the exhibition of broken mirrors by an Italian artist called Michelangelo Pistoletti. There were two other artists whose work was also in the same house, but the series of rooms at the back housed an exhibition about the people of Gaza, their recent suffering and their tenacity in the face of war and persecution. It would have been easy to spend much more time in this one site, but we were keen to take in a few more as long as we were able to see something of the Art Biennale. But first, we decided to stop for a ferry ride.
A Water Taxi Ride to Wellington Island and Back:
Our relatives had told us yesterday that Mattancherry, the area is that covered by these tourists sites, is the only place in India that can boast a water taxi or water metro service—this is a ferry that travels across the river going from one bank to the next. They suggested we take a ride on it to go from Mattancherry station to Wellington Island station, across the river. And since we were keen on checking it out, we took their counsel.
Accordingly, we walked to the ferry terminal at Mattancherry and bought our tickets for just Rs. 30 each (per ride). We had a half hour wait in the terminal which was spotlessly clean, superbly lit and well planned. We were also able to use spotless rest rooms here. So, in every way, this was a great rest stop for us.
When the ferry arrived, we piled into it, only to find that there were very few people on it. It is a small vessel but very well manned. It was only a fifteen minute crossing but it was lovely to see the port of Cochin ahead of us with a cruise ship actually docked in it as Cochin is a popular cruise stop on international cruises between Dubai and the Far East.
Once on Wellington Island, we discovered that there was, in fact, not too much to do. We did not realize that there were a couple of art installations right outside the ferry terminal there—had we known this, we could have used our time waiting for the return ferry to Mattancherry, to go and check out these exhibits too. Instead, we sat waiting for another half hour for the return ferry to take us back to Mattancherry. The ferry ride back and forth was a cool opportunity to say that we had been on India’s only water taxi and found it to be super impressive.
This item ticked off our To Do List, we hailed an Uber that took us to the other side of Fort Cochin. By this point, we were feeling a bit peckish and were all set for lunch. In about fifteen minutes, we were at the Santa Cruz Basilica where we alighted and looked on Google for the place where we’d eat lunch.
Visiting the Basilica of Santa Cruz:
However, when passing by the main gate of the Basilica, we found it open and decided to nip inside for a swift visit. Who knows when it would close again and we did not want to lose the chance to see it. So in we went.
After St. Francis Church, the Santa Cruz Basilica is the most visited church in Cochin—it is also a Catholic church and so attracts a large crowd. The church is quite striking visually as it has lovely ornamental ironwork on the iron posts that hold up the upper tier. It also has arresting paintings in the Renaissance style by the Italian Jesuit Antonio Moscheni and these can be seen as soon as you enter the church on the two chapels on each side. We made a prayerful visit and moved on as we were starving by this time and lunch beckoned.
Lunch at Fusion Bay Restaurant:
It was Menaka who had recommended Fusion Bay Restaurant as a good place to have typically Keralite food and, going by her advice, we used Google maps to find that the place was only a few meters from the Basilica. Inside, we found it to be a really small place with only a few tables and covers. It was rather late and that explained why we were seated immediately.
The menu was indeed quite varied with Indian and Continental delicacies. We ordered the Duck Roast as I was very keen to try it—it is also one of the specialities of Syrian Christian Kerala. Sadly, it was all finished by the time we ordered it. We had no option but to settle for Prawn Curry and Chicken Stew which we ate with appams. Of course, as in the case of every meal we had eaten in this state, it was grand. There was really nothing to complain about. Service was good and attentive and the people are generally very kind and mild-mannered and eager to please. We finished our delectable meal, used the rest room again and decided to nip over to the Gelato place called Gelato Pillai that was actually right across the road. And there, in the cool, air-conditioned comfort of an ice-cream parlor, we ordered peanut butter, Alphonso mango and chocolate gelato—yes, we were able to sample three different scoops and they were all really good. It gave us a chance to take another seated break as we would be spending the rest of the afternoon on our feet as we perused the offerings of the Cochin Art Biennale.
Sampling the Offerings of the Cochin Art Biennale:
Cochin Biennale is now so well-known that it attracts artists and art-lovers from all over India for a a month of browsing and perusing of interesting art works from India and around the world. There are many venues—about12 scattered all over Cochin, with many of them in Fort Cochin itself. There are two venues that present the works of multiple artists—Aspinwall House and Pepper House. And so we made a bee line for Aspinwall House first.
bought our tickets at the ticket counter outside Aspinwall House (Rs. 100 for each of us for the entire day and valid at all the venues). As soon as I entered the main gate of Aspinwall, I remembered immediately that I had been here before and seen the Biennale a few years ago. Aspinwall House is also architecturally very interesting as it is one of those old colonial offices-cum-warehouses that were very much involved in the colonial Tea trade. Cochin was one of the most prosperous of the South Indian ports as it did business with various parts of the world. The beautifully laid out buildings that make up this complex still bear signs of the commercial activity of that period although the structures themselves are pure white, punctuated with balconies, a second story that offers another large balcony overlooking the river and rooms in which the artists’ offerings can be shown off at full advantage. We perused all of the work and found most of it to be highly avant-garde. So esoteric were most of the art exhibitions and installations and so huge the variety of media being used that I have to say I did not respond or connect with very many of them. Still, it was good to be able to see what modern Indian artists are doing and how they were able to interpret the venue and theme of the exhibition which this year is “For the Time Being”. This can be interpreted variously, of course, but in its simplest form it means that by the end of the one-month show, the original and initial exhibits could have changed completely.
After Aspinwall House, we walked for about fifteen minutes to get to Pepper House. As its name implies, it is a similar (if much smaller complex) that was once active in the trade—this time pepper and other spices. It is constructed around a verdant courtyard and here too, the visitor goes from one room to the next trying to figure out what each of the artists is trying to say. Messages were mixed like the media they used and the curatorial notes were very helpful in allowing us to interpret what was being portrayed This building took us about half an hour to go through as we really did not stop for too long anywhere. There was one more exhibition I was keen to see and that was a bit distant—the last exhibition of the famous Indian artist Vivaan Sundaram. Since the show closed at 7.00pm, we needed to hurry to catch his show too.
Another Uber took us to the Cube Art Space where we then spent the next half hour in the company of the late artist Vivaan Sundaram. This exhibition has been curated and created for one of the cities of the Middle East (Qatar, I believe) and it was from there that it had traveled to be presented here. It was a sample of the last work that he had done—and it contained photographs of his own surgery performed upon his own body by a group of surgeons after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It also featured paintings and sculpture and as one moved from one room to the next, you had absolutely no idea what awaited you. It was, to my mind, rather gruesome and I must admit I did not enjoy the experience at all.
This Cube Art Space also contained the work of other artists—so, on the whole, we saw the work of at least fifty artists in the space of a single afternoon. Needless to say, we were well and truly exhausted by the end of the day as we’d started super early and had covered a great deal of ground. We were so ready to return to our rooms for a rest, a drink and then a thought about where we would eat dinner.
Dinner at Kashi Restaurant:
We called an Uber and in about fifteen minutes, were back in the comfort of our room in our hotel. It was time for a nice cup of coffee which we brewed and, a little later, for a drink and a nibble on banana chips and nuts. While relaxing, we looked for a good place to eat nearby as we were too beat to go too far away. We found a place called Kashi, that was literally on the next street, raved about on Trip Advisor and that was where we chose to eat.
We were disappointed. In deed, it was the only meal on our entire trip that we really disliked. First of all, I was hoping to find an enclosed AC-ed space, only to find that it was located in an open-air garden, as it were, with just a make shift canopy covering the top. The place was ridden with mosquitoes which made seating very uncomfortable. It specialized in Continental food and we decided to take a break from typical Keralite food to eat something more familiar. We chose to have the Beef Sizzler as we both love sizzlers and as beef is not available in Maharashtra. Well, we were sorely disappointed. Portion-size was small compared to all other sizzlers we’ve ever ordered. Normally, it makes a very substantial meal for two as it comes with the protein of choice and a host of grilled vegetables plus potatoes (either chipped or mashed). We asked for our steak to be done medium-rare but it was more like rare and the center was barely cooked at all—not very pleasant eating. The accompaniments were very sparse—yes, there were mashed potatoes but the portion size was much smaller than usual. Other veg hardly filled the spot. The dish was accompanied by a mushroom-mustard sauce which happened to be absolutely tasteless—no flavor at all—neither of mushrooms nor of mustard. Just a bland off-white disappointing sludge. I asked for mustard to be brought in a little cup for me and this made the steak palatable. We asked for barbecue sauce or steak sauce and there was none available. Overall, a thoroughly disheartening experience. Oh well…service was good, but it was with relief that we paid the bill and returned to ur hotel. I guess the moral of the story is ‘when in Kerala, eat Keralite food’.
And on that somewhat dreary note, we walked for about five minutes to return to our hotel and bed down for the night for a much-deserved rest after what had been a truly stimulating day.
Until tomorrow, see ya’…
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