The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Wall
to wall shelves
filled with books, paintings by local artists, interesting sculptures to stare
at while we ate; juices, pancakes and sandwiches, made just as we wanted them.
What more could we ask for? That’s what mealtimes were like for us, at Fort Kochi.
Our
first halt was
at the David Hall Art Gallery, recommended by our host. After the
churches and the beach, Samhith wasn’t so keen on an art gallery, but we headed
in to escape the rain, glanced at the paintings, and then, spotting the café,
headed straight in, to grab a seat and order. We deserved some sustenance after
our walk so far, didn’t we?
Post
some brownies,
milkshakes and juice, we belatedly realized that the rain had stopped, and
headed back to continue our tour; but not before chatting for a while with the
manager, about the history of the beautiful house. This is one of three houses
built by the Dutch East India Company between the late 1670s and 1690, and was
either the home of the Dutch Commander, or a military hospice for Dutch soldiers.
Later bought by a Jewish family, it was named ‘David Hall’. The house has
changed many hands over the years, and now, after much restoration, is an art
gallery exhibiting the work of local artists, and the café inspires you to sit
down for a while and take a second look at the works!
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The Pepper House Café had been recommended by Sudha as soon as I told
her I was heading to Fort Kochi. However, by the time I reached there, I had
forgotten the name. Then, in an auto on the way to Mattanchery, I espied the
place, and suddenly remembered that this was the one! Which was why, after our
visit to the Dutch
Palace and Jew
Town, we headed here for a late lunch.
Lunch
turned out to be
pancakes, sandwiches, more brownies, milkshakes, and of course, juices! High on
sugar, Samhith and I explored the place while Shankar settled down with his
sugar free juices, and that is when we saw this….
Pepper
House Café was
originally two godowns, used for storing goods to be shipped; one overlooking
the waterfront, and the other the street, separated by a courtyard. The
buildings have been renovated, and part of it is used as a café, part of it was
used as an art gallery for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and one whole section is
used as a repository of books – mostly on art, the personal collection of noted
artist Bose Krishnamachari. One huge room houses the books while another, an
impressive collection of DVDs. Oh yes, this room also has TVs and DVD players
available with headphones, so visitors can watch what they want, in peace!
The Kochi Biennale Foundation(KBF), in association with Pepper House
Café, also has a residency programme, funded by the KBF, which invites artists,
writers, musicians, and indeed anyone else with a creative bent, to spend two
months here and use the Pepper House as a Studio for their creative efforts!
What a brilliant concept to encourage artists! Now that is one programme I
would love to be a part of!
Tearing
myself away from
all those books was hard, to put it lightly! However, we realized we had spent
so much time here, that our late lunch had turned into evening snacks! There
was no way we could have dinner after all that, so, after some more time spent
wandering around, we headed back to our homestay.
_____________________________________________________________________
The
next morning, we walked down to Kashi Art Gallery, in time for breakfast – Omelets, pancakes
again, more milkshakes and juices (yes, with and without sugar, with extra
sugar syrup and honey). Setting it apart from the other two cafés was the art –
it dominated the entire space!
From
the path
leading the way inside designed like a railway track with real sleepers fixed
between smoothened stones…
To
modernistic sculptures which adorned the walls and corners….
This
was truly an Art Café!
Located on a peaceful and clean street near
the Cathedral, this one is an old house, with the seat outside taking me way
back in time.
It is
also one of the
most popular cafés in Fort Kochi, and turns up first in a Google search, and on
restaurant suggestions, and, in a city now filled with art cafés, it speaks
volumes about the kind of place it is!
____________________________________________________________________
The
food we tried
at the three cafés was similar, because neither Samhith nor I are very
adventurous when it comes to filling our stomachs. However, they do offer more
than just pancakes, sandwiches, milkshakes and juices. It was the experience we
relished more than anything, and all three were unique, and memorable in their
own way.
We
stayed in Fort Kochi for just one full day, and these three were the only cafés we were able
to try. There are many, many more, especially in Jew Town, and all of them look
interesting in some way or the other, and are worth a try.
Information:
- David Hall is located right opposite Parade Ground. For more details, see their website.
- Pepper House Café is on Kalvathi Road, between Fort Kochi and Bazaar road. You will pass this way when you visit Mattanchery. They don’t have a website yet, unfortunately, but just a page on the KMB website.
- Kashi Art Gallery and Café is on Burgher Street, very near the Cathedral. Check their website for more details. Psst! They have a art residency programme too!
Related Posts:
- Part 1: First Impressions
- Part 2: Chinese Fishing Nets
- Part 3: Indo – Portuguese Museum
- Part 4: St. Francis Church
- Part 5: Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica
- Part 6: Mattanchery Palace
- Part 7: Jew Town and Synagogue
- Part 8 : A Boat Ride
- Part 10: Maritime Museum
Definitely the best cafes in Fort Kochi. Probably you could add Tea Pot cafe to it.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of it, Niranjan, but since I didnt go there, I cant write about it.
DeletePepper House, Fort Kochi is absolutely a beautiful place. Been there recently...
ReplyDelete