Culture of Kochi
Kochi for centuries has been seducing traders, seafarers and
travellers with its exotic geographical terrains and extensive range of
high quality spices. Outlanders from far away countries like Portugal,
Greece, Arab, China, The Netherlands and England have made their way to
this spice-land with ease and left a hint of their culture before
bidding goodbye to the archipelago.
Thus, in Kochi we get to see a concoction of cultural depiction - Mattancherry Palace-temple of the Portuguese, Bolgatty Palace
of the Dutch, large fishing nets of the Chinese and various crumbling
remains of the British. Thus, this multi-cultural city leaves a lot to
be explored by the tourists.
For
many years Jews, known as Malabar Yehuden, have been a dominant part of
Kochi community. They had a strong hold over the city’s business and
financial aspect. But, the community has gradually shifted its base to
Israel and USA and presently they have a thin population and a small
community.
Before the arrival of Portuguese,
Syrian Orthodoxy was the main Christian tradition that was followed in
the town, but after Portuguese dominance, Roman Catholicism became very
popular.
Today, this cosmopolitan city lives harmoniously
respecting each other’s cultures and tradition. The city witnesses a
host of religious festivals and participates in all of them with fervour
and gaiety.
Two of most important festivals
in the city are Onam and Vishu. Onam is rejoiced as a harvest festival
in later August or early September. The festival is celebrated for ten
days at a stretch. Entire Kochi is adorned with rangolis and beautiful
flowers. Women adorn themselves with jewellery and new saree. And on all
days people participate in various cultural programmes and sports
activities.
Vishu
is celebrated to bring economic prosperity in the city. This festival
is rejoiced with pomp and grandeur mostly by businessmen and in the
industrial estates. Vishu is held in March or April.
As
per ritual the women prepare a dish that consist of metal bell, a gold
ornament, Konna flowers, manuscript, unused cloth, coins, fruits and
broken coconut and offer it to the Gods. Other festivals like Holi,
Diwali, Id-ul-Fitr, Christmas, Easter, Milad-e-Sharif are also rejoiced.
Kochi Carnival is the biggest and most loved carnival in the city. It takes place in Kochi Fort,
the soul of the city, for ten days in the end of December. The carnival
is a mark of the continuing Portuguese tradition who welcomed the New
Year with splendid parties, fiestas and parades.
These
ten days see Kochi Fort transformed into a lively and colourful place
buzzing with enthusiastic party animals. People dressed in colourful and
funky attires participate in boisterous activities.
Sports
like volleyball, beach bike race, beach football and various other
competitions make the days even for fun-filled. The entire city gets
soaked in this fervid fervour and merry-making disregarding all their
worries and tensions. On New Year’s Day elephant parade is organised and
tunes of “Panchavadyam” fills the air.
Apart
from religion, literature also plays an important part in reflecting
the culture and tradition of Kochi. Cherusseri Namboodiri, a writer of
15th century, gave Malayam literature a new life when he used pure
Malayalam words, without the usage of Sanskrit, in his book Krishna
Gatha.
Post 18th century is known for the
inception of modern Malayam literature. Since then Kochi has seen a host
of writers like Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, Changampuzha Krishna Pillai,
G. Sankara Kurup, Shreedhara Menon and many more.
Kochi
also happens to be the centre of all regional movies, Mollywood. Cochin
International Film Festival is an annual event that attracts a host of
national and international film-makers. Kathakali, is the main dance
form in Kochi and also a very popular in other parts of India.
This
unusual dance form tells a story through eyes and hand movements with
very little legs or body movement. Most of these dance tales are based
on mythology, legends and religious stories that are well-known in
Indian culture.
Kochi
cuisine also tells us a lot about Kochi culture.The Kochiites usually
prefer food that has abundant spices and coconut. Bananas are also an
important ingredient in Kochi cuisine.
Dishes
like crispy bananas, Kaalan or bananas in yoghurt, pootu where bananas
are mixed with rice flour are very popular in Kochi. Being a coastal
area, sea fishes are also found aplenty in Kochi and the residents love
their non-vegetarian dishes.
Thus, Kochi reflects a very lively and energetic culture that has beautifully weaved together the traditions of olden days and spontaneity of modern times.
Also Read: