NAMASTE!

© 101 INDIA

STYLE   |  AAZHI ARCHIVES

THE SEA IS HISTORY REALLY BEGINNING

AAZHI ARCHIVES

Histories of the sea have extended concepts from terrestrial narratives and recreated the sea as the mirror of the land. What does it mean to think about the sea as a boiling vessel? How can we think histories of the sea on its own terms?

© KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE

STYLE   |  KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE

KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE 2022

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.

© KR SUNIL

story   |  MATTANCHERRY & FORT COCHIN TALES

Peemakumari's Cats

KR SUNIL

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

37: NAIRS

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

36: PANDITHAR

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

35: SARASWAT NON-BRAHMINS

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

34. MARWARI BRAHMINS

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

33: KUTCH MEMON

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

32: TAMIL CHETTIYAR

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

31: EZHAVA

BIJU IBRAHIM

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.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

30: MALABARI MUSLIMS

BIJU IBRAHIM

Malayalam speaking Muslims in Kochi identifies themselves as Malabari Muslims. Even before the colonial times Kochi had a healthy trade relationship with the Arabs. Most of them, in the recent past have been manual labours and petty traders.

© BIJU IBRAHIM

story   |  COMMUNITIES IN KOCHI

29: LATIN CATHOLICS

BIJU IBRAHIM

It is believed that their conversion to Christianity happened during the colonial age. Presently they are one of the most influential communities in the region. There are no historical records highlighting the kind of profession that they were engaged in.

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