KOCHI: October 17, 1997, was a day of awe and happiness for the members of the fishing community who lived at the St John Pattom Mini Colony at Beach Road in Fort Kochi which was set up as a part of the British-aided urban poverty alleviation project. It was the day when Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II visited the colony when she came down to Kochi as a part of her third visit to the country.
When the Queen’s entourage came in, K J Varghese was busy weaving and mending his fishing nets.
“The Queen got curious and came up to me,” said 77-year-old Varghese. “She began asking me many things. However, I couldn’t follow a word of English. When I told those nearby, K J Sohan, who was the Kochi Mayor then, stepped in and explained what the Queen was saying,” he said.
The Queen wanted to know what I was doing, he said. “I said it was a conditioned net. She wanted to know about the thread I was using for the net. To that, I somehow managed to say tankies. Then she asked me how long I had been going to the sea. To that, I replied that right from my childhood. I even told her that I had caught many types of fish. Small ones and even very big ones. That too all by myself,” he added.
According to Varghese, the Queen then asked him many other things. “But I didn’t know how to reply to any of them. All I knew was to say yes. After hearing me, she became very impressed and said ‘good’ before walking on,” said Varghese who was very happy recollecting the pleasant memories. “I have kept all the paper cuttings about the visit,” he added.
According to Pravish Kuriakose, he was around 10 years old when the Queen visited the place. “It was a big occasion. Two days before the visit, the police came knocking at our houses seeking information about the residents. The plaque that was unveiled by the Queen during her visit to the colony is right next to my house,” he added.