New Year

We changed our travel plans and decided to go back to Kochi for New Year’s Eve and the carnival on New Year’s Day which was completely crazy! Mayhem all night …a kind of non stop street party in the whole town. 

Traditionally they burn a huge Pappanji  ( old man) at midnight …this year they had two on different sites to help with crowd control!

They also burn Father Christmases!

Although we have Guy Fawkes I think burning Santas wouldn’t go down too well in England! 

Burning the Pappanji

Marari Beach

We have been to Marari beach three times and each time we see a different side to this sleepy fishing village. 

We were a bit further away from the centre but our homestay host was also a rickshaw driver so he could whizz us to beach restaurants at the drop of a hat.

The homestay also had a lovely little pool!

On the first day Charlie went off to explore along the beach and managed to lose the key for the padlock so they had to saw the lock off! 

We had been planning to go on a boat trip across Lake Vempanad and then maybe a backwater canoe trip…but suddenly it seemed like a lot of travelling for something we’ve already done a few times in the past so we chilled out at the homestay.

Some ‘batchelors’ arrived and splashed about it in the pool and then went off to the beach for a swim leaving the remains of their takeaway on the table.Next thing you know the crows had swooped in and spread left over rice and tin boxes all over the place. What a mess! 🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛ 🐦‍⬛ 

We had lunch at a ‘boutique resort’ along the beach…despite the waiters telling us how all the food was freshly grown and nothing was frozen it the gobi Manchurian and veg noodles looked and tasted the same as everywhere else I’ve eaten it! 

But the place itself was interesting with lots of nooks and crannies! 

A peaceful few days away before the mayhem to come! 

Christmas in Cochin

 Soaking up the familiarity of Fort Kochi, simple things like buying veg for a salad for lunch…or freshly fried king fish from Channu’s stall. Corn on the cob and butterscotch ice cream on the beach for tea. So happy to be back on the roof terrace watching the sun sink down behind the trees every afternoon.

A warm welcome from Thanvi and Jaanvi, the twin daughters of our friend Zarine in England. They served traditional plum cake, payasam, a sweet pudding made for celebrations out of milk, nuts, vermicelli and jaggery and ‘wine’ …it’s not alcoholic they insisted!

It turns out to be home made fermented grape juice! 🍷 

Down to Mattancherry to Kunst gallery to meet Tensing Joseph who invited Charlie to represent UK in the exhibition Blended Narratives. 

I was thrilled to meet Lili from Madagascar in the kitchen who speaks 12 languages and is fluent in Portuguese having lived in both Portugal and Brazil! I just couldn’t believe my luck that I can carry on practicing every day!

Johnson invited all the guests at the homestay to join him for Christmas lunch! It was like the United Nations! Us Brits, Irish, Swiss, German, South Korean and Lily fromMadagascar!  Plus all Johnson’s family and the maid and her little girl who danced for us all afternoon! 

All the family are devout Christians and Johnson sang happy birthday to Jesus with such joy! 

In the evening of Christmas Day we went up to Veli  to see the switch on of the lights on Asia’s largest Christmas tree! 🌲 

Veli ground is about 8 acres and up to 50,000 people were there to watch! 

We got caught in a a near crush situation for what seemed like an eternity…very scary trying to exit the only gates. 

Even outside it was rammed with people and parked scooters for over a mile.

We met our homestay neighbour Denise and I forced out way out with my walking stick torch.

Then the long walk home! 

An unforgettable Christmas Day!

Back to the Biennale

 This year…to the sound of drums…the biennale opened on time! In fact we arrived just after the gates opened!

It was lovely to meet up with old friends and have the opportunity to meet many of the artists over the next few days!

The inaugural day ended with an amazing concert on the Parade ground by Shanka Tribe. 

The following day there were more openings in Mattancherry including EDAM, meaning Space in Malayalam exhibiting work by Keralan artists. We especially wanted to see the work of Unni Krishnan’s mum who we had visited at their farm and studio in the countryside a few years ago. 

Her work was beautiful.

Then I was drawn towards some layered digital photos and chatted to the photographer Abul Pattanam who actually Charlie had already exhibited with years ago and I was already following on Instagram! He had known Martin Parr and Jo Spence and had trained at Farnham.

At Hallegua House we were fascinated by the installations of Amphibian Aesthetics.

I talked to one of the girls ( volunteer art educators there to help explain the installations) about the Kappiri…the spirits of enslaved Africans who were killed by the Portuguese and buried over their treasure to guard it when they fled from the Dutch.

The spirit of the Kappiri is still worshipped by local people in small shines tucked away in Mattancherry.

In another godown were two more incredible installations…the first by Niroz Salpathy, sculptures made out of found objects from landfill sites in Delhi! He’s been scavenging for all the objects over twelve years! 

Then a huge installation by Ibrahim Mahama…the Parliament of Ghosts…we sat on our own to try to take in the massive sack covered warehouse filled with old chairs! 

Another complete surprise down an alleyway round the corner…Durga Puja a celebration from Bengal including a bamboo boat, paintings and a 3D interactive experience. This project draws on the festival as a creative inspiration presented in the context of contemporary art rather than as a religious ritual.

Finally further down the road in another derelict warehouse a fascinating archive of different castes in Kerala.