With the spirit of Christmas and New Year celebrations still lingering across the streets, Fort Kochi seamlessly swayed to its next rhythm — the grand Cochin Carnival finale on Thursday.
The carnival is an organic extension of the traditional burning of the Pappanji at midnight on January 1, considered a high point of seasonal celebrations in this part of the world.
Members of the organising committee recall how the tradition, once carried out by smaller neighbourhood groups within Fort Kochi, was brought together in 1984 under the banner of the Cochin Carnival.
“The move unified celebrations, and opened the event to people from across the country and abroad. That remains our core tradition to date. Thousands congregate here on January 1. The number has been rising every year,” says Anushaj Shaji, a committee member.
The Carnival parade began from Veli Ground at about 3pm and covered a distance of nearly 1.8 km, reaching the Parade Ground by about 7pm. It followed a sequence that has remained largely unchanged for four decades.
With close to a hundred participants, the fancy dress competition, floats, tableaux, social commentary, percussion and DJ beats turned the historic streets here into shared spaces of celebration on New Year’s Day.
Notably, extended schedules and enhanced crowd management ensured there was no suffocating congestion or chaos.
This year’s highlights included a ‘robo elephant’ named Padinjarekara Manikandan, accompanied by Panchavadyam. Cultural performances such as kavadi, pulikali and kolukali came next, with the fancy dress participants — individuals, groups, floats and tableaux — bringing up the rear.
The fancy dress themes reflected current realities — environmental crises, economic inequality, dowry and questions around religion. Pop culture references ranged from ‘Kantara’ and ‘Mayavi’ to Batman and other superheroes.
Meanwhile, psytrance tracks roared through the streets as ‘holy figures’ joined the revelry.
Children marched with boards warning against the overuse of smartphones and social media, while the tableaux offered a blend of humour and social critique.
Organised by 97 clubs together, the Cochin Carnival finale once again underlined Fort Kochi’s unique ability to celebrate, question and welcome the New Year on its own terms.