KOCHI : It is easy to dismiss the grand column that stands overlooking the beach in Fort Kochi as yet another failed infrastructural scheme of the local administration. But on closer observation, it becomes very apparent that the structure is not of this century. Instead, a remnant of the colonial era and one which exposes the story of a tragedy that befell the region all those years ago — The Great Fire of Cochin (1889).
For the story to unfold any further, it is crucial to understand the socio-cultural fabric that nestles this incident.
It was a time when the British had sway over Fort Kochi (then British Cochin). As the flourishing trade capital and port city of the Empire’s dominion in the subcontinent, it was home to a plethora of English companies shepherded by renowned merchants, the notable among them being Aspinwall, Pierce Leslie, Brunton and Volkart Bros.
“The ruins of their establishments can still be found a short walk’s distance from where the column rests today,” says Thaha Ebrahim, a local historian.
During the height of British rule, officials decided to stop native companies from manufacturing ships so as to have a monopoly of trade over the seas.
Chandrabhanu, a 500-tonne vessel built by a local guild, was quarantined and left to float close to the Calvathy shore. A roof made of palm leaves and bamboo was also constructed to protect the vessel from the elements.
For two years Chandrabhanu remained, silent and subdued. Then, on January 4, 1889, it caught fire. “Hundreds of people rushed to the port to see the flaming ship. Officers, in an effort to thwart the fire from spreading, cut the rope of the anchor in hopes that the ship would take to the sea. However, heavy wind forced the vessel landward, eventually lashing the shore with its flames of terror,” says K J Sohan, former mayor of Kochi and member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.
The company of Volkart Bros was the first to fall prey to the fire. As most buildings on the Calvathy stretch had thatched roofs, the fire spread quickly, destroying entire buildings. It is estimated that over 300 houses and a clutch of companies were reduced to ashes.
“When the dusk arrived, Chandrabhanu trampled through the seaport like a floating volcano,” writes British historian K L Bernard in his book Flashes of Kerala History.
At last, the workers of Pierce Leslie Co. are said to have chained the vessel, thus allowing for efforts to extinguish the fire, which reportedly took days.
The damage caused by this great fire was catastrophic. Tonnes of coconut, oil and spices were lost. Later, in memory of the incident, port officer J E Winckler, in 1890, erected the Great Cochin Fire memorial pillar.
Then, it was set up in the Victorian Jetty only to be later moved to the pilot quarters. In the late 1990s, it was relocated to its current position on the beach walkway as part of the ‘History Path’ project.
Interestingly, the column has another history to tell, one which takes us to Santa Basilica constructed in Fort Kochi by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It was one of the columns in this structure. After the defeat of the Portuguese at the hands of the Dutch in 1663, the building was used as a warehouse for arms. Later, in the 18th century, when Fort Kochi fell into the hands of the British, the Basilica was destroyed, save for one column — the very one that Winckler used.
“Today, the column stands ignored and unnoticed, but it holds the history of five centuries,” says Sohan.