It's been a long time......
515 years back, on 21 May 1498, the Portuguese mariner, Vasco da Gama became the first foreigner to discover the sea route to India and land on the shores off Kozhikode - historians differ on the name of the exact landing point and it's a toss up between the beaches of Kappad and Quilandi - a few kilometers north of the town! He'd reached the shores in the evening of 20 May, with his armada of three ships and a clutch of 170 men. Since he and his men had experienced heavy rains and stormy weather, he'd decided to stay at anchor for the night. The loom of the lights on the shore had convinced the mariners that they're off a big town. Vasco da Gama and his men were welcomed with the warmth and affection that a guest is traditionally given by the reigning King Zamorin(Saamoothiri, in Malayalam).
It'd be particularly interesting to note Vasco da Gama's first impressions of the mallus. An entry in his diary says and I quote, "the men are ill mannered while the women are short and ugly". I would term this as a hastily made judgement of a travel weary mariner based on the initial sights because, notwithstanding the fact that I'm a mallu, it's amply clear that he is totally wrong on that aspect - there're well mannered men and stunningly beautiful women, if you please! The fact that he, himself had fallen in love with the land and its people is clear in that he went on to live for many more years till his death in 1524, at Kochi, the then Cochin.
The St Francis church at Fort Kochi - a Protestant church - was built in 1503 by the Portuguese Franciscan friars and is believed to be the first church built by the Europeans in India. Vasco da Gama was originally buried here and after 14 years, his mortal remains were taken to Portugal.
My take.
Would Vasco da Gama have stepped on our shores today? I've my serious doubts because though Kerala is 'God's own country' thanks to its bewitching natural beauty, it's swarmed by the 'Devil's own people! But jokes apart, it's a historic day today and that discovery made 515 years back had contributed to our progress because of the flexibility shown by our forefathers in assimilating what the Portuguese had to offer.
Tailpiece.
1.One must remember that the Spaniard, Christopher Columbus had undertaken a similar trip in 1492, in the quest of a sea route to India - the land famed to be rolling in riches and an enormous amount of wealth. Since the world was round, he'd decided to take on a westerly route to reach India! That he'd touched the shores of the present day West Indies and that another mariner, Amerigo Vespucci had already fetched up on the shores of the Americas is history.
2. Would it have been different if Columbus had landed first at Kozhikode instead of Vasco da gama? Not really........ King Zamorin would have received him with equal gusto and we'd have imbibed what the Spanish would have had to offer!!
515 years back, on 21 May 1498, the Portuguese mariner, Vasco da Gama became the first foreigner to discover the sea route to India and land on the shores off Kozhikode - historians differ on the name of the exact landing point and it's a toss up between the beaches of Kappad and Quilandi - a few kilometers north of the town! He'd reached the shores in the evening of 20 May, with his armada of three ships and a clutch of 170 men. Since he and his men had experienced heavy rains and stormy weather, he'd decided to stay at anchor for the night. The loom of the lights on the shore had convinced the mariners that they're off a big town. Vasco da Gama and his men were welcomed with the warmth and affection that a guest is traditionally given by the reigning King Zamorin(Saamoothiri, in Malayalam).
It'd be particularly interesting to note Vasco da Gama's first impressions of the mallus. An entry in his diary says and I quote, "the men are ill mannered while the women are short and ugly". I would term this as a hastily made judgement of a travel weary mariner based on the initial sights because, notwithstanding the fact that I'm a mallu, it's amply clear that he is totally wrong on that aspect - there're well mannered men and stunningly beautiful women, if you please! The fact that he, himself had fallen in love with the land and its people is clear in that he went on to live for many more years till his death in 1524, at Kochi, the then Cochin.
The St Francis church at Fort Kochi - a Protestant church - was built in 1503 by the Portuguese Franciscan friars and is believed to be the first church built by the Europeans in India. Vasco da Gama was originally buried here and after 14 years, his mortal remains were taken to Portugal.
My take.
Would Vasco da Gama have stepped on our shores today? I've my serious doubts because though Kerala is 'God's own country' thanks to its bewitching natural beauty, it's swarmed by the 'Devil's own people! But jokes apart, it's a historic day today and that discovery made 515 years back had contributed to our progress because of the flexibility shown by our forefathers in assimilating what the Portuguese had to offer.
Tailpiece.
1.One must remember that the Spaniard, Christopher Columbus had undertaken a similar trip in 1492, in the quest of a sea route to India - the land famed to be rolling in riches and an enormous amount of wealth. Since the world was round, he'd decided to take on a westerly route to reach India! That he'd touched the shores of the present day West Indies and that another mariner, Amerigo Vespucci had already fetched up on the shores of the Americas is history.
2. Would it have been different if Columbus had landed first at Kozhikode instead of Vasco da gama? Not really........ King Zamorin would have received him with equal gusto and we'd have imbibed what the Spanish would have had to offer!!
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