STYLE
| KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE
The Kochi Muziris Biennale 2022 seeks to invoke the latent cosmopolitan spirit of the modern metropolis of Kochi and its mythical past, Muziris, to create a platform that will introduce contemporary, global visual art theory and practice to India.
Tanya was born and raised in Fort Kochi, a town of multicultural flavour and antiquity, where her family has been living for the past eight generations. The differences in traditions and religious influences based on history always fascinated her.
The coat of arms of Lisbon commemorates the voyage of the relics of Saint Vincent, to the city. According to legend, ravens protected his graves and even accompanied him on his voyage. Their craws are heard in Fort Cochin.
story
| MATTANCHERRY & FORT COCHIN TALES
Peemakumari has been living alone for years in an old building in Mattancherry. A rickety building that has doors which are closed with old sacks. I saw her once sitting with a number of cats. The cats ran away seeing me, a few stood at a distance with caution.
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| HORTUS MALABARICUS TRAILS
Hortus Malabaricus (Garden of Malabar), is the oldest printed book on Indian medicinal plants. Written by Dutch Governor H.A. Van Rheede, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published in Amsterdam during 1678–1693.
Nairs is an indigenous Hindu caste, which is anthropologically defined as named category of castes rather than being a single caste. They form a considerable swordsmen and military caste from the west coast of India.
Pandithar is a Hindu community that has roots in Madurai region of Tamil Nadu. According to the oral accounts of the community, they were traditionally practitioners of indigenous medicine, who were invited by the King to settle in Kochi.
Saraswat Non-Brahmins is a Konkani speaking Hindu community from Goa. Saraswat traditionally were Temple artists. The women in the community were not allowed to get married and were forced to dedicate their lives to the temple.
In Kochi, they are a small community who have migrated from various parts of India in the recent past. Marwari Brahmins in Kochi, like other Marawari speaking communities are a traders and entrepreneurs.
Memon is a community of Muslims that migrated to Kochi from the Kutch area in Gujarat during the early part of the 19th century. Even though they migrated into Kochi from Kutch their roots can be traced back to Sindh region in Pakistan.
Chetti is a surname is a common surname used by mercantile agricultural and land owning Hindu castes in South India. Chettiyars in Kochi is a Tamil speaking Hindu community who are mostly petty traders.
Ezhava is one of the biggest castes in Kerala. The name has historically used to refer to people who were involved in a variety of jobs. They were considered belonging to the lowermost strata of the Hindu caste system.
