Cochin Chronicle 1 April - May 2007 Cochin

List of presidents of the Cochin Chamber 2 of Commerce ChronicleChronicleChronicle Trade show: The romance of the TRACING 150 YEARS OF THE CITY’S HISTORY 3 tea trade Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry Newsletter

Interview: Dr Falk FROM THE MINUTES BOOK Special meeting held on Marine police at that Reitz, founder of Tuesday, the 21st April at post. European 1914 at 5 pm 4 Present Office Peon: It was Foundation for Messers A. Buller decided to grant a Indian Heritage E.H. Cooper monthly pension of Rs 5 Monuments H.R. Haigh to the peon considering H.E. Day his inability to work C. Mauperce through old age. Community watch: D. Cuthbert A look at Cochin’s C.A. Innes (Collector of C.L. Mowbray 6 Gujarati community Malabar) Honorary Secretary C.L. Mowbray Harbour Police: The The 29 May ‘minutes’ Collector of Malabar said that the “Chamber Old food: Anglo- requested the Chamber did not consider that at 7 Indian recipes to state whether they present the expense of a were in favour of a Harbour Police would Harbour Police together be warranted. As the with a seagoing motor chief means of theft is History lesson: launch, the cost to be through foreign territory, How the KB Jacob charged to the landing where British Police 8 Road in Fort and shipping dues. The would have no standing came to be Chamber decided to and if Cochin and give a definite answer Travancore police after obtaining combine the two latter information from being entirely native no Coconada as to what benefit would probably had been the result of a be derived.”

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S companies based around present day government. DESK Cochin’s Willingdon They say, history repeats Island. itself. But let hindsight give As the Cochin Chamber We may not work and live us the wisdom to ensure of Commerce celebrates in the tumultuous times of that we adopt all that is 150 years, many may the pioneers, so too often good from the past. All wonder why we are we brush aside, and even that is negative, let us try looking back, rather than dishonour, our past. We and abandon. looking forward. The forget that our present is The COCHIN Chamber was founded by shaped by the amalgam of CHRONICLE was made C.E. Mirus, R.H. Peirce the many cultures that have possible through the and P. Leslie, J.H. Berry, N. passed our shores. support of our sponsors. Fitzgerald, A.S. Lawson, Through the COCHIN We hope to reach all our H.Huni, Geo Brunton, CHRONICLE, we hope members and the and S. Darley, representing to put things into chambers of commerce eight firms, in 1857 to perspective and examine across the country through work for a common the influences on our city, this newsletter. good and solve issues from the times of our Jose Dominic affecting their mutual forefathers to the President, Cochin Chamber Support structure for business: The old interests. Today, we have Portuguese, the Dutch and of Commerce & Industry Chamber of Commerce office in . The new close to 50 member the British up to our MD, CGH Earth office is in Cochin Chronicle 2

PAST CHAIRMEN/PRESIDENTS OF THE CHAMBER J.K. Hopkins Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1957-1958 D.E. Phelips Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd. 1958-1959 FROM 1857 ONWARDS T.A.K. Nair Tata Oil Mills Co. Ltd. 1959-1960 W.H. Nicoll, O.B.E. Madura Co. Private Ltd. 1960-1961 Name Firm From To A.J. B. Dickson Chartered Bank 1961-1963 J. Oughterson Oughterson & Co. 1857-1858 R.J. Watson Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd. 1963-1964 C.E. Mirus C.E. Mirus & Co. 1858 P.A.A. Majeed P.A. Abdulrehiman Kutty & Sons 1964-1965 J.H. Aspinwall Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1877-1879 O.Thomas Forbes, Ewart & Figgis (P) Ltd. 1965-1966 Geo Brunton John Crieve & Co. 1879-1891 B.V. Pai Tata Oil Mills Co. Ltd. 1966-1967 E.H.Black Aspinwall & Co. Ltd 1891-1898 P.H. Shaw Matheson, Bosanquet & Co. Ltd. 1967-1968 W.N. Black –do- 1898-1900 A.D. Peacock Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1968-1969 E.H. Black -do- 1900-1901 M. Sankara Menon Chakiat Agencies 1969-1970 J.Dell Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1901-1903 T.Koshy A.V.Thomas & Co. Ltd. 1970-1971 E.H. Blac Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1903-1905 N.B. Menon Alleppey Co. Ltd. 1971-1972 E.H. Cooper -do- 1905-1908 C. Prabhakaran Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1972-1973 C.L. Mowbray Bank of Madras 1908-1909 R. Indu Sekhar Patvolk 1973-1974 E.H. Cooper Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1909-1911 Venuguopal C. Govind Varma & Varma 1974-1975 C.L. Mowbray Bank of Madras 1911-1914 R. Balachandran Cominco Binani Zinc Ltd. 1975-1976 A.Fullarton 1914-1915 D. Balasubramaniam Peirce Leslie Ltd. 1976-1977 J. Dell Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1915-1919 R.J. Chandy Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1977-1978 B.S. Kidd - 1919-1920 M.S. Parikh Matheson, Bosanquet & Co.Ltd. 1978-1979 E.H. Cooper Aspinwall & Co. Ltd 1920-1921 T.C. Satyanath Thomas & Co. Private Ltd. 1979-1980 H.R. Haigh Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1921-1922 P.J. Weavers Harrisons & Crosfield (India) Ltd. 1980-1981 H.H. Jones Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1922-1923/23-24 B.S. Desai Premier Tyres Ltd. 1981-1982 H.R. Haigh Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1923-1924 Lt. Col. N.Vasudevan Alleppey Co. Ltd. 1982-1983 H.R. Jourdain Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1923-1924/24-25 B.K. Patodia G.T.N. Textiles Ltd. 1983-1984 S.C. Rae Madura Co. Ltd. 1925-1926/26-27 V.K. Chandrakumar Peirce Leslie India Ltd. 1984-1985 P.E.C. Jourdain Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1927-1928 E.B. Unni Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1985-1986 S.C. Rae Madura Co. Ltd. 1928-1929/29-30 K.T.R. Nambiar Patvolk 1986-1987 P.F.C. Jourdain Aspinwall & Co. Ltd 1930-1931/31-32 B.K. Saronwala M.B. & Co. Ltd. 1987-1988 W. Grant Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1932-1933 M.T. Paul Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd. 1988-1989 J. E. Pitcairn, O.B.E. Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd 1933-1934/34-35 K. Bala Hariharan Binny Ltd. 1989-1990 W. Grant Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1935-1936 Pamela Anna Mathew O/E/N India Ltd. 1990-1991 H. Harper Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. Mr. K.J. Jose Darragh, Smail & Co. (I) Ltd. 1991-1992 J.E. Pitcairn, O.B.E. Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1936-1937 M.K. Koshy A.V.Thomas & Co. Ltd. 1992-1993 R. Ainsworth. Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd. 1937-1938/38-39 Paulose Joseph Forbes, Ewart & Figgis (P) Ltd. 1993-1994 W. Grant Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. M.Gopinath Avery India Ltd. 1994-1995 J.E. Pitcairn, O.B.E. Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1939-1940/40-41 A.J. Tharakan Amalgam Foods Ltd. 1995-1996 H Black Madura Co. Ltd. 1941-1942 M. Jairam Chakiat Agencies 1996-1997 W.Grant Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1942-1946 M.H. Ashraff Tata Tea Ltd. 1997-1998 B.S. Holloway Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1946-1947 Manjoo Menon International Services 1998-1999 A. Meadows Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. A.S. Narayanamoorthy R.G.N. Price 1999-2000 J.S. Bruce Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd. 1947-1948 A.K. Atal J. Thomas & Co. P. Ltd. 2000-2001 E. Lefevre Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 1948-1950 V.R. Nair Hindustan Lever Ltd. 2001-2002 B.S. Holloway Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1950-1951 Venkatesh Naidoo Tata Tetley Ltd. 2002-2003 J.J.Mc Gregor Madura Co. Ltd. N.R. Pai Aspinwall & Co. Ltd. 2003-2004 B.S. Holloway Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1951-1952/ 52-53 A.K. Nair Chemicals & Proteins Ltd. 2004-2005 H.U. Buechi Volkart Brothers N. Sreekumar Apollo Tyres Ltd. 2005-2006 W.G. Black Aspinwall & Co. Ltd 1953-1954/54-55 Jose Dominic CGH Earth 2006- W.E. Northey, O.B.E. Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd. 1955-1957 F. Wichser Volkart Brothers

PAST & PRESENT Which one do you a-door? Who would have thought that the manner in which doors were opened to commerce would change so literally. Down the years, shopkeepers have opted for aluminium shutters to close shop, over the morning and evening ritual of lining up numbered wooden planks side by side. For convenience and security, modernity has the upper hand. But doesn’t the high- decibel downing of shutters make one wistful for the charm of those dusty, weather-beaten, termite-eaten planks? Cochin Chronicle 3

0 REFRESHER COURSE furious, and the auctioneer marks a sale by a knock of his gavel. “A good auctioneer must also be a A taste of the tea trade tea taster, though a tea taster need not be an auctioneer,” says There is many a process from the garden to the lip Thomas, who is a veteran at both. The tea taster’s valuation, which ea conjures up images including J. Thompson and Carrit scatted in hilly regions and remote comprises studying the dry leaf, of cool hills and hot Moran. Now, there are six. “The areas. Auctions allowed producers infusion and liquor, serves as a Tcuppas. It was also first auction took place in July and buyers to meet at one point, guideline for the buyers. And probably one of the few sectors 1947,” says W.C. Thomas, director and auctioneers are mainly brokers though some of the bigger in India that the British continued of Forbes. “It started on a small for the producers. Willingdon companies have their own tea to work in long after scale and the quantities on auction Island became a vantage point, tasters, the tea broker’s valuation independence. So, there is some were negligible.” Today, Thomas because of its accessibility as a is the base. Seldom does the

TeaFrom cool hills to a hot cuppa: (clockwise from top) Sprawling tea gardens in ; Tea tasting session; Action at the auction house

romance, exclusivity and piquant sells about 300 lots, totaling 2.5 port and its warehousing facilities. buyer’s price, except if the market mystery associated with the trade. lakh kg, on an average at a single Here, the dust auction, which is is very bullish, go above the Attending a tea auction or auction. The auctioneer makes a specific to the internal market, valuation. The average tea might witnessing a tea tasting, only seems commission of one per cent of takes place every Tuesday. The consist of up to 30 blends. to increase the mystery. In fact, a the total sale. leaf auction, the smaller one and Traditionally, auctions were held newcomer to an auction is most Thomas’s biggest sale in his 42 catering to exporters, takes place in an open outcry system, where likely not to understand any of the years of auctioning, which was, in every Wednesday. India, while still the auctioneer calls out the lot gestures or words that are fact, the largest sale in south India, the largest consumer of tea, has number, grade and estate. In 2004, vigorously exchanged between was for Rs 2.2 crore last year. lost its position as the largest the Tea Board started an online auctioneer and prospective buyers. While an average auction would producer to Sri Lanka, Kenya and auction system. But while the Forbes, Ewart & Figgis Pvt Ltd, take two hours, he did an almost . export auction is still electronic, the based in Willingdon Island, the marathon run to sell the 940 lots About 100 buyers might take part dust buyers returned to the manual first tea brokers in south India, listed on the catalogue. in an auction. In the old days, system in 2005. So, the romance initiated tea auctions into Cochin. The auctions came to be used as most of them would be formally is not all gone. Till as late as the 80s, there were the marketing system in the turned out in jackets and ties. Tea is highly subject to seasonal only three brokers in south India, industry as tea producers were Today, the atmosphere is more variations. The best quality is casual. Thomas remembers when produced from November to he joined the trade in 1964, “We February. The quality drops “A good auctioneer must be a tea taster, though had three Europeans in the between February and March. But company and many buyers at the a good cuppa, like a beautiful a tea taster need not be an auctioneer,” says W.C. auction were English.” The woman, will draw a compliment Thomas, director of Forbes, Ewart & Figgis. bidding process is fast and every time. Cochin Chronicle 4

Q&A WITH DR FALK REITZ, FOUNDER OF EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FO Ivan home

While his neighbours on Princess Street are hospitable, Ivan D’Costa Dutch palace is a good ex can be described as house-proud, a little aloof and even proud to be the latter. The houses on Princess are highly sought after as homestays by tourists who wish to relive the ambience of the art, in particular. many cultures that have My courses in Indian art his- influenced the shores of tory at the Freie Universitaet Ber- Fort Cochin. lin cover every period and region And most house owners in India from the first centuries are happy to oblige by A.D. to the present time. We also converting their century teach about the colonial, modern old homes into tourist and contemporary visual arts in lodges: two years ago, India. In our teachings we focus Fort Cochin had 25 mainly on the traditional visual arts homestays, now there are like architecture, sculpture and 250. Ivan, on the other painting, however, photography, hand, who retired as design, installations etc. will be also assistant collector at the mentioned. revenue department, is fiercely protective of his 125-year-old Tell us about your NGO, the Dutch style home, even pointedly ignoring his daughter-in-law’s EFIHM. Is it easy to get Eu- request to add an ensuite bathroom to one of the bedrooms. rope interested in preserving “I am 71. I am an old-fashioned man. I don’t take kindly to such Indian monuments? requests,” says Ivan, sitting amidst a trove of furniture that clearly The activities of our NGO belong to a different age and look at home in this ancient house. started as a private initiative in A 100-year-old, ornately carved, rosewood sideboard is valued f Dr Falk Reitz had his 2005, following a request from at Rs 1 lakh. way, he would take my wife’s cousins, Joseph and The oldest thing is the house is three century old statue of Jesus, IKerala back in time. James Zacharias, to study and named Ecce Hommo, which Ivan inherited from his maternal Architecturally, that is. As an art document the twin churches in side, the Carlos family, who owned the house. “The Ecce Hommo historian and founder of the Eu- Ramapuram, Kottayam. I invited is believed to have miraculous properties and I lent it to a friend ropean Foundation for Indian friends to join me on this cam- who was suffering from cancer a couple of years ago,” says Ivan. Heritage Monuments (EFIHM), paign. I have always spoken so en- The statue is made of wood, but bears a metal crown of thorns. he documents monuments so that thusiastically of Kerala and its peo- they can be restored or renovated ple, that my friends were keen to accurately. The German lecturer’s spend a few days here. Prized possession: (top) Ivan studies the Portuguese document work in the state includes the Our concept was: do some vol- of possession; The 18th century Dutch house documentation of two ancient unteer work and also holiday. This churches in Ramapuram, is a concept we will continue, not Kottayam, and the Synagogue in only with friends, but also with . His NGO is cur- students. This combination is an rently working on the Stromberg interesting, exciting model for Bastion Bungalow in Fort Kochi. people who have experience in Reitz, who teaches Indian art Germany in the field of heritage history at the Berlin Free Univer- protection. sity, is bound to Kerala more than Our NGO hopes to “export” professionally. He is married to ideas and experiences from Ger- the second daughter of M.M. many in the field of landmark Jacob, the governor of protection as “Help for self-help”. Meghalaya. What work have you done In an email interview with in Kerala and specifically in THE COCHIN CHRONICLE, Fort Kochi? Reitz, who spends around three In 2005, we brought a LEICA weeks of the year in Kerala on tachymeter to take measurements work, talks about the urgent need of heritage buildings, so that ex- for the preservation of Kerala’s act drawings could be made. Ivan’s most prized possessions, however, are the documents of architectural heritage, the role that These drawings make the first possession of a house on Lilly Street. “These are the only official public and private sectors must documents in a database used like document showing continuous possession of a house from 1798 play and about EFIHM’s work. an archive with all the necessary to the present time in Kerala,” says Ivan. The 18th century How did you get interested information on a certain histori- paperwork is ornately, handwritten in Dutch, some following in Indian art history? cal building. The database can also ones in Portuguese. The 19th century documents are in English. My father was the director of contain historical photos, reports The house on Princess Street, which stands on 11½ cents, is an art museum with an Asian col- etc. This is the basic work of an constructed from local material redstone flooring and a high lection, so even as a child I got art historian. Later, when there are ceiling with wooden beams. Valued at Rs 12,600 in 1968, the interested in Asian art. When I met requests to renovate or even re- 14-room house with a little courtyard, will now fetch Rs 1 crore my wife in 1986 at Humboldt construct parts of a building, this on the market. But Ivan isn’t selling. University in Berlin, my focus historical information, along with turned from a general interest in the drawings are given to archi- Asian to South Asian and Indian tects and conservationists. With- Cochin Chronicle 5

OR INDIAN HERITAGE MONUMENTS The activities of Euro- pean Foundation for IndianHeritage xample of conservation Monuments started as a private initiative in 2005 out this information, their work tion in the Fort Kochi area before to study and document is baseless since it is not rooted in international agencies can come in. the twin churches in a historical sense. Compare the World Heritage Each historical building gains an Site in Goa (with the Basilica Bom Ramapuram. Our con- identity through the transforma- Jesus) and Fort Kochi (with the cept do some volunteer tion of each generation which has Santa Cruz Basilica). The histori- work and also holiday is used it. These different strata cal remains in Goa, after Indian should, when possible, be dis- Independence, were never so ne- an interesting model for played through careful conserva- glected like the ones, such as people who have tion. The Stromberg Bastion Bun- David Hall or Stromberg Bunga- experience in galow, which was used by the low, in the Fort Kochi area. from . They are not inter- Germany in the field of Dutch, British and Indians, is a You say that there is a dire ested in slogans like “God’s own good example. So we should need, but not enough will, to country” - there are many places heritage protection. show the construction model of preserve heritage in Kerala. in the world which claim this. Our NGO hopes to the Dutch and the later alterations Has your NGO been able to They are interested in clean “export” ideas and by the British and Indian owners make a difference? streets and beaches and well-main- in our documentation, as well as How can we make a difference tained historical buildings. Our experiences from at the building. coming once in a year for a few NGO can never bring a differ- Germany in the field of We have documented the syna- weeks to Kerala? We have just ence which can be seen immedi- landmark protection as gogue and the Jeevamatha church started in 2005. And we can only ately. For this to happen, the state in Mattancherry. We started docu- do work when we are invited. I government and the city corpo- ‘Help for self-help’. mentation of the Stromberg Bun- do not want to be labelled a “neo- ration have to step in. galow in December 2006 and will colonialist” intruder by the left of How can your NGO in- proceed in July 2007. centre activists in Kerala. crease awareness on the need be the state of ancient build- There was a move to get First, the indigenous problems to preserve architectural her- ings in Kerala 10 years from Fort Kochi included in UN should be solved by the local play- itage? What are the threats to now? What is your hope for World Heritage List. ers according to a priority list. As old monuments here? the future, in this regard? I think the UNESCO might I understand it, health, food and We are already using all public I hope that people like K.J. have a problem putting Fort education was higher on the gov- channels, mainly newspapers, to Sohan (ex-mayor of Kochi and Kochi on the world heritage list ernment agenda than tourism and put our message across. In July INTACH convener for Kerala), in its present state. The dilapidated historical buildings. But after 50 and August 2007, I will teach at a who understands the urgent need structural remains in the area must years of Kerala’s existence, one college in Kerala and convey the for conservation and cleaning-up be restored in the coming years. could bring the efforts into a new message of conservation among policies within the Fort Kochi area, First and foremost, local players, scheme. the young generation. At the mo- the city administration (garbage like the Kerala government, indus- When tourism is the main in- ment, there is only one department removal etc.), the industrialists of trialists, as well as companies in the come of a state like Kerala, one of archaeology in Kerala, at the (through sponsoring) tourism sector, have to fulfil their should look after the interests of Kerala University, and educational institutions will role in sponsoring the conserva- the target groups, like tourists . Later, one wake up to such demands. The can start a faculty for landmark media, too, play a very important protection/conservation at role. Then at least Fort Kochi Cochin University of Science and could be a positive example for Measures for protection: Using a LEICA tachymeter to Technology, where people are the interior parts of Kerala. study a church in Ramapuram; (top) Documentation on the trained as conservationists. I hope that in 10 years we have Synagogue in Mattancherry made in 2006 A move towards this must start an office for EFIHM in the from the grassroot level, like you Stromberg Bungalow with a siz- nourish a coconut tree. This tree able archive of the documents on has to grow for years until it can the monuments of Kochi. I can bear fruit. It is not possible with- not speak for the whole of Kerala. out building the basics at the uni- Too many institutions are in- versity level in the fields of art his- volved in city planning and build- tory and conservation methods to ing conservation, including the expect to quickly earn the fruits , which is a major of well-maintained historical owner of heritage property. What places. Luckily, there are good ex- is their strategy for the next 10 amples which can be used as years with their landmark build- models, such as the Padmanabha- ings? This would be the topic for puram Palace and the Dutch Pal- another interview. So let us first ace in Mattancherry under state focus on the microcosm of Fort control, as well as the CGH Earth Kochi in the next years and ex- complex at Kumarakom under tend our interest only after a suc- private control. Let us develop cess to a state wide perspective. many such places. To know more about the work of What do you envision will EFIHM, please visit www.efihm.de Cochin Chronicle 6

VISTORS TURNED NATIVE Making a mark Over the centuries, the Gujaratis with their vibrant trading skills, have become an integral part of the Kerala business scene

t is difficult to miss the Alapuzha, and Kochi, distinctive Gujarati ambi which now has the largest popu- Ience when one walks lation with 700 families. Their set- down the area in Mattancherry tlements around the port towns around which the close-knit com- indicate that they came here mainly munity is largely concentrated in to trade. Kochi. The Gujaratis are said to have Matrons in tie-and-dye saris first migrated to Kerala during the worn in the traditional manner buy invasion of Gujarat by Mahmud vegetables, men in kurtas sit at Gazni in the 11th century. It is be- shop fronts and Shantilal S. lieved that it was a Gujarati who Home away from home: The bustling Gujarati Road Mitaiwali does brisk business of showed the Portuguese the way dhoklas, jilebis and other Gujarati to , which was a free savouries and sweets. port. But the large scale and sys- erful Muslim Halai merchants their families upstairs. There are eight temples man- tematic migration of Gujaratis from Cochin to Karachi after the They set up prominent business aged by the various sub-commu- started at the beginning of the Partition presented a good op- houses, such as Premier Tyres, nities, including Jains, Baniyas and 19th century. portunity to the Gujarati traders which was later sold out to Vaishnavas. It is not surprising The Malayali had no head for to establish their businesses here. Apollo, the Stag brand umbrellas, then that New Road, with old commerce, while the Gujaratis are While they had business inter- and the Indo-Mercantile Bank, buildings that served as ware- known for their astute business ests in Kozhikode, Alapuzha and which was set up by Popatlal houses and homes to Gujarati sense. They realised, instinctively, Kollam, Kochi became the cen- Govardhan Lalan, who was also merchants and their families, was the potential of trade in Kerala, tre of activity, where adequate fa- a member of the Cochin Legisla- renamed Gujarati Road. which was rich in spices, but had cilities were available for the stor- tive Council and chairman of the The one quality that the Gujarati limited resources of wheat, age of goods and for their ex- Mattancherry municipality. shares with the Malayali is prob- pulses, chemicals and cement. port via sea to Mumbai and Surat. The Cochin Gujarati Mahajan, ably the fact that their diasporas Also, long spells of drought in In the land allotted to them, they which acts as a community cen- are equally widespread. The Gujarat meant business was lean constructed warehouses, which tre, was set up in 1883. It first es- Gujarati pockets in Kerala are and they had to seek new mar- also doubled as homes. They had tablished a panjarapole (cowshed to concentrated around Kozhikode, kets. The migration of the pow- offices downstairs and lived with protect non-milch cows from the butchery), a feature that is typical Little Gujarat: The local school built by the Mahajan in 1921 to the community. A Gujarati school was set up in 1908 and officially inaugurated in 1921 by the Cochin State Diwan T. Vijayaraghavachari. It became a full-fledged English medium school recognised by the state in 1956. The high school was added in 1962. The community gathers at the school grounds for its most im- portant Navratri celebrations, which fall in the Gujarati calendar month of Asso. Youngsters dress

The Gujaratis are said to have first migrated to Kerala during the invasion of Gujarat by Mahmud Gazni in the 11th century. Cochin Chronicle 7 up and perform the traditional Cochin Chronicle, a dhandiya dance at the vibrant fes- Cochin Chamber of tival, spread over nine nights in Commerce & Industry honour of the goddesses Laxmi and Saraswati, a scene very dif- newsletter, is printed and ferent from the more sober, local published by the Cochin celebrations. Chamber of Commerce & “Diwali is the last day of the Industry year for us,” says Mulraj Narandas, 76, former secretary of the Gujarati Mahajan. “Accounts were PO Box No 503, Bristow once maintained according to the Road, Willingdon Island, Gujarati calendar, though now we Cochin- 682 003 only use the calendar to mark the days of our festivals. Now, our Tel: +91 484 2668349, accounts fall in the regular finan- cial year.” 2668650 Mulrajbhai, as he is known, re- Fax: +91 484 2668651 members the time when Malayali accountants, who looked after Sweet smell of success: Preparing jilebi at Shatilal S. Mitaiwala Editor sales tax at the Gujarati firms, Anna Mathews spoke fluent Gujarati. day who have adopted a more the first printing press in Kerala, modern or even pan-Indian style but also ran Kerala Mitram, a And while most of the Gujaratis, of dressing. “My generation stuck newspaper. Kandathil Please route suggestions too, speak fluent Malayalam, they, to our traditional way of dress- Varghese Mappillai, who founded and feedback to unlike the Arabs, Portuguese or ing,” says Mulrajbhai. “We also , once the high- [email protected] British, did not enter into matri- generally eat Gujarati food. On est selling newspaper in India, or monial union with the locals. Sundays, we prepare Kerala food started his career as a journalist at “Marriage alliances were made in our homes.” this paper. There could be no bet- [email protected] with the Gujarati communities Among a community that still ter example of a foreign commu- Contributions are settled in Tamil Nadu, Andhra seem like outsiders looking in, nity’s integration into Kerala mi- welcome. If you have any Pradesh or Karnataka. If this did Devji Bhimji perhaps provides lieu than to have a hand in the interesting stories from not work, we went to Mumbai one of the best examples of the newspaper business here. News- yesteryear Cochin, or Gujarat,” says Mulrajbhai. enterprising nature of the papers are, after all, the Malayali’s It is only the youngsters of to- Gujarati. Bhimji started not only favourite addiction. please mail us at the above address.

TASTE OF THE PAST Portuguese pudding METHOD INGREDIENTS Make very thick coconut milk 8ozs sugar Indo-western masala mix by adding very little water to ½ lb finely sifted rice flour the grated coconut. Strain the 6 eggs The Anglo-Indians or Eurasians, as they were orginially milk and dissolve sugar in it. 2ozs butter called, trace their ancestory to the Portuguese and still follow Add the flour, well-beaten 1 lime eggs and strained juice of a few European customs. Trying to get old Anglo-Indian 1 tbsp brandy lime, butter, brandy, caraway recipes, which have elements of Portuguese cuisine, proved a 1 tsp caraway seeds seeds and mix well. challenge. Housewives confessed to altering ingredients and 1½ cups of thick coconut Pour the mixture into a well- milk methods of traditional cooking to fit into what was easily buttered pie-dish and bake. available and possible nowadays. Also, modern-day living did not leave them the kind of time or help their grandmothers probably had to indulge in elaborate cooking. Take a glimpse of what is truly old-world from the following recipes, taken from an old hand-written recipe book.

Pork vindaloo METHOD Take freshly salted pork, cube and Open the jar after two days and INGREDIENTS dry well in the sun. Cover with see if the gravy has dried up. Pour 3 lbs salted pork towel to prevent dust from a little vinegar into it, let the pieces 50 large dried chillies settling. Grind the spices and mix of pork lie soaking in the gravy. 2 bits of saffron well into the vinegar. Dip each When required, take one or two 2 heaped tsp cumin piece of pork into this gravy and pieces of vindaloo, put sufficient 1 tsp mustard arrange in a jar. Pour remaining water and let it boil. 2 pods garlic gravy into it. Tie up mouth of the When the gravy becomes thick 1 bottle vinegar jar well and keep aside. and the fat clears, serve warm. Cochin Chronicle 8

HISTORY OF THE KB JACOB ROAD Bumpy start, but smooth finish Visionary leader: K.J. Herschel at a municipal meeting being built to benefit Herschel, Dhronacharya gate to the old self-interest.” whose house stands on it. Corporation building. The battle Jacob’s greatest contribution as “There were satyagraha and for the road earned P.V. Raghavan, municipal chairman was starting protests before the municipal Herschel’s man-Friday, the nick- 16 schools in Fort Kochi, some office for a month,” said Joseph name of “50-foot Raghavan”. It of which are still functioning Kattithara, 72, Mattancherry makes him sound like a giant- today, and making primary Congress Bloc president, who killer, and indeed Raghavan’s tire- education compulsory. He also was a municipal councillor when less efforts to get the Communist formed a special inspection team Herschel was chairman. “But government’s approval for the to monitor child labour and houses were built for the evictees; proposal makes it seem apt. A prosecuted offenders. the first time that the municipality few people, including Herschel Jacob was a fighter till the last. had done this. Until then, the and Raghavan, surrendered some When ICS man Thong walked he proposal for what is practice was to provide of their lands for free to make way into a legislature meeting of the Tnow the KB Jacob Road compensation.” The rehabilitated for the construction. municipality, that Jacob was was welcomed in the typical man- colony is still situated behind the It was christened KB Jacob chairing, with a cigar and sat with ner in which most new things are market area in Amaravatti. Road, by then archbishop of his foot up on a chair, Jacob asked received in Kerala: with resistance. The only road in Fort Kochi Bombay, Cardinal Gracias, during him to keep decorum or leave. Freedom fighter and the first up until then was a very narrow the centenary celebrations of the The Englishman soon sought a Malayali municipality chairman, one from Amaravatti to Veli municipality in 1967, when it was transfer, but tried to get his own K.B. Jacob, mooted the idea, in Junction and there was only one also dismissed to make way for back by writing to the viceroy the late 1950s, and brought Brit- bus service in place of the 70- the new Cochin Corporation. seeking the dismissal of the ish engineers from Madras to study odd buses that ply the area now. The old beach road was rebuilt municipality and an order to arrest the viability of a road from Veli “Students walked about 15 km and rechristened as KJ Herschel its members. to Fort Cochin. to attend college in Ernakulam. Road in the 80s. It was inaugurated The sepoys who were asked to It took a hard-fought battle So did women, who had to go by a 4km run from the start of make the arrests refused to do so before his dream was realised by to the city on work,” said Santosh the road to and the order was later rescinded. his son and municipality chairman, Burleigh, Jacob’s grandson. “The Square. “Jacob and Herschel, who Interestingly, the sepoys were later K.J. Herschel in 1962. Colonies people who opposed the road was a bachelor, were great known locally as viceroys. Jacob had to be cleared for the profit from it today.” visionaries,” said Kattithara. “In died a day after the viceroy issued construction of the road and the Herschel’s proposal for a 70ft those days, it was easier to find the order to dissolve the concern of its inhabitants, road was rejected for a 50ft one, politicians who did things for the municipality, but he literally paved apparently, was that the road was which stretches from the greater good rather than out of the way for change. Cochin Chronicle is supported by the following companies

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