This serene street scene is typical of this seaside town – albeit not typical of most Indian towns.
Bound to history
Situated on a small island just off the coast of Kerala, Fort Kochi remains one of the quietest urban areas in India.
It's an old town with plenty of history – and in some ways, it seems to be bound to its history. Before the European colonists came along, Kochi was nothing more than a tiny fishing village. And even today, local fisherman use the large, traditional, stationary “Chinese fishing nets,” also known as “lift nets.”
Unbound from dominators
Today, one of the most significant features of the town is the old European homes that line the broad streets. These homes were built by the European colonialists who controlled Fort Kochi for 424 years!
The Portuguese possessed it for 160 years, the Dutch for 112 years, and then the British for 152 years, until Indian independence in 1947.
Yeah, freedom.
