Introduction:
Kochi also known by its anglicized name Cochin is located in Kerala, the southern State in India. It is the second largest city in Kerala after the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is located in the district of Ernakulam and about 220 kilometers (137 miles) far from the capital. With the largest urban agglomeration in the state, the city has always been one of the principal seaports of the country. Heralded as the Queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast since the 14th century. Kochi merchants began trading in spices such as black pepper and cardamom more than 600 years ago. In many ancient scriptures and history books based on Kochi, one finds that ancient travelers and tradesmen frequented the city from time immemorial including the Arabs, British, Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese, who came here mainly for the purpose of trade have left indelible marks on the history and development of Cochin. Many of these groups went on to reside in the city for sometime before migrating away to other lands. Kochi thus has been a cultural melting pot due to successive waves of migration both within India and from outside over the course of several millennia. The pan-Indian nature is highlighted by the substantial presence of various ethnic communities from different parts of the country and many people including Anglo-Indians who are products of cross-breeding with foreigners. The city once had a large Jewish community, known as the Malabar Yehuden-and now referred to as Cochin Jews. The nos. of this group has dwindled and the foreign blood has been substantially diluted with local marriages. Retaining the Jewish knack for business, this group has figured prominently in Kochi's business and economic strata.
Over the years, Cochin has emerged as the commercial and industrial capital of Kerala and is perhaps the second most important city on the west coast of India (after Mumbai). Cochin has a world class port and international airport that links it to many major cities worldwide. Its strategic importance over the centuries is underlined by the reference-Gateway to Kerala. Kochi is a prosperous city and also known as the financial capital of Kerala. Surrounded by the Western Ghats on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, it is a breathtakingly beautiful and scenic land. Kochi one of the best places to travel and it also boasts of hundreds of islands, some even uninhabited. This important and beautiful port city been rated as the top three tourist destinations by the World Travel & Tourism Council and featured in National Geographic Traveler's '50 greatest places of a lifetime'.
Kochi has a lot of remnants from the past still clinging on. As European a city as one can find in India, it has Fort Cochin built by the Portuguese on an island offshore that seems to be pulled straight out of the 16th century with narrow, winding, canal-lined streets, 500 year-old Portuguese houses, cantilevered Chinese fishing nets lining the northwest shore of the island, a 16th century synagogue surrounded by 'Jew Town,' which was once home to the flourishing Indian Jewish population, the oldest church in India and a palace that was built by the Portuguese, renovated by the Dutch, and eventually was given to the Indian Raja of Cochin. The most famous symbol of Kochi is the row of Chinese fishing nets at the mouth of the harbor leading to the Arabian Sea in Fort Kochi, the oldest part of the city. In Ernakulam, where modernity has ushered in skyscrapers and shopping malls, the old quarter -- the Fort Kochi area and Mattancherry area -- maintains a colonial air and has building that have been designated as a part of Kochi's heritage. Vasco House in Fort Kochi located on Rose Street, is believed to be one of the oldest Portuguese houses in India. Vasco da Gama is believed to have lived here. This house features European glass paned windows and verandahs. Da Gama reached India in the autumn of 1524, but he died in Kochi only three months after his arrival. Even in death, Da Gama remained a traveller. Though his remains were removed from Kochi and buried in Goa, it was subsequently removed and sent to Portugal to be interred in the Church of Vidigueira. However, the coffin remained there until 1880, and it was finally transferred to a marble sepulcher in the church of the Monastery of the Jerónimos at Belém, outside Lisbon. Kochi had the honour of hosting the great explorer-colonist and the fact that his final exploration of another world began here associated the city with him forever. Despite the forward march of modernity, the city retains its distinct colonial heritage and is a lovely blend of tradition and modernity.
Etymology:
Etymologically, many theories exist pertaining how Kochi derived its name. Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings, variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin, and Cochi. According to some accounts, traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan gave Cochin the name of their homeland. The Chinese connection seem to obvious from the trademark fishing nets prevalent in the area known as china-vala or Chinese nets. Another theory is that Kochi is derived from the word Kachi meaning 'harbor'. Accounts by Italian explorers Nicolo Conti (15th century), and Fra Paoline in the 17th century say that it was called Kochchi, named after the river connecting the backwaters to the sea. After the arrival of the Portuguese, and later the British, the name Cochin stuck as the official appellation. The city reverted to a closer Anglicization of its original Malayalam name, Kochi, in 1996. However, it is still widely referred to as Cochin, with the city corporation retaining its name as Corporation of Cochin.
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