Old spice and new addresses

Mattancherry, with its 500-year-old history of settlement and trade, and with its 300 or so warehouses, has constantly reinvented itself through the ages. This trait has seen it through long periods of frenetic activity as well as lean days. Traders who came in, seldom left, and added their own flavours to this quaint corner of Kochi. Arabs, Gujaratis and Jews fleeing from their homeland, found space along the narrow stretch of land sandwiched between the sea and the backwaters. 

Trade brought the first settlers here. Arabs were followed by Gujaratis. Black gold or pepper was the product of barter. Its procurement, processing and storage led to the construction of godowns that lie on either side of Mattancherry’s arterial road. Most of the architecture is a combination of Gujarati-style interiors with high, imposing façades. While in use, the godowns were functional spaces that served the spice trade well. But as other parts of the town opened up, trade began to dwindle. Banks and other support facilities began moving out, and a depressing lassitude settled upon what was once a thriving nucleus of activity. Even as people began to leave, a new sense of history came to settle here. This attracted artists of all kinds, musicians and a new band of tourists. Warehouses turned into spaces imbued with character. The mystery deepened with each window; each door opening to reveal its own charming, eclectic secrets — art galleries, destination music studios and restaurants, beseeching the itinerant visitor to drop anchor for a while. 

Life changed; what remained became a newfound story, told differently.  Savvy businessmen converted many of these warehouses into restaurants, cafés and living spaces. Musical nights and poetry reading sessions became commonplace. One such godown was even converted into a nightclub, although it was closed down soon after.

Trade continues. Red chillies, pepper, turmeric, ginger and cardamom are still washed, dried, sorted, sifted, packed and parcelled. It’s business as usual for some traders as they carry on what they were born into. The road is in transition. It is taking a new course, a new direction. The structures on it are morphing into something contemporary and more meaningful to the day. Yet its story remains as romantic and relevant as before, pulsating in this new body.

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