Believe it or not, this wonderfully tranquil scene shows an “urban” area in India.
Notorious chaos
India’s cities and towns are notoriously chaotic. The riotous rush of cars, trucks, auto-rickshaws, motorbikes, scooters, and various other vehicles results in a fair bit of dust, a lot of noise, and a ton of pandemonium. Generally speaking, if you want a reprieve from the chaos, you have to search for an isolated beach somewhere along the coast, or else go far into the mountains.
Development = devolution
Kochi is the one urban center in India where one can find peace and quiet throughout the urban area. The centuries-old area of Fort Kochi is particularly serene. The most likely reason is that the development which typically throws an urban center into disorder did not occur on the peninsula that comprises Kochi; most of the urban development took place on the mainland, in the neighboring town of Ernakulam.
Left in peace
In many aspects, Fort Kochi was left as it was. In fact, much of the traditional merchant activity most likely moved to the mainland, too. Consequently, even today, Fort Kochi is unlike any other Indian city of its size. It remains a wonderfully tranquil coastal town, a tropical retreat that is actually a great tropical paradise.
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