Friday 25th November
I had expected Cochin to be a small village, but I was very much mistaken. Cochin, known as the “Land of the Spices” is made up of 24 islands connected by bridges. The Portugese explorer, Vasco de Gama, arrived in Cochin in 1502. He brought Catholicism to India. The Portugese ruled Cochin from 1500 – 1663, followed by the Dutch from 1663 – 1795 (they brought Protestantism) and then the British from 1795 until 1947 (who brought Anglicism) when India gained Independence from British Colonial Rule. For the last 40 years the state of Kerala (in which Cochin is situated) has their own language – Malayalam! Of the 1.5 million people living in Cochin today, 50% are Christian, 20% Muslim and 30% Hindu. Of the many Jews that lived in Cochin very few remain today. I have been told that there are only 5 Jews left in Cochin – 4 female and 1 male. We visited 2 shuls (Chendamangalam and the Paradesi) and recognised a lot from the book I recently read: “The Last Jews of Kerala” by Edna Fernandez in which she described the two main Jewish communities within the state of Kerala – the “Black Jews”/”Malabar Jews” who are said to have arrived at the time of King Solomon, and the “White Jews”/”Paradesi Jews” who settled in Kerala in the 16th Century after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Saturday 26th November
Shabbat in Cochin was lovely and restful. I sat outside and lapped up some warmth from the sun, holding on to that as my thoughts wandered to my return to cold London, when I realised we would be returning in another couple of days.
Saturday evening when there was a visit arranged to yet another shul, a group of us played truant and took a taxi to visit a mall – Lulu – the biggest mall in India. What we had calculated to be at least 2 hours in the mall turned out to be much less as it took us over an hour to get there (a journey that should have taken less than an hour). Traffic was bumper to bumper all the way.
Even the rather short visit was worthwhile as it was definitely an experience. Firstly the number of people! It was packed – and this was 9 p.m.!!! We were the only non-native people there. We really only had time to get a feel of the place. We entered one shop where we were hit by an array of colour. Racks of materials for sarees and shelves of bales of cottons to be made into the tops that are worn under the saris. The fabrics were amazing. It was like looking at a colour wheel. Customers would choose a shade from their sari and choose a material to have a top made – this was done on the premises.
We entered a hypermarket to purchase a birthday card, baloons and a bottle of something for one of the girls who was celebrating her 60th birthday. Unfortunately, we had to rush as we had arranged to meet our taxi driver at a certain time. How I would have loved to have had time to walk through the aisles of the hypermarket. Alas, there was no time. But it was worth the visit, even though it was short.
Sunday 27th November
On Sunday we took the coach to Alleppey (also known as Alappuzha). We made a 4-hour trip on a houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala. An amazing experience! I found it so relaxing but the flow of whiskey could have attributed to that! Sitting on either the outer deck or inside, we saw how the people lived on these backwaters (which are made up of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets): how they grew rice, how they washed their clothes and themselves. I couldn’t see any roads inland, so have deduced that to travel, they have to go by boat. I understood from Rona, the tour Madricha, that these people are moved inland for the duration of the monsoon season. This was a fantastic way to end an amazing 2 week stay in India. It is not completely over as we have to get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning to catch a plan to Mumbai in order to fly home at 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
We had an evening programme on Sunday. We went to a Kathakali show. We arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and watched the actors putting on their own make-up – an array of greens, reds and yellow were painted on. A make-up artist came to apply pastes (made from rice) and paper cut-outs onto one artist’s face. This was an elaborate make-up session which the audience was allowed to watch.
The colours of the make-up were derived from various natural stone, and when ground and mixed with coconut oil they turn into a fine paste. Over the years, these natural stones have been replaced by chemical alternatives. I read an article in Saturday’s paper in which it stated that some Kathakali actors have developed skin ailments as a result of the frequent use of these chemicals. The artists are very stoic, not wanting to abandon this ancient art form and either revert to natural stones or consider the allergies and ailments a professional hazard.
The performance was done in mime and dance with an abundance of facial expressions, made more pronounced because of the make-up. At one point one of the actors performed an eye dance. It was a unique experience.
Having been in India for 2 weeks, I couldn’t help notice that Kerala was different from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. I didn’t notice many cows in Kerala and the drivers seemed to drive in a more orderly fashion than the 3 other states visited, i.e. they overtook on the correct side of the road. Neither did I see any beggars. Kerala is fertile, green and lush. There is loads of water available.
An early night for an earlier than planned start to catch a flight from Cochin to Mumbai. Why get up at 4 a.m. when our flight is at 9 a.m.? It seems that Kerala is holding a state-wide strike (because of the demonetisation of the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes) and the road are going to be closed between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., so we need to arrive at the airport before then – otherwise we’ll be stranded!!!!