Farewell 2020

Long ago, Thomas Carlyle, told, " A man must get his happiness out of his work. His first of the many  problems is to find the work he is meant to do in the world. Without work he enjoys he can never know what happiness is." He then went on to coin his famous phrase, " Know thy work and do it." 

2020 took that joy out from us yet we believe we are blessed to be alive at the end of it. As the year take its leave, we rise our parting glass as a friend and brother, 

"Thank you for the lessons, 2020!"

Christmas Eve

On the Christmas eve of 1524, Vasco Da Gama, the greatest of all the sailors, on his third visit to India, died at Fort Cochin and was buried at the historical church of St. Francis. 496 years, since.

Vasco Da Gama

Worlds Most prestigious documents by UNESCO, "Memory of World Register" established in 1992, contains 299 documents from five continents. One of them is Vasco Da Gama's hand written journal of his first voyage to India during which he arrived at Calicut on May 20th of 1498. It is written by a mysterious man aboard the ship and contains the misfortunes and triumphs of the voyage sharing in words every step taken by the adventurous sea man and his crew. Undoubtedly an exciting read about the incidents that changed the history of the world. The journal contains first hand witnessing of treason, diseases, meeting with our ancestors, war equipments, animals, plants, trees, musical and nautical instruments, food, villages, difficult navigational situations etc and also Portuguese words for the Calicut words.

Vasco's sea route

Vasco Da Gama was lucky to find a Mohmedian navigator from the eastern coast of Africa, Ahmad Ibin Majid, who guided Vasco to India. Arab sailors were experts sailors in the Indian Ocean and they knew the routes they were sailing for centuries very well. 

Vasco's second visit in 1502 was more guided by the economies of trade, religion and politics to establish a foothold and monopoly trading rights for his King and country and is marred with events of brutality as he confronted Mohmedians whom he saw again on the Malabar Coast, the very traders and their religion Vasco's country was in war with in Europe. 

After Vasco's return to Portugal in 1503, Francisco De Almeida, established a fruitful contact with the Kochi Kings attaining more than a foothold and trading rights and they increased their influence all around the Indian coast. Almeida was made the first Governor and Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505.

Vasco Da Gama came again in 1524, on his third visit as Viceroy, but fell sick and died on the Christmas Eve.

The illustrious Mariner was bestowed with Hereditary Royal Pension, Dom status (Lord), the title of Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient. After 16 years from his death, Vasco's remains were taken back to Portugal by his son and is enshrined in a fitting mausoleum in Jeronimo Monastery, his country's everlasting tribute to the greatest among the ones who have sailed the seas. 

Reference:
Economic Times, June 20, 2013
http://www.mosteirojeronimos.gov.pt/en/

Our Fort Cochin is a wonderful mixture of interesting narratives. 

Data Quest and PC Quest have been nostalgic technology magazines which we have grown up with when technology was slowly creeping into our lives and the news and information about the developments were not easily available. These magazines in the 90's were great source of information. Who would have thought one day Mr. Shyam & Mrs. Seema Malhothra would take our walk in Fort Cochin. Seen here in the picture is our walkers with Barbara and Zelda, the artists from Italy on a tour around India.

 

It was also a good start for us and our presenter who has just returned from a semester long lecture at a tourism college in Nellore.

Happy New Year, Friends, may we continue to give our best in everything we do.

 

 

 

Muchillotu Devi

Perinchellore was an old town famous for its scholarly Brahmans who were very good in the knowledge of Vedas, grammar, literature, astrology, medicine etc.. Scholars from all over came to Perinchellore to debate with the Brahmans there to test their own erudition. One such family in Perinchellore was Rayaramangalam. It so happened with them that the latest generation had no male heirs to continue their family lineage. They prayed to their family goddess by offering special Puja. Soon they got a daughter but not a son. Sensing a divine intervention the parents accepted her gratefully and named DeviKanya. They brought her up giving her the best they had including education.

The girl grew up to be a scholar, naturally,  and her erudition spread among the scholarly circle of  the area in spite of being a girl. It was the custom at that time for the Brahman girls to be married off at the age of 12. Devi's parents proposed her the marriage and she agreed but on one condition. She will marry the man who will defeat her in a scholarly debate. Her parents had to agree and the marriage day was fixed.

Many scholars came from far and wide both young and old. For two days nobody could defeat Devi. This was a blow to the Scholars of Perinchellore to be defeated and that too by a girl. For her parents she was a divine child but for others she was a mere girl who has to be shown her place in the world. So on the third day they deliberately guided the debate to the topic of Rasas which are the human feelings. They asked her which is the most significant of the Rasas to which Devi correctly replied as Sringara or erotic love. Then the scholars asked which is the most painful of the Rasas. Devi had no hesitation in saying it is the pain of child birth experienced by women.

The Brahman scholars were enraged. They asked how can a virgin know all these feelings without experiencing it. They felt she is not a kanya (Virgin) and proclaimed the punishment due to such a woman for the innocent Devi. She was outclassed and expelled from the community.

Though heartbroken, her parents could not do anything against the decision of the community. Devi walked away from her house, her village and went straight to the temple at EachiKulangara and entered into a deep meditative prayer of forty days. At the end of it she woke up with the realization that she had to leave her body to prove her innocence. At the Brahma Muhurtham, that is thirty six minutes before sun rise she prayed her final prayer and went to a place called Karivellore and made herself  a pyre and jumped into the fire after taking off one of her anklet and leaving it near the pyre.

Alas! The fire was not enough to burn her body completely as it lost its flame midway. After a while a coconut tree climber from the lower caste was passing by carrying some dry fronds and Devi called out to him asking him to put the dry palm leaves into her fire. The man was frightened by the terrific site, he ran away without looking back.

Next came that way a man from the Muchilottu community. Another lower caste community who deal in oil which was more important than electricity in those days. Devi asked him to pour the oil  that he was carrying in a pot into her pyre. Though terrified the man sensed a certain divinity in the stoic Devi and poured oil into the fire hoping it would put off the fire. Instead the fire was set ablaze again and the Devi disappeared into it after blessing him. From then on the Devi has been deified as the Goddess of the Muchillottu community and celebrated as Theyyam every year to this day.

The Telegraph

We are happy to note "The Telegraph" have mentioned in their travel article FCHW's presenter Biju Thomas (Historian & Incredible India's Regional Level Guide)  as the guide to be with while touring around our historic Kochi (Cochin).

With due respect to the author Gill Charlton and what we have learned from her the day she spent with us we reaffirm our resolve to be in love with our Fort Cochin and continue to offer specialised and customised historical and cultural tour to those who come seeking to  know more about our home town, sharing with them what we know already and continue to learn about our home town everyday.

The Telegraph's Ultimate Itinerary - South India

Please check out  for the Day 13. Yes! Thirteen. :)

Celebrity Constellation

Susan Pegrum and her friends took a spin tour of Cochin with us the day Celebrity Constellation called on our Cochin Port. We did a special one for her which was quite different from the ones that were on offer for the shore excursion her cruise had listed.

The day turned out to be rather warm and nice with less humidity which was perhaps the best day for the tour. 

Apart from the usual Cochin sites and the history we went out to the neighbouring fishing villages and saw the boats  which they have seen while Constellation sailed up to Cochin from Colombo on her day long cruise from port to port. 

When the sun was too high we took a break at Old Light house Bristow hotel for lunch which by far has the best view of the Arabian sea. 

As the sun slowly went down and the shadows got longer we reached the pier just in time for Susan and her friends to have a look around at the shop malls which was set up along the wharf. 

Constellation is an awesome ship, we could see her towering over the tree tops from all over Kochi.