Kochi Fast Turning into Country's Major Cruise Ship Terminal

Built in 2003, Queen Mary 2 is the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built (Length is 350metres!). It contains 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and a planetarium!

With the visit of Queen Mary-2, World's largest ship to the beautiful fort city, the queen of Arabian Sea is fast turning into a major terminal for cruise ships in India.

Mural Paintings, Dutch Palace, Mattancherry, Cochin, Kerala

Dutch Palace or the Mattancherry palace with its medieval charm is situated at Palace Road, Mattancherry,10km from Ernakulam city, Kochi, Kerala. Built by the Portuguese and presented to the Raja of Kochi Veera Kerala Varma (1537-65) in 1555 AD, it took on its present popular name 'Dutch Palace' after 1663, when the Dutch carried out some extensions and renovations in the palace. The rajas also made more improvements to it. Today, it is a portrait gallery of the Cochin Rajas and notable for some of the best mythological murals in India, which are in the best traditions of Hindu Temple Art.

The entrance to the Mattancherry Palace compound is through two arches which are typically Portuguese in character and a flight of steps through a portico on the south, gives access to a suite of public rooms on the upper level of the palace. The Palace with two floors built around a central courtyard follows the traditional Kerala style of architecture known as 'nalukettus'. From the outside, the palace looks European in character with scraped masonry walls and round-headed windows and doors but its sloping tiled roof and wooden balconies are indigenous features.

Inside the inner court, there stands a small temple dedicated to 'Pazhayannur Bhagavati', the protective goddess of the Kochi Royal family. Two more temples are situated on either side of the Palace dedicated to Lord Krishna and Lord Siva. The palace, with the interiors panelled with wood has exhibits of the Rajas of Kochi like ceremonial robes, headdresses, weapons, palanquins, furniture but the main feature is the series of astonishing murals, depicting scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranic legends connected with Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kumara, and Durga painted on the walls as well as the portraits of the rajas. The paintings cover a wide range of themes from the 'Puthra Kameshti Yagam' to Rama's return to Ayodya after vanquishing King Ravana of Lanka. The paintings totally cover nearly 1000 sq.ft in area and date from early as the 16th century through mid nineteenth century and are found in the bedchambers on the west side of the palace, in four chambers upstairs, and in two low ceiling rooms that are entered by a steep stairway. These beautiful and extensive paintings are fine examples of Kerala mural paintings best known for its unique style than the technique.
The king's bedchamber or 'Palliyara' left of the entrance occupying the southwest corner of the Palace is noteworthy with its low wooden ceiling and 300 sq feet of wall surface covered in about 48 paintings illustrating the Ramayana, from the beginning of the sacrifice of Dasaratha to Sita's return from captivity in Lanka. These paintings are the earliest in the palace, dating as early as 16th century. The last five scenes are from the 'Krishna Lila' where in a cheerful God Krishna using his six hands and two feet to engage in foreplay with eight happy milkmaids. Another important series of paintings in the Dutch Palace is found in the upper staircase rooms, notably that of the coronation hall that was made under Dutch patronage. Among the compositions are Lakshmi seated on the lotus, sleeping Vishnu (Ananthasayanamurti), Shiva and Parvati seated with Ardhanariswara and other goddesses, the coronation of Rama, Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana etc. On the opposite side of the coronation hall is the staircase room or Kovinithalam (Room No II) , with a descent to the lower storey and four paintings belonging to Shiva, Vishnu and Devi, one incomplete. The ladies chambers below the stairway are closed off to visitors. Room No. IV depict scenes from Kumarasambhavam and other works of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.

The eastern rectangular chambers across the rosewood covered main hall is entered through a steep stairway and an entrance porch with finely carved and painted ceiling. The first of the eastern chambers is marked by fabulous scenes of Vishnu and Siva iconography and just beyond it to the left is a small room with an unfinished but bold image of Vishnu as 'Vaikunthanatha'. These are among the latest works in the palace. The Dining Hall has carved wooden ornate ceiling decorated with a series of brass cups. The palace also contains rare examples of traditional Kerala flooring, which looks like polished black marble but is actually a mixture of burned coconut shells, charcoal, lime, plant juices and egg whites.

Adjacent to the palace, almost within its grounds is the famous Cochin synagogue built in 1567 and between them stands a large circular temple with a cone roof which is not open to non- Hindus.

Jewish Synagogue, Mattancherry, Cochin, Kerala

The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews", a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town, and is the only one of the seven synagogues in the area still in use. The complex has four buildings. It was built adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace temple on the land gifted to the Malabari Yehuden community by the Raja of Kochi, RamaVarma. The Mattancherry Palace temple and the Mattancherry synagogue share a common wall.

Chinese nets of Fort Kochi Basking in the setting sun

St. Francis Church, Fort Kochi, Kerala

Vasco da Gama, who died in Cochin in 1524, was buriedb here. Apparently after fifteen years his remains were removed and taken to his birthplace in Lisbon as the final resting place for this renowned explorer. St Francis was the first European church to be built in India and was originally a timber building. In 1516 it was reconstructed in stone by the Portuguese Franciscan monks and dedicated to St Anthony. In 1663 it was taken over by the Dutch and converted to a Protestant church. An inscribed stone above the entrance confirms that further restorative work took place in1799 when although the British now had control over Cochin the Dutch retained their ownership of the church. However in 1804 it was peacefully transferred to the British as an Anglican Church when it was renamed St Francis. Nowadays it is governed by the church of South India.
The church has an impressive façade with a decorative bell tower at its summit. It has been renovated recently and the bright white finish shone impressively against a clear blue sky. A clock installed in 1923 to commemorate the life of Hal Jones, a local dignitary, boldly declared the time with its roman numerals. Three polished shutters protected arched windows at the upper level and a large heavy-hinged church door welcomed all visitors to the simple but impressive interior.
Behind the altarpiece were three stained-glass windows simple in their design of the sacred cross. The top window with a red cross and blue background and the lower two with a green background. The sunlight reflecting through these windows cast magnificent hues and spooky shadows throughout the length of the church. The past grave of Vasco da Gama was marked with a low wooden and brass barrier and a simply engraved brass plaque. This was evidently well cared for and without fuss signalled Cochin’s important link with the explorer.
In a far corner of the church a basic engraved plaque is unceremoniously propped up against the wall. It states, “this tablet is erected as a memorial of the visit of her majesty Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain on 17th October 1997”. The wall carving itself is lacking in depth and the detail is hard to distinguish. In the vestry is a copy of the original Doop Book, an old baptism and marriage register from 1751 – 1804. The original book was sent to London in 1932 for substantive repair to the leave and was then rebound in the original style.
Many old churches in Cochin were destroyed, often wilfully, in the fierce battles that took place. But St Francis’ was the munitions store so was extremely well protected and escaped any real damage. This is a major tourist attraction in Cochin.