Kochi coup: an Indian art biennale
As if it didn't have enough to wow visitors already, the Kerala port city has now established India's first art biennale. Words and pictures by Amrit Dhillon
Pay no heed to Shakespeare - there is a lot in a name. Not for nothing do we have the Venice Biennale, the contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in the northern Italian city. The name conjures up the majesty and grandeur of the place. Neither a "Sha Tin Biennale", say, nor a "Delhi Biennale", quite makes the grade.
How about the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in the Malabar region of Kerala, India ("the Venice of the East"), though? That has a nice ring to it. Kochi (formerly Cochin) is a place that is synonymous with the spice trade - a port of steamers and ferries, the Arabian sea and buildings dating back to when the first traders arrived, in the 15th century.
The less well known Muziris in the title is Kerala's lost city, which was destroyed when the Periyar river flooded in the 14th century. Legendary for its role in the ancient spice trade, Muziris is now the largest heritage conservation project in India, even though its exact location is still debated.
Kochi needs no selling. Its lush and verdant landscape and backwaters are enough to draw the most staunch of hodophobes (those with a fear of travel in case you didn't know). And the launch of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, on 12.12.12, provided yet another attraction for visitors.
Even with my untrained eye and rudimentary knowledge of art, it is thrilling to wander around the main venue, the ramshackle and sprawling Aspinwall House. The property once belonged to a British company that traded in spices, tea, coffee and rubber. The estate is overgrown and wild, but +the art looks all the more interesting in this unusual setting.
As the heritage building is situated on the waterfront, two factors dazzle visitors wandering about the rooms and open spaces: the art on display, of course, but also, through the windows or the shrubbery, arresting glimpses of the wharf and the waters of the Arabian Sea shimmering in the sunshine.