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Where history and faith reside
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The Bishop's Palace, besides being one of India's oldest Catholic Dioceses, is a magnificent piece of period architecture. TANYA ABRAHAM gives a lucid account of this grand residence-cum-office.
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A STROLL through the narrow streets and along the palm fringed coast of Fort Kochi, where the aroma of a tiny black spice called `pepper' once attracted foreigners on huge ships, and you are bound to come across a great wall upon a small mount. All that is visible to an outsider, over the great wall, are the large Gulmohar trees swaying along an immense driveway.
A curious peek into the compound and a couple of words with the sentry on duty brings you inside to a pleasant surprise.
An ancient home of some sorts for sure, with large arches in Gothic style, carried all around the structure in order to create perfect harmony.
Built by the Portuguese in A.D.1506 as residence for their governor, today it stands as home to the Bishop of the Verapoly Diocese.
History has many a story to tell of the arrival of the Portuguese and the establishment of a Diocese in former Cochin in A.D. 1557. But what is remarkable is that Cochin controlled all missionary activities all along the eastern territories of India, Burma and the Malays. For this very purpose the house was bought from the Dutch by Bishop Dom Gomez Ferreira in 1888 and ever since then, all activities concerned with the Diocese have been centred at the Bishops Palace.
Inside the palace, the atmosphere is nothing but regal. A parlour room welcomes you with its large walls painted in bright colours, each telling a story - the arrival of the Portuguese, the birth of Christianity in Kerala and the establishment of the Diocese.
What were once large dancing halls used by the Portuguese governor to entertain his guests, have now been coined off to create rooms for a more practical purpose. An office room used by the Bishop and his office bearers, to the archives, which is nothing but a treasure cove of documents dating back to the 17th century. Documents related to the Cochin Diocese, schools, newspaper recordings and an interesting collection of books on a variety of subjects preserved carefully in well fumigated boxes, arranged in a systematic manner for easy access.
One can only imagine the splendour of the Palace, when the Bishop hosts a party for a formal gathering or in honour of an important guest.
An extension of the original building, the dinning area, known as Dr. Mario Sorais Hall, has been created to seat a 100 people. Decorated tastefully with life like paintings and large lanterns, the room has conformed to the original style of architecture.
Every day dining takes place at the informal dining area, a simple room with the bare necessities, adjacent to which, tucked away in a corner, is the courtroom. `Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum' etched in bold letters; the courtroom is used to settle marriage disputes and other issues related to the Diocese, which in some subtle way tends to hint upon the authority of the church as an individual identity.
Large, airy verandas flank the Bishops Palace, on either side, with huge doors leading to various rooms. A beautiful teak staircase leads to the upper room, popularly called the senate hall. Decorated in shades of red, and brimming with antique pieces the senate hall is used for private discussions by the Bishop. It is also a sort of family room where the bishop and the rest of his friends at the palace relax. A pile of albums and choice art pieces impart a personal imprint, while an interesting circular window allows a clear view of any visitor who may arrive at the porch.
The upper rooms remain private to the bishop and his guests, but are accessible with the help of a more modern amenity called the `elevator'.
The Bishop's house is a home to the head of the Verapoly Diocese, his vicar, procurator and the chancellor. The remaining members of the palace live in newer, more practical structures within the same compound and gather together at the informal dining room at mealtimes. Although the palace has been altered, redesigned and remodelled time and again to suit various practical needs, the antiquity of the structure remains untouched.
A prominent heritage of Fort Kochi, The Bishops palace has a number of stories attached to its history. One such story is about a Bishop who in his attempt to help starving men and women of Cochin during an acute famine ordered them to dig a lake, the sand from which was piled to form the mount that exists today. The authenticity of this story, however, remains a mystery.
The Bishops palace does not merely exist as any other ancient structure, but as one that carries with it an aura not found anywhere else. The secret tunnel, large attics, collection of Portuguese maps sketched out to create a new Cochin... and so much more... all of which in some strange way transports you to a bygone era, lurking mysteriously in the distant past
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