Kochi (also known as Cochin) is a city in southwest India’s coastal Kerala state. It has been a port since 1341 when a flood carved out its harbor and opened it to Arab, Chinese and European merchants. Sites reflecting those influences include Fort Kochi, a settlement with tiled colonial bungalows and diverse houses of worship. Cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, typical of Kochi, have been in use for centuries. Kochi is located on the southwest coast of India at 9°58′N 76°13′E, with a corporation limit area of 94.88 km2 (36.63 sq. mi). Over the years, the city has expanded considerably outside the corporation limit set in 1967, although the official city limits haven’t yet been increased.
Historical, Cultural facts & Religion
Kochi is a small city located in the Ernakulam District in the Indian state of Kerala. Kochi traces its history back many centuries when it was the center of the Indian spice trade for hundreds of years and was known to the Yavanas (Greeks and Romans), Jews, Arabs and Chinese since ancient times. Kochi has a diverse, multicultural, and secular community consisting of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Konkanis and Buddhists among other denominations. Today, the population of the city is a mix of people from all parts of Kerala and most of India. Hinduism is the majority religion in Kochi city with 43.78 % followers. Christianity is the second most popular religion in Kochi city with 38.12 % following it. In Kochi city, Islam is followed by 17.56 %, Jainism by 0.17 %, Sikhism by 0.08 % and Buddhism by 0.08 %.
Brief City History
Kochi, formerly Cochin, city and a major port on the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, west-central Kerala state, southwestern India. Also the name of a former princely state, “Kochi” is sometimes used to refer to a cluster of islands and towns, including Ernakulam, Mattancheri, Fort Cochin, Willingdon Island, Vypin Island, and Gundu Island. The urban agglomeration includes the localities of Trikkakara, Eloor, Kalamassery, and Trippunithura. Kochi was an insignificant fishing village until, in the 14th century, the backwaters of the Arabian Sea and the streams descending from the Western Ghats to the east caused the separation of the village from the mainland, turning the landlocked harbor into one of the safest ports on India’s southwestern coast. The port assumed new strategic importance and began to experience commercial prosperity. When the Portuguese penetrated the Indian Ocean in the late 15th century and reached India’s southwestern coast, the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral founded the first European settlement on Indian soil at Kochi in 1500. Vasco da Gama, the discoverer of the sea route to India (1498), established the first Portuguese factory (trading station) there in 1502, and the Portuguese viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque built the first European fort in India there in 1503. The city remained a Portuguese possession until it was conquered by the Dutch in 1663. Much Portuguese architecture still exists in the city.
Language (s) Written & Spoken
After Malayalam, the most commonly spoken language of Kochi is English. It is more commonly used in business circles. Though most of the people understand this language, it is not spoken on a usual basis. Though Tamil is the state language of Tamil Nadu, it is also widely understood in Kochi.
Important Types of Commerce in Kochi
The economy of Kochi can be classified as a business economy with an emphasis on the service sector. Major business sectors include construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, transportation/shipping, seafood and spices exports, chemical industries, information technology (IT), tourism, health services, and banking.
Language Services US and others will provide working with Kochi
Kochi has been in a trade relationship with several countries. Because of such close relations, the necessity to learn and understand the Malayalam language has increased in importance over the years. This developed the need for Malayalam translators and interpreters. Moreover, for businesses planning to tap into Kochi, in order to maximize the voice of your brand and help them to reach a new Malayalam -speaking audience with enormous marketing opportunities in the global market, the next step is to partner with a professional translation and interpretation company.
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