Cochin Sightseeing — The mood of Cochin

It was January when I wandered along the streets of Cochin sightseeing. What mostly caught my five senses was the easy mix of east and west that we find in this city. Cochin is relaxed with blue waters, blue sky and an unavoidable mix of European culture! Yes this city is worth a visit just to experience what a collage of east and west would look like!

1. Cochin, the Azure city, welcoming me with its rich color, so blue, that the horizon would have been lost, had it not been for the man made one.

2. The dash of west is everywhere, the architecture is worth swooning over, thanks to the Portuguese, who will say this is our very own Indian territory?

3. The striking cleanliness of Cochin, the artistic and easy going attitude of the locals, the economic prosperity of the place and the coastal India’s love affair with coconut, all reflected in one picture.

4. The street art showcasing the city’s love for art and culture.

5. The market where everything handmade in Kerala is available. Particularly have a look at these masks and home decor… so beautiful they are!

6. Colours of Cochin, metaphorically they can be linked with the colorful and truly east meets west lifestyle of the place.

7. Finally the so popular and rich in history, the chinese fishing nets come to view. A good number of fishermen make their living on it and I am awed to know the way they catch the fish by dangling boulders on the shore end of the estuary to spread the net underwater, and once the victims are caught the boulders are pulled until the net makes an appearance above water. Lots of hard work!

8. One of the abandoned nets… wonder what the chinese explorer who brought the art to the city from the court of Kublai Khan has to say about it!

9.The catch at one go of the fishing nets. It takes a lot of effort to separate the weeds from the fish, even though this painstaking process does not yield a lot of compensation. May be it is the reason why more and more youths of Cochin are opting for other professions.

10. The estuary at Fort Cochin displays the carnival of life, the people from different walks of life, different status, different continents, different skin colors, all bonded by the geography and nature of this unique town!