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Some like it Hot

Ripe, pulpy mangoes; the perseverant odours from "godowns" brimming with the hot stuff - pepper, the "black gold of Malabar" and other spices; luscious fruit pickles; tangy coconut and seafood cuisine; a fascinating blend of culture, religion and politics with a more than generous smattering of absorbing history - intoxicating Kochi, Kerala'sharbour city on India's Malabar Coast.

The aroma of spices pervades the air of Kochi. Pepper, ginger, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and chilies, are grown, ground, packed and shipped to all corners of the world from here. Arundhati Roy blended the essential elements of Kerala in her Booker prize winning novel "The God of Small Things". Both Roy and Salmon Rushdie in "The Moor's Last Sigh" arouse the senses with evocative descriptions of food, people, politics and of course, spices.

Even within the divergent and unusual country of India, the small state of Kerala on the southwestern coast is unique. Most people live simple rural lives, yet Kerala boasts the highest literacy rate in India. Amongst an overwhelming Hindu religious majority, there are significant Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Jewish communities. Kerala was the first place in the world to democratically elect a communist government in 1957. Keralans merge their own resolute Malayam heritage in cuisine, architecture and customs with traces from foreigners who have visited, traded with, and colonised Kerala over the centuries.

Since traders from the early Phoenician civilisation were first welcomed to the Malabar shores, Kochi has had a succession of visitors. The Greeks, Romans and Chinese were mutual trading partners. 1498 marked the start of a new era - a succession of colonialists began with the arrival of Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese who established colonial authority to protect and enhance the coveted spice, ivory and sandalwood trade. Over the next five centuries, the French tried unsuccessfully to gain a foothold; the Dutch succeeded the Portuguese, and were subsequently replaced by the British. There are plenty of remnants of bygone eras to satisfy the most voracious historian.

The city of Kochi, known until recently as Cochin, is a conglomerate of towns and villages flowing over palm-studded islands and peninsulas on Kerala's Malabar Coast facing the Arabian Sea. The area around Kochi is reminiscent of that part of India illustrated in old school geography books. Colourful fishing villages and ancient temples dot the coast, rice paddies, cashew, coconut, banana and rubber and tea plantations fill every valley and stretch across the hills. The scenes are exotic, green and tropical.

The harbour is India's most beautiful, and very busy. A variety of fishing craft ply the busy harbour waters - some only small canoes with rag cloth sails. Ships wait their turn to load Kochi's famous spices from brightly painted waterside warehouses or godowns. Passenger boats from canoes to modern ferries as well as some quaint tourist boats transport people between the islands. Getting around Kochi is far easier by road than by water.

Public passenger ferries or private tourist boats take you to the doors of Bolghatty Palace on palm studded Bolghatty Island. The palace was built by the Dutch and later used as the British Residency. Today the palace is a hotel and though it has seen better days, still has a strong sense of history and nobility as well as one of the best vantage points on Kochi harbour.

Across the bay is the Mattancherry Peninsula, perhaps the most interesting part of Kochi. On a lazy afternoon riding around Fort Cochin, Jewtown and the spice markets on a hired bicycle there is plenty to see. Near the ruins of Fort Cochin, the Mattancherry Palace has brilliant wall murals depicting scenes from the Indian epic the Ramayana still in tact.

Giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets looking like huge preying mantis's line the point of Fort Cochin. The nets were introduced to Kochi by the court traders of Kublai Khan and are still in use today at Kochi and throughout the backwaters. The three or four men who do the strenuous work of lowering and raising the nets into the water complain of poor catches these days. A generous supply of large fish at a nearby stall must have been acquired elsewhere.

Near the Chinese fishing nets is the yellowing, faded façade of St. Francis Church, founded by Portuguese Franciscan friars in 1503. Vasco da Gama was buried here and although his remains were later returned to Portugal, his headstone is still in the church. The oldest church in India, it is still used for Sunday services, during which punka-wallas manually pull ropes attached to woven rattan punkas (fans) to provide "air conditioning". The strongest surviving influence from Kerala's early encounters with the outside world appears to be Christianity and the names of Joseph, Vasco, Jesus, and Maria are common amongst Keralans.

On the eastern side of the peninsula are the cobbled streets of Jewtown, site of the oldest synagogue in Asia. The once thriving Jewish population of Kochi has dwindled from about four thousand in the nineteenth century to just a few families today. The strength and wealth of Cochin's early Jews is apparent in the synagogue built in 1568 under the patronage of the local Raja, who no doubt benefited from the robust commercial activity. The synagogue is resplendent with Belgian chandeliers; ornate, hand-painted Chinese floor tiles; and intricately carved wooden bench seats.

The essence of Kochi however, is her spices. Readers of Rushdie's "The Moor's Last Sigh" will be familiar with the enormous influence of the spice trade on Kochi's history. In Rushdie's novel, family dynasties were built on the proceeds of spices - amongst several less-savoury enterprises. The "hot stuff", as Rushdie calls it, is black pepper - mountains of it. Kochi's spice market is on Mattancherry - it's easy to find, simply follow your nose and watch out for the push-carts bulging with hessian bags of aromatic spices being wheeled in and out of the decorated godowns. Inside the godowns, the strong, exotic smells pervading the street are concentrated to lung-piercing agony and it's impossible to stay more than a couple of minutes before returning to the street, gasping for mouthfuls of air. The activity is frenetic as merchants and buyers haggle over boatloads of pepper, turmeric, ginger, cumin and cardamom - just as they have for centuries; and traders shout prices and orders at the world's only futures market in pepper; men and women dry, sort and pack spices.

Every evening across a causeway in the neighbouring city of Ernakulam, the Keralan dance-drama theatre of Kathakali is performed in a number of theatres. Dancers as young as nine years old are trained for years in the strict discipline of yoga, mythology and spiritual belief. The spectacular costumes and make-up takes hours to prepare and apply, complementing a routine of yoga and complex body contortions, as well as subtle hand and finger movements.

Two things for which Kerala is well-known throughout India are her high literacy and education levels, and her superb cuisine. Gastronomes visiting Kochi will be delighted with the profusion of delicious and interesting food available. The spicy local dishes are prepared, presented and consumed with gusto.

Fresh local spices are combined scrupulously to complement each other and enhance vegetable, seafood and meat dishes. Coconuts and at least ten varieties of bananas are abundant in Kerala and are common ingredients in both sweet and savoury recipes.

The food has a tangy heat but not so "hot" as to burn out the delicate flavours infused by the Keralan adroitness with spices. Seafood is diverse and plentiful - meen mollee, a whole fish called a pomfret marinated in turmeric, chilli and salt and cooked on a banana leaf in coconut milk with green cardamoms, garlic, onions and ginger is an unforgettable local specialty.

Beyond Kochi to the east are the Kerala High Ranges where there is relief from the coastal humidity and the hill station of Munnar. Luxuriant, bright green tea plantations stretch across the hills like a giant carpet interspersed with the vivid colours of the clothes of tea-pickers. South of Kochi is the magnificent Kerala backwaters waiting to be explored over the days ahead - but that is another story.

The marks left by centuries of intrepid visitors, the exquisite beauty of her harbour, the vibrancy of her people, and the tantalising cuisine are some of the endearing virtues of Kochi. Moreover, visitors retain a potent, lingering memory, one that will be revived with the thoughts or tangy odours of spices, Kochi's exotic reward to the world.

TravelFile

GETTING THERE
Qantas has four flights per week to Mumbai from all Australian States via Singapore. Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines fly to Delhi and Calcutta from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Malaysian Airlines flies to Delhi and Madras from Sydney and Melbourne.

Indian Airlines and other private operators have daily flights to Kochi from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Madras. Indian Railways have several daily services from Mumbai to Kochi. There is a sea ferry service from Mumbai to Kochi.

WHERE TO STAY
The Taj Malabar Hotel on the harbour edge of Willingdon Island is Kochi's best hotel - ask for a room with harbour views. Although it has seen better days, the Bolghatty Palace Hotel on Bolghatty Island is full of character and moderately priced. There are many accommodation options in both Kochi and nearby Ernakalum.

USEFUL INFORMATION
Transport by ferry around Kochi is convenient and inexpensive.
Kochi has a sub-tropical, warm, humid climate with average temperatures of 24C to 30C all year round. Heavy monsoon rains occur in June and July.

Tourist visas for India are available from the Consulate General of India, Level 27 Bligh Street, Sydney 2000.

For more information in Australia contact: The Government of India Tourist Office, Level 2, Piccadilly, 210 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000. Telephone (02) 9264 4855 Fax: (02) 9264 4860

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