Cochinconnects: June 2012

Welcome to Queen of Arabian Sea

Cochin Known by its pet name The Queen of Arabian Sea is one of the most growing cities in India. Cochin is situated on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Cochin is in the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. City of Cochin is the second largest city of Kerala and the most populated city. The district of Ernakulam is often referred to as Cochin. Though the name "Cochin" is replaced by the name "Kochi" both the names are used frequently. The city lies about 220 kilometers (137 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram and about 180 kilometers (112 mi) south of Kozhikode, the third largest city in Kerala. Cochin has its significance since decades and centuries ago. As the city is situated along the Arabian Sea sailors got attracted to this city. Cochin was an important spice trading centre on the Arabian Sea coast from the 14th century. Thus the Portuguese Empire came in to being in the year 1503. Cochin became the first European colonies in India. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.

The current metropolitan limits of Kochi include the mainland Ernakulam, Fort Kochi, the suburbs of Edapally, Kalamassery and Kakkanad to the northeast; Tripunithura to the southeast; and a group of islands closely scattered in the Vembanad Lake. The civic administration of the major parts of the city including Fort Kochi, Mattanchery and Ernakulam are maintained and headed by the COCHIN CORPORATION. The Corporation has its headquarters in Ernakulam, and zonal offices at Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Palluruthy, Edappally, Vaduthala and Vyttila. The general administration of the city is handled by the Personnel Department and the Council Standing committee Section. Other departments include that of town planning, health, engineering, revenue and accounts. Drinking water for the city is provided by the Kerala Water Authority and electricity is provided by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

Peolple of Cochin

The city of Cochin has a vast variety of communities. People from different parts of the India as well as different parts of world have immigrated to Kochi. As a result of this now Kochi have a lot of communities. this was also one of the main reasons why the city became more popular amoung different parts of the country. These include Malayalis, Konkanis, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Marathis, Punjabis, Tamilians, Biharis and a few families of Jews. This is one of the main reason to attract tourism in cochin.

Tastes of Cochin

Fish Fry

The people of Cochin likes typical Keralite cuisine, which is generally characterised by an abundance of coconut and spices. Other South Indian cuisines, as well as Chinese and North Indian cuisines are popular. Fast food culture is also very prominent. Being a tourist hotspot, Fort Kochi have a number of restaurants that offer international cuisine, like Italian, French, Mexican etc. Being close to the ocean and the backwaters, Kochi has an abundance of seafood, which reflects in the cuisine. "Nadan food" adds taste to the food of Cochin. "Nadan Food" is a group of traditional cuisines which include fish items, traditional break fast items like "Appam" "Dosa" "Poott" "Kappa"(Tappioca) etc which the people of Cochin will never avoid. Hotels supllying these traditional food are often called as "Nadan Tahtt Kada". A service known as You Buy, We Cook is available at the waterfront of Fort Kochi, where the fresh seafood purchased from the nets is cooked as per the customers needs. Arabian food joints that serve Shawarma and roasted chicken are a new addition to the fast food scene in the city.

Traditional food of Cochin

Style of Cochin

The traditional clothing of people of Cochin "Mundu" for men and "Saree" for women.

Traditional wear

Modern trends

People of cochin are showing a great trend in western dressing style with the most number Branded dress showrooms in cochin. All the major brands have their showrooms in the heart of the city.With the arrival of huge shopping malls and shopping centres in the city the style has now changed. In Cochin, all the major clothing brands are having their showrooms making it easy for the people of Cochin to exhibit their clothing trends.

The Industrial Capital Of Kerala

Cochin is known to be the commercial capital of Kerala. From ancient time itself Cochin has been a very important trading centre on the west coast of India, paving way for trade with the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British. Today, Cochin is a booming industrial centre with industries ranging from ship building to IT and petrochemical refining to spice trading.

There has been a significant growth for the city since 2000. After 2000 growth of the city was very rapid and amazing. Cochin is one of the best places in kerala to run successful business. Understatnding the potential of the city a lot business groups and business personals have started thier business and planing big projects in future. In order to support this the government of Kerala have also started planning for the infrastructure development of the city because development always starts from good infrastructure facilities. A city growing so fast, will need a good system of infrastructre like transportation, housing, electricity, education and various other factors.

The factors that made Kochi the industrial capital of Kerala:

Info Park
Cochon Special economic zone kakkanad
Vallarpadam Container Terminal
Industrial Estate Kalmassery
Industrial estate Eloor
Civil Station Kakkanad
Cochin Internation Airport Nedumbassery
Jawaharlal Nehru International Statdium Kaloor
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)
Cochin Shipyard
Southern Naval Office

Upcoming projects for Kochi

Kochi Metro
Smart City Kochi
Lulu International Shopping Mall (India's Largest Shoppping Mall)
High Speed Trains

The city of Cochin is has witnessed significant growth in its infrastructure facilities. Understatanding its potential Government is concentrating on introducing new and modern techniques to improve its facilities.

A picture dipicting the upcoming infrastructure plans: