KOCHI: ‘Menaka’ is a reminder of the adage ‘today is tomorrow’s nostalgia’. Kochi has been steadily transforming into a metro city. And a silent witness to the evolution has been the backwaters by the Marine Drive. Once part of the backwaters and then converted into a buzzing, majestic commercial zone, the Marine Drive area is known after a popular cinema theatre of the olden days, Menaka.
Menaka and the adjacent areas trigger waves of nostalgia among Kochhites, especially the 80s kids. A senior journalist can’t stop gushing about how the area used to be the pride of Cochin, a place that was often flaunted to visitors, or boasted about.
“It was the first-of-its-kind shopping complex in Kerala,” he says. “The electronic goods, perfumes and toys at the duty-paid shops there were a huge hit. In the early 90s, cousins visiting from other parts of Kerala would be left wide-eyed.”
He also recalls a now-defunct, one-way escalator in the complex. “People would queue up just for trying out. It was like an amusement park ride for many who were seeing an escalator for the first time,” he adds. “The nearby Sridar theatre also was a ‘cool’ place back then. English films would play there. I remember watching Predator and Titanic there.”
Former minister Dominic Presentation echoes a similar nostalgic sentiment. “Many famous film personalities used to visit Menaka theatre; it was the first theatre in Ernakulam. Sridar, known for English films, was the first theatre to release Chemmeen,” he says.
“Sea Lord used to be one of Kerala’s tallest buildings. It was probably the first one with a lift.” Kochi resident and Congress leader Rajeev P D, 61, echoes the similar nostalgic sentiment. The Broadway at Menaka, he says, was the busiest commercial hub of Ernakulam from the 1960s to the 90s. “We used to joke that everything, except father and mother, is available at Menaka,” he smiles. “Vivid memories of watching films at Menaka theatre still flash in my mind. A ticket cost 50 paise.”
Rajeev recalls the entry of street vendors, who are a common sight in Menaka these days. “One of the first successful street vendors was one Sivananthan. I remember him wooing customers to check out ready-made garments under an umbrella fixed near the Sea Lord hotel. Now, he owns Maharaja’s supermarket near Jos Junction.”
Former GCDA staffer Joshi Joseph says Menaka was known for eateries and snack joints, too. Probably the first shawarma outlet in the city was set up at the shopping complex here. “There was a small eatery named Mammies; I still remember the mouth-watering food there,” he recalls. “It was run by an ‘aunty’.”
Pointing to remnants of pillars in the backwaters, Joshi adds there once used to be a floating restaurant here. “The place shut down in 2000,” he says. “No modern mall can match the charm of old Menaka.”
There &Then
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