Kochi sticks quiet well to the proverbial  saying “it’s not the size that matters”. Well getting past that ,what does kochi has to offer besides the deadlocked traffic, the utter chaos that is known as city management, the mosquitoes…
What is it then,that attracts people from all over the world and India included to our little city? Is it the bustling charm of the merchants of all pot-puri in broadway, is it the umpteen jewellery and lifestyle stores that dot our city, is it the rich history filled ambiance of fort kochi and mattanchery; the Chinese fishing nets, the Jewish synagogue, the sunset. Yes beauty is in the eye of the beholder and behold, this is kochi and more. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what it has to offer visitors, local and alien.

You can say when you look at the ‘Queen of the Arabian sea’ from the outside you see very few to appreciate. But looking closer, you slowly see the vivid and vibrant city we live in. This city has been host to many an important events. International cricket matches, music concerts, stopover for the Volvo ocean race. It boasts of having one if India’s best shipyards and has an impressive track record. Being at the tip of the Indian peninsula and the Asian subcontinent it’s fast becoming an important port for merchant ships and cruise liners. With it’s location and excellent support services it is learnt that kochi could be a port to call for cruise liners. Kochi offers food gourmets with a banquet of dishes based on the cultures of it’s variety of inhabitants. When it comes to food people shed their differences in race and creed and equally enjoy what kochi offers. Seafood being one of it’s obvious specialties. You can’t put off kochi from the night scene when you compare it with the bigger metros, Kochi has turned from a snoring city to one that has a happening and exciting nightlife. Years later you would probably see a whole different kochi, with more and more to offer, but the ‘queen’ shall never loose it’s charm.

Photograph By Liji Jinaraj. More of his images can be viewed here.