Kochi, formerly known in English as Cochin is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala and is often referred to as Ernakulam. Kochi is the most densely populated city in Kerala. As of 2011, it has a corporation limit population of 677,381 within an area of 94.88 km2 and a total urban population of more than of 2.1 million within an area of 440 km2, making it the largest and the most populous metropolitan area in Kerala. Kochi city is also part of the Greater Cochin region and is classified as a Tier-II city by the Government of India. The civic body that governs the city is the Kochi Municipal Corporation, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA).
Ernakulam, IPA: [erɐɳɐːguɭɐm]; IAST: Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ, in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം) is a district of Kerala, India, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part of the state, spans an area of about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), and is home to over 9% of Kerala's population. Its headquarters are located at Kakkanad. The district includes Kochi, also known as the commercial capital of Kerala, which is famous for its ancient Hindu temples, churches, and mosques. The district includes the largest metropolitan region of the state: Greater Cochin. Ernakulam is the district that yields the most revenue and the largest number of industries in the state. Ernakulam is the third most populous district in Kerala, after Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram. The district also hosts the highest number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala state.
Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital city of Kochi,, was a late medieval kingdom and later princely state on the Malabar Coast, South India. Once controlling much of the territory between Ponnani and Thottappally, the Cochin kingdom shrank to its minimal extent as a result of invasions by the Zamorin of Calicut. When Portuguese armadas arrived in India, the Kingdom of Cochin had lost its vassals like Edapalli, Cranganore etc to the Zamorins and was looking for an opportunity to preserve the independence of Cochin which was at risk. King Unni Goda Varma warmly welcomed Pedro Álvares Cabral on 24 December 1500 and negotiated a treaty of alliance between Portugal and the Cochin kingdom, directed against the Zamorin of Calicut. A number of forts were built in the area and controlled by the Portuguese East Indies, the most important of which was Fort Manuel, Cochin became a long-time Portuguese protectorate (1503–1663) providing assistance against native kingdoms in India. After the Luso-Dutch War, the Dutch East India Company (1663–1795) was an ally of Cochin. This was followed by the British East India Company, having suzerainty over the Cochin state. Travancore merged with the Kingdom of Cochin to form the state of Travancore-Cochin in 1950. The five Tamil-majority Taluks of Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, and Sengottai were transferred from Travancore-Cochin to Madras State in 1956. The Malayalam-speaking regions of the Travancore-Cochin merged with the Malabar District and the Kasaragod Taluk of South Canara district in Madras State to form the modern Malayalam-state of Kerala on 1 November 1956, according to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 passed by the Government of India.
The Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568 by Samuel Castiel, David Belila, and Joseph Levi for the flourishing Jewish community in Kochi composed mainly of Malabari Jews and the refugees from the Portuguese religious persecution of Jews locally from Cranganore and farther a field originating from Spain and Portugal. It is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan or Yehudan Mappila people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was built by Sephardic or Portuguese-speaking Jews, some of them from families exiled in Aleppo, Safed and other West Asian localities. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue.
Willingdon Island is the largest artificial island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the Lake of Kochi, filling in dredged soil around a previously existing, but tiny, natural island. Willingdon Island is significant as the home for the Port of Kochi as well as the Kochi Naval Base, the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, Plant Quarantine station, Custom House Cochin and Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, a constituent unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
Fort Kochi is a locality in the Cochin district of Kerala, India. The locality is 16 Kms away from Cochin city and takes it's name from Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort of the Portuguese East Indies on Indian soil. This is part of a handful of water-bound islands and islets toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Cochin or West Kochi. Adjacent to this is Mattancherry. In 1967, these three municipalities, along with a few adjoining areas, were amalgamated to form the Corporation of Cochin.
Thoppumpady is a region in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It connects the tourist destinations Mattancherry, Fort Kochi, Palluruthy and Willingdon Island.
Cochin Port or Kochi Port is a major port on the Arabian Sea – Laccadive Sea – Indian Ocean sea-route in the city of Kochi and is one of the largest ports in India. It is also the first transshipment terminal in India. The port lies on two islands in the Lake of Kochi: Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam, towards the Fort Kochi river mouth opening onto the Laccadive Sea. The International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), part of the Cochin Port, is the largest container transshipment facility in India.
Sir Robert Bristow was a British harbour engineer best known for his contributions to the development of the port of Kochi (Cochin) in India. Bristow recounted his experiences in his book Cochin Saga, which is considered an important source of historiography of Kerala. He is also noted for his initiatives in founding the Lotus Club, the first inter-racial club in Kochi. He was also a member of the Royal Society of Arts.
Kochi is a metro city located in the Ernakulam District in the Indian state of Kerala. Kochi, which is the largest city in Kerala is located about 200 km from Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala.
The economy of Kochi was worth 49453.29 crores in 2012 - 2013 financial year with a growth of almost 7.5% per annum.
Kochi is a major port city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city is widely known as the commercial or economic capital of the state of Kerala and thus good transport infrastructure is critical for the city's economy. The road infrastructure in Kochi has not been able to meet the growing traffic demand and hence traffic congestion is a major problem in the city. A comprehensive transport development plan has been included in the Kochi Masterplan hoping to improve the transport infrastructure. Kochi Metro, the rapid transit system for the city was inaugurated on 17 June 2017. A Suburban Railway system, intended to considerably ease congestion, is also to be built in the near future.
Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, is a city and port in the Indian state of Kerala.
Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section is a high density railway corridor in Kerala state, India, running from Shoranur Junction in Palakkad district through Thrissur district to Cochin in Ernakulam district. The Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section is strategic and the lifeline of Kerala economy that connects the state to other parts of India. It is central to the provision of fast, long-distance Intercity and Express passenger services between Kerala and other cities of India. It is operated by Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone.
Cochin Harbour Terminus (CHTS) is one of the railway stations in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is located on the Willingdon Island. The Cochin Harbour Terminus is the principal station providing rail connectivity to the southern segment of the Port of Kochi located on the Willingdon Island.. And hence it mainly handles goods transport in and out of the Kochi Port. Cochin Harbour Terminus railway station is not in use after the commissioning of Vallarpadam container terminus. The station is now locked and all the trains to this station from Ernakulam Junction were stopped in 2013.
Mahatma Gandhi Road, popularly known as M. G. Road, is the main artery as well as the commercial high street of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. The road lies north-south with its boundaries at the Venduruthy bridge, Thevara in the south, and the Madhava Pharmacy Junction in the north, where it intersects the Banerji Road. The road was earlier part of the NH 47A and was later handed over to Kochi Municipal Corporation. The highway was earlier known as Seventy Feet road. The total distance of the road is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi).
Vanchikulam is a freshwater lake in Thrissur city in the Kerala state of India. The pond was a water way connecting Thrissur to Kochi in older days.
Cochin Carnival is a carnival held every year in the last week of December at Fort Kochi in the city of Kochi, Kerala. This carnival is held mostly during the last two weeks of December and finally ends on 1 January. It is officially inaugurated with hoisting the Carnival flag at the Vasco da Gama Square.
Karl Damschen is an architect working in Switzerland and mainly in Kerala, India. His buildings are grounded in the climatic and historico-cultural conditions of each place, and they are significant for the recognition of the great architectural resources of India.
