We have arrived in the tropics of southern India, in the state of Kerala, in Kochi, where it is lush and beautiful. We are staying in Fort Kochi with a lot other travelers, probably the most we have seen anywhere on our trip so far. The pace here is relaxed, and we are enjoying strolling around the waterfront, acclimating to the heat and humidity. The town is filled with towering trees with broad canopies in which we've seen orchids growing. It is surrounded by water, much like San Francisco; maybe this is one reason we feel so at home here.
Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, has been an important sea port for centuries. Spices like vanilla, cardamom and pepper were exported to Europe, and spice bazaars were common.
These are fishing nets, which were introduced by the Portugese in the 15th century.
The nets are still in use today primarily for tourists to buy a fish and then have it cooked by a nearby restaurant. We didn't try this, but instead have been enjoying seafood dishes such as fish cooked in banana leaves. Here Pete is enjoying jumbo prawns in a Kerala style curry made with thick coconut milk, tamarind and spices, eggplant cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and fried shallots, and the rolled bread is called appam and it's made from rice and coconut milk. For dessert we had crepes filled with shredded coconut, cashews and raisins and drizzled with honey. We love coconut, which is a good thing since it's a key ingredient in Kerala cuisine.
We are staying in a "homestay", which is similar to a western B&B, except that the buildings are hotels rather than homes. Chack Inn was built in 2005 and is run by a lovely older couple, the Chackaputurals.
We are happy that our visit to Kochi is overlapping with India's first Biennale, a contemporary art show with site-specific artwork made by artists from all over the world. (We saw the Venice Biennale show in 2011 and loved it too, because there was art all over the city and it was like going on a treasure hunt to find it.) Kochi is something of a cosmopolitan city, so it was a great choice for the Biennale. It seems the city has really embraced the show, which opened 12/12/12. These stencil artworks were around the larger sites with artwork. Can you identify these three?
The Biennale had a lot of thought provoking artwork. The artist Amar Kanwar brought to light the situation in India where people are being forced off their land so that it can be used for industrial purposes, which has resulted in thousands of farmer suicides. Others, like this piece, "The Last Supper Gaza" by Vivek Vilasini, juxtapose religion, popular culture, and identity.
Kristina is pictured with grinding stones in an installation by Sheela Gowda. The stones used to be part of every kitchen in Cochin. They were set in the kitchen floors and the household cooks (women, of course) would crouch down and use them. This was how spices were prepared for cooking. But people now use electric spice mills or small mortar and pestles. The artist was able to gather 175 of these heavy castoffs and bring them together for this site installation.
Another representation of displacement was this boat filled with household items (by Suborn Gupta), to make the journey from the country to the city. A boat was used since Kochi is surrounded by water.
In this garden area was a huge woven sculpture entitled "Erase" by Srinivasan Prasad, whose form reminded us of Martin Puryear's sculptures. Kristina climbed up a bunch of sandbags for a closer look. One is supposed to climb the sandbags to the piece, whisper into the structure a confession or something that wants to be given up. At the end of the exhibition, the structure will be lit ablaze so that all that is left is the sand below. Mr. Prasad's other pieces included pictures of an installation in which he used unclaimed ashes from crematoriums as a medium to make patterns on about 2,000 square feet of wall space using his index finger. He made approximately 45 million finger prints.
The Biennale also has a collection of portraits of the 13 Kochi Christian bishops and head priests, reminding us that there are about 30% Christians here (primarily Catholics and Episcopalians). There is a large Hindu population, about 47%, and about 15% are Muslims. This results in Christian influences, such as crucifixes on car dashboards and on buses with banners saying Ave Maria almost as often as we see prayer wheels and Om Nama Shivaya banners.
We were fortunate to get to see part of a Hindu festival called Sani Pradosham on the 23rd of February. The elephants were dressed up and paraded to the temple, as a tribute to Lord Shiva.
We will have 3 more days to enjoy Kochi after we finish our two week bicycle tour, and we are looking forward to having more time to explore this charming place.
Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, has been an important sea port for centuries. Spices like vanilla, cardamom and pepper were exported to Europe, and spice bazaars were common.
These are fishing nets, which were introduced by the Portugese in the 15th century.
The nets are still in use today primarily for tourists to buy a fish and then have it cooked by a nearby restaurant. We didn't try this, but instead have been enjoying seafood dishes such as fish cooked in banana leaves. Here Pete is enjoying jumbo prawns in a Kerala style curry made with thick coconut milk, tamarind and spices, eggplant cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and fried shallots, and the rolled bread is called appam and it's made from rice and coconut milk. For dessert we had crepes filled with shredded coconut, cashews and raisins and drizzled with honey. We love coconut, which is a good thing since it's a key ingredient in Kerala cuisine.
We are staying in a "homestay", which is similar to a western B&B, except that the buildings are hotels rather than homes. Chack Inn was built in 2005 and is run by a lovely older couple, the Chackaputurals.
We are happy that our visit to Kochi is overlapping with India's first Biennale, a contemporary art show with site-specific artwork made by artists from all over the world. (We saw the Venice Biennale show in 2011 and loved it too, because there was art all over the city and it was like going on a treasure hunt to find it.) Kochi is something of a cosmopolitan city, so it was a great choice for the Biennale. It seems the city has really embraced the show, which opened 12/12/12. These stencil artworks were around the larger sites with artwork. Can you identify these three?
The Biennale had a lot of thought provoking artwork. The artist Amar Kanwar brought to light the situation in India where people are being forced off their land so that it can be used for industrial purposes, which has resulted in thousands of farmer suicides. Others, like this piece, "The Last Supper Gaza" by Vivek Vilasini, juxtapose religion, popular culture, and identity.
Kristina is pictured with grinding stones in an installation by Sheela Gowda. The stones used to be part of every kitchen in Cochin. They were set in the kitchen floors and the household cooks (women, of course) would crouch down and use them. This was how spices were prepared for cooking. But people now use electric spice mills or small mortar and pestles. The artist was able to gather 175 of these heavy castoffs and bring them together for this site installation.
Another representation of displacement was this boat filled with household items (by Suborn Gupta), to make the journey from the country to the city. A boat was used since Kochi is surrounded by water.
In this garden area was a huge woven sculpture entitled "Erase" by Srinivasan Prasad, whose form reminded us of Martin Puryear's sculptures. Kristina climbed up a bunch of sandbags for a closer look. One is supposed to climb the sandbags to the piece, whisper into the structure a confession or something that wants to be given up. At the end of the exhibition, the structure will be lit ablaze so that all that is left is the sand below. Mr. Prasad's other pieces included pictures of an installation in which he used unclaimed ashes from crematoriums as a medium to make patterns on about 2,000 square feet of wall space using his index finger. He made approximately 45 million finger prints.
The Biennale also has a collection of portraits of the 13 Kochi Christian bishops and head priests, reminding us that there are about 30% Christians here (primarily Catholics and Episcopalians). There is a large Hindu population, about 47%, and about 15% are Muslims. This results in Christian influences, such as crucifixes on car dashboards and on buses with banners saying Ave Maria almost as often as we see prayer wheels and Om Nama Shivaya banners.
We were fortunate to get to see part of a Hindu festival called Sani Pradosham on the 23rd of February. The elephants were dressed up and paraded to the temple, as a tribute to Lord Shiva.
We will have 3 more days to enjoy Kochi after we finish our two week bicycle tour, and we are looking forward to having more time to explore this charming place.
