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Koder House, Cochin Tower Rd, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala 682001
Koder House, Cochin Tower Rd, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala 682001
This is a historic wedding song which poetically sings about Ousep Rabban, the medieval merchant prince and folk hero of the Cochin Jews witnessing a wedding ceremony.
This is a vintage photograph of a Cochin Jew wedding from the Koder family. The bridal party with the bride all decked in wedding finery & jewellery is walking under a decorated umbrella towards the synagogue with music accompaniment of drums, horns and other ceremonial cultural symbols. During the wedding procession, the woman sing the wedding song “Ponninjeedum” or “He Comes in a Gold Adorned Palanquin”.
Here’s a few lines from the song:
“Ponninjeedum thandukaleri, mangala vele kanman
(He comes in gold decorated palanquin to witness the wedding festivities)
Ponnurumala marvilum ponnu, poosari manthal meethe. Mannavan ekan poyithuyilatum, pattani poondu nala”
(With gold chain in the chest and gold glittered canopy above, a king (Oseph Rabban) clad in golden fluttering silks)
rejugeorge #lovemycochin Picture credit courtesy : Reddit com , galaxy Kerala
Unauthorised The Rose lane served as a service lane to the more prominent streets of Princess Street and Rose Street from colonial times.
Anybody recall these was a prototype of a bridge of similar identical style constructed at the similar time frame at the Santa Cruz High School in Fort Cochin connecting the laboratories with the Head Masters office, which was brought down in the 1970s.
This bridge more than a century old is made of an iron track filled with wooden planks and an ornate umbrella railing is one of the rare sights that adds to the character & heritage of Fort Cochin.
#rejugeorge #lovemycochin
Picture credit courtesy : The Hindu newspaper.
AB Salem or better known as Jewish Gandhi was part of the Indian Independence movement.Abraham Barak Salem ( 1882- 1967) born to a Jewish family lived on the Jew Street ,Mattancherry,popularly called Salem Kocha by the resident community of Cochin Jews was a Indian Nationalist. .The first Cochin Jew to be a lawyer and to practice law in Cochin got into the freedom struggle for the Indian Independence movement while studying law in Madras. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and was one of the three general secretaries of
A 1920s photograph of the Rose Lane, Fort Cochin with the Air Bridge overarching the lane, once upon a time a lively passage connecting the top floors of the two houses belonging to the prominent Koder family. Collecting the party was one of the Satu House’s house on Jew Road to the family’s hut on the other side housed under various stores.
Through his efforts and leadership it was possible to bridge the differences between the Indian National Congress section in favour in the princely state of Cochin and the Cochin State People’s Party leaders.
The first Cochin Jew to be a lawyer and to practice law in Cochin got into the freedom struggle for the Indian independence movement while studying law in Madras. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and was one of the most active leaders of the Indian State People’s Party.
Speaking of this to Cochin, Salem wrote:
“The Jews of Cochin are the most loyal citizens and…offer special prayers to bless, preserve, guard, assist and exalt the Raja of Cochin and His Royal Family… in spite of the tenacious, age-long fond longing to return to Jerusalem.”
In 1929, a book in English about the architecture and customs of the Paradesi Synagogue called ” The Eternal Light ” was written by Salem.
#rejugeorge #lovemycochin #ilovecochin #75YearsOfIndianIndependence
Picture and article credit courtesy : India times. Com , Wikipedia, Bala Menon – Jews of Cochin blogspot
75 years of Indian independence, we celebrate the Unsung Heroes of the Indian Independence Movement leading to Freedom at Midnight on August 15, 1947.
